ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
COURT FILE NO.: 21-2283
DATE: 2022/04/21
BETWEEN:
Moustafa Khodor Hijazi Applicant
– and –
Sabine Mohamad Chokr Co-Applicant
Self-Represented
Self-Represented
HEARD: In Writing
JOINT APPLICATION FOR VALIDATION OF MARRIAGE
SOMJI J.
[1] The parties seek to validate their marriage of May 2, 2019. On that date, the parties engaged in a religious marriage held at the respondent’s home and witnessed by her parents and close family. The parties were married by an officiant qualified to marry them and have filed a copy of their religious marriage contract.
[2] The parties were not aware at the time that they had to obtain a valid marriage licence prior to the religious wedding. Following their marriage, they attended Ottawa City Hall to register the marriage in the province of Ontario but were instructed to have the court validate their marriage.
[3] Section 31 of Marriages Act, RSO 1990, c.M.3 authorizes a court to validate a marriage entered into in good faith. Section 31 of the Marriages Act states:
Marriages solemnized in good faith
If the parties to a marriage solemnized in good faith and intended to be in compliance with this Act are not under a legal disqualification to contract such marriage and after such solemnization have lived together and cohabited as a married couple, such marriage shall be deemed a valid marriage, although the person who solemnized the marriage was not authorized to solemnize marriage, and despite the absence of or any irregularity or insufficiency in the publication of banns or the issue of the licence.
[4] The test for validating a marriage under section 31 was recently addressed by this Court in Lalonde v. Agha, 2020 ONSC 3486, and affirmed by the Ontario Court of Appeal, 2021 ONCA 651. Paragraph 52 of the Court of Appeal decision states:
Section 31 of the Marriage Act has four elements: 1) the marriage must have been solemnized in good faith; 2) the marriage must have been intended to be in compliance with the Marriage Act; 3) neither party was under a legal disqualification to contract marriage; and 4) the parties must have lived together and cohabitated as a married couple after solemnization: Isse, at para.
- Every marriage which satisfies all four elements of s. 31 is deemed to be a valid marriage.
[5] In this case, the parties were requested to file supplementary affidavits and also appeared before me on April 20, 2022, to testify about the circumstances surrounding their marriage: Endorsements of Justice N. Somji January 19 and March 22, 2022.
[6] Based on the affidavits filed and the testimony of the parties given under oath before me, I am satisfied the parties meet the test for validation of marriage.
[7] The parties explained, and I accept their evidence, that they love each other and intended to enter the marriage in good faith. At the time of the marriage, the respondent’s mother was gravely ill. The respondent’s mother had requested them to marry, and the parties also wished to marry while the respondent’s mother was still alive and able to witness the ceremony. The applicant’s parents were in Lebanon at the time and could not be present.
[8] Following the marriage of May 2, 2019, the parties did not immediately cohabit together. While they considered themselves a married couple, they wanted to wait and have a second ceremony in the presence of the applicant’s parents as well as extended family and friends. However, that second ceremony never occurred. There were delays caused in part by the respondent mother’s deteriorating health. I note also that the global pandemic was upon us by March 2020.
[9] Following the death of the respondent’s mother in February 2020, the applicant moved in with the respondent and her father and sibling. By January 2021, the couple had saved enough funds to move into their own residence where they continue to live and cohabit as a couple.
[10] The parties attended Ottawa City Hall on multiple occasions to register the marriage. They were told that because they did not obtain a marriage licence prior to the religious marriage, they could not have their marriage registered in Ontario. They requested whether they could obtain a marriage licence and be remarried in a civil ceremony but were refused. They were told instead to request a validation of the marriage by the court. The parties both confirmed they were unaware of the need to obtain a marriage licence prior to their marriage ceremony. Based on their testimony and subsequent efforts to resolve the matter, I find their explanation to be sincere, and it was their intention to be in compliance with the Marriage Act.
[11] The parties indicated in their affidavits and in their testimony before me that it was their intention to enter the marriage in good faith. The parties filed a religious marriage certificate issued by an officiant of the mosque stipulating the parties’ intention to enter into a marriage contract as husband and wife. The parties confirm that since the date of the religious marriage ceremony, they have lived and co-habited as a married couple, albeit there was some delay before they were able to do so. There is also no evidence to suggest that either party was disqualified from entering into a legally binding marriage.
[12] I find the parties have satisfied all four elements of s. 31 of the Marriages Act. The parties’ marriage of May 2, 2019 is deemed a valid marriage.
Justice N. Somji
Released: April 21, 2022
Released: April 21, 2022
COURT FILE NO.: 21-2283
DATE: 2022/04/21
ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN:
Moustafa Khodor Hijazi Applicant
– and –
Sabine Mohamad Chokr Co-Applicant
JOINT APPLICATION FOR VALDIATION OF MARRIAGE
Somji J.