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An Ontario court has approved Canada’s first same-sex divorce after a judge ruled that the definition of spouses in the Divorce Act is unconstitutional.
The lesbians–identified in court documents only as J.H. and M.M.–had been together for almost 10 years when they married in June 2003, shortly after the Ontario Court of Appeal legalized same-sex marriages. They separated five days later.
Superior Court Justice Ruth Mesbur on Monday struck down the section of the Divorce Act that said only spouses–defined as a man and woman–can divorce.
“The definition of a spouse is unconstitutional, inoperative and of no force and effect,” Mesbur said.
