(a) The question asks about spousal benefits in federal legislation. It is difficult to define such a term as federal legislative treatment of spousal relationships includes direct economic benefits, indirect economic benefits, non-economic advantages and obligations. Listed are the major federal statutes which grant direct economic benefits. Some statutes which grant direct economic benefits to dependants may not be reflected in the list. The majority of the statutes listed set out criteria for eligibility beyond spousal status. For example, some are available only to low income couples, others to federal employees, and yet others provide for garnishment of wages and pensions in the case of court ordered support.
Employment Insurance Act, S.C. 1996, c. 23;
Merchant Navy Veteran and Civilian War-related Benefits Act,
Pension Benefits Division Act, S.C. 1992, c. 46 Sch. II;
Some federal statutes such as the Income Tax Act involve a mixture of potential benefits and obligations depending on individual circumstance. b ) Spousal benefits in federal legislation have been extended to same sex couples only in respect to employment-related pensions for federal public servants in Bill C-78, an act to establish the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, to amend the Public Service Superannuation Act, the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, the Defence Services Pension Continuation Act, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension Continuation Act, the Members of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act and the Canada Post Corporation Act and to make a consequential amendment to another act, which amended the following six statutes:
(c) Bill C-78 received royal assent on September 14, 1999.
Other employment-related benefits were extended to federal public service employees by the treasury board with regard to their same sex partners under employment agreements in November 1995 for bereavement leave, family related responsibility leave and relocation leave and in July 1996 for medical and dental plans.
(d) As mention in (b), the changes to the federal public service pension plans were introduced through legislation, Bill C-78. However a series of recent court and tribunal decisions have found generally that there must be equal treatment of opposite-sex common law couples and same sex couples in most instances. The government continues to believe that policy and legislative changes should be made by parliament, but that it is reasonable to seek the guidance of the courts on difficult legal issues.
The major court and tribunal decisions include: The provision of the Income Tax Act which allows employers to register pension plans was ruled contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Rosenberg decision, as it did not allow registation of pension plans where employers chose to offer survivor benefits to same sex partners of employees, Ontario Court of Appeal, 1998. The decision of the Federal Court, Trial Division in Moore and Akerstrom affirmed the decision of the Human Rights Tribunal that the federal government must grant the same employment benefits under collective agreements to same sex couples as those offered to common law spouses of public service employees, 1998. In May of 1999, two challenges before the Pension Appeals Board to the survivor benefit provisions of the Canada Pension Plan were conceded, Hodder and Boulais, and a similar case was conceded before the Federal Court of Appeal in September, Fisk, resulting in a payment of survivor benefits to the three individuals involved. In November 1999, the Government of Canada settled a number of cases, including White, which involved the challenge to the voluntary quit provisions of the Employment Insurance Act. There are a number of arbitral decisions and decisions under provincial jurisdiction which have also awarded benefits to same sex couples, including the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in M. v H., (May 1999). There are many pending court cases in this area.
Question No. 20—