Halpern v Canada (AG), [2003] O.J. No. 2268 is a notable June 10, 2003 decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario where the Court found that the common law definition of marriage, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, violated section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The roots of the case began in December 2000 at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, when pastor Brent Hawkes began issuing banns of marriage in advance of performing wedding ceremonies for two same-sex couples — Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell, and Anne and Elaine Vautour — on January 14, 2001. Because banns of marriage are accepted as a fully legal way to perform a marriage without the need for a city-issued marriage license, but marriages performed under either process require certification by the provincial registrar, the banns created a legal vacuum that would force a court case.
Over the course of the year several other same-sex couples, among them Hedy Halpern and Colleen Rogers, and Michael Leshner and Michael Stark, joined the court challenge, which began hearings at the Ontario Superior Court in November 2001.
On July 12, 2002, the Superior Court ruled that marriage rights must be extended to same-sex couples, but it suspended the ruling for a period of two years to permit the Legislative Assembly of Ontario time to comply with the ruling through the legislative process. However, as the Constitution of Canada provides that the definition of marriage is under federal jurisdiction while only the implementation is left to the provinces, the decision left the situation unclear until the government of Jean Chrétien announced on July 29 that they would appeal.