A same-sex couple challenged the definition of 'spouse' in the Old Age Security Act after the younger partner was denied a spousal allowance available to opposite-sex common law spouses.
The appeal raised whether exclusion of same-sex couples from the statutory definition violated s. 15(1) of the Charter and, if so, whether it could be justified under s. 1.
A majority dismissed the appeal, with four judges concluding there was no discrimination and one judge concluding there was a s. 15 breach but that it was justified as part of an incremental extension of social benefits.
The decision recognized sexual orientation as an analogous ground under s. 15 and became a foundational equality-rights case in Canadian constitutional law.
