Egan v Canada
| Egan v Canada | |
|---|---|
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| Hearing: Argued November 1, 1994 Judgment: Decided May 25, 1995 |
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| Full case name | James Egan and John Norris Nesbit v. Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada |
| Citations | [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513, 124 D.L.R. (4th) 609, 12 R.F.L. (4th) 201, 29 C.R.R. (2d) 79, 96 F.T.R. 80 |
| Docket No. | 23636 |
| Prior history | Appeal dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal. |
| Ruling | Appeal dismissed |
| Holding | |
| The definition of "spouse" in s. 2 of the Old Age Security Act, which excludes same-sex couples, is constitutional. Sexual orientation is a prohibited ground of discrimination under s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. | |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Antonio Lamer Puisne Justices: Gérard La Forest, Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, John Sopinka, Charles Gonthier, Peter Cory, Beverley McLachlin, Frank Iacobucci, John C. Major |
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| Reasons given | |
| Majority | La Forest J., joined by Lamer C.J. and Gonthier and Major JJ. |
| Concurrence | Sopinka J. |
| Dissent | Cory and Iacobucci JJ. |
| Dissent | L'Heureux-Dubé J. |
| Dissent | McLachlin J. |
| Laws Applied | |
| Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 15, s.1; Old Age Security Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. O-9 , ss. 2, 19(1). | |
Egan v Canada, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513 was one of a trilogy of equality rights cases published by a very divided Supreme Court of Canada in the spring of 1995. It stands today as a landmark Supreme Court case which established that sexual orientation constitutes a prohibited basis of discrimination under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
James Egan and John Norris Nesbit, the plaintiffs, were a gay couple who had been in a conjugal relationship since 1948. Upon reaching age 65 in 1986, Egan became eligible to receive Old Age Security and a guaranteed income supplement from the government under the Old Age Security Act.
The Old Age Security Act provides that a spouse of the pensioner may receive a spousal allowance should their combined income fall below a certain amount. When Nesbit reached 65, he applied to the Department of National Health and Welfare for a spousal allowance. However, he was refused on the basis that spouse, defined in section 2 of Old Age Security Act, did not include a member of the same sex.
Joseph J. Arvay, Q.C., represented the plaintiffs Egan and Nesbit, who delivered a motion for a declaration of unconstitutionality to the Federal Court of Canada (Trial Division). They alleged that the definition of "spouse" under the Old Age Security Act constituted an infringement of their right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law, entrenched in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and that such an infringement was discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation. Furthermore, they alleged that the section 15 violation could not be saved under Section 1. Nesbit and Egan petitioned the Court to remedy the alleged Charter violation by reading the definition of spouse so as to include same-sex couples.
The Trial Judge held that although the definition of spouse, as defined in section 2 of the Old Age Security Act, created a distinction it was merely a distinction between spouses and "non-spouses" (e.g. siblings), the latter being a group which Parliament had allegedly not intended to confer similar benefits upon. The Trial Judge asserted that the distinction between spouses and "non-spouses" had nothing to do with sexual orientation and, therefore, could not constitute discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The application was dismissed. This decision was appealed by the plaintiff to the Federal Court of Appeal.
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