Mr. Chair, the government will not be supporting this amendment. The constitutional jurisdiction of the federal Parliament is to set the absolute minimum age for marriage for all Canadian residents. The proposal would result in several different absolute minimum ages. It is unclear whether the age restrictions would apply according to the province or territory where the marriage takes place or the province or territory where one or both of the couple ordinarily reside. This would lead to legal confusion for Canadians and in particular for young people who wish to marry. For those Canadian residents who marry outside of Canada, there would also be legal confusion as to which minimum age applies.
The Government of Canada agrees with the apparent intention of the proposed amendment, which is to provide additional protections to the young people who marry between 16 and the age of majority, but the government prefers to achieve that goal through the cooperation of the provinces and territories. Age 16 is also the absolute minimum age for marriage in like-minded countries, with only limited exceptions, so we're not supporting this amendment.