Same-sex marriage in Yukon

Rob Edge and Stephen Dunbar had brought suit, in Dunbar & Edge v. Yukon (Government of) & Canada (A.G.), against the Yukon Government after being refused a marriage licence in Whitehorse.[1] Their lawyer, Jim Tucker, used a novel approach: rather than arguing on the basis of Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as in the previous cases, he argued that the Federal Government's failure to appeal the decisions legalising same-sex marriage in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec signalled a change in Canadian common law regarding marriage.

Supreme Court Justice Peter McIntyre agreed that the Federal Government was inconsistent in its approach to the definition of marriage, a federal responsibility, since it had not appealed the first three decisions. Therefore, the territory's failure to provide marriage licences to same-sex couples meant that the law was being inconsistently applied in Yukon. Justice McIntyre declared same-sex marriages legal in Yukon, and ordered the government to issue a marriage licence to Mr. Edge and Mr. Dunbar.[2]

The judge obtained verbal promises from the Yukon Government that the couple would be granted a marriage licence. Premier Dennis Fentie praised the ruling.

In May 2002, the Yukon Legislative Assembly approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to adopt children jointly.[3][4] The law took effect on 1 January 2003.[5]

In December 2014, the Marriage Act (French: Loi sur le mariage; Gwichʼin: Nihkhàgadhidii geenjit dàgwìdįįʼee) was amended by replacing the expression "husband and wife" with "spouses" in section 40 and adding "or spouse" in section 13.[6] The amendments took effect on 1 June 2015.[5] The Act states:

If a marriage ceremony is performed by a marriage commissioner [...] (b) each of the parties shall, in the presence of the marriage commissioner and the witnesses, say to the other party: "I call upon these persons here present to witness that I,______________, do take thee, ______________ to be my lawful wedded husband (or wife or spouse)." [RSY 2002, c.146, s.13]

From July 2004 to July 2014, 44 same-sex couples married in Yukon.[7]

According to the 2016 census, about 1.9% of all Whitehorse women in couples were in same-sex relationships; the second highest in Canada after Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Men in same-sex couples accounted for 0.7% of all men in couples.[8]

• Martha McCarthy

• "Same-sex marriage in Yukon, Canada". Religious Tolerance.
• "Dunbar & Edge v. Yukon & Canada 2004 YKSC 54 - text of the ruling". canlii.org.