Same-Sex Spousal Benefits and the Evolving Conception of Family

PETER RUSK

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the discrimination faced by same-sex couples claiming spousal benefits and is divided into three parts: Part I, which surveys the extent and origin of this discrimination; Part II, which analyses the protection afforded by the Charter; and Part III, which discusses tactical considerations relevant to those seeking to redress this inequity. The author illustrates how this denial of entitlement emanates as much from discriminatory judicial reasoning as it does from discriminatory legislation. It is also shown how this discrimination is reflective of the entrenchment of male-heterosexual privilege in our society and the idealization of the conventional family form. Although arguments which focus on "dismantling" the "family" are acknowledged as being integral in effecting long-term change, it is argued that "sameness" or "inclusion" arguments are necessary to effect an initial shift in the status quo conception of family.

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Citation: (1994) 52(1) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 170.
Copyright © 1994. University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review.
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