The Supreme Court considered whether provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec limiting family patrimony, compensatory allowance, partnership of acquests, and spousal support to married and civil union spouses infringed s. 15(1) of the Charter by excluding de facto spouses.
A 5-4 majority on s. 15(1) found the exclusion violated equality rights based on marital status.
However, the Chief Justice found the infringement justified under s. 1, joining the four judges who found no s. 15(1) violation, resulting in a 5-4 decision upholding the constitutionality of the impugned provisions.
The dissent would have struck down some or all of the provisions as unjustified discrimination against de facto spouses.
