Increasingly, governments are being forced by public pressure and the courts to better define what constitutes a spouse, a household, or a family. Canadians need to start thinking about what kinds of adult relationships we want to recognize and how to recognize them.
Canadian law supports and protects close personal relationships between adults in many ways.
It also frequently uses those relationships, such as marriage, as a way of organizing other policies and delivering social programs. Yet Parliament has never undertaken a comprehensive examination of adult relationships or their place in society. Instead, political leaders have moved to change legislation and policies little by little to keep up with court decisions and changing social norms. This debate not only affects our conception of the role of the state, but also our fundamental beliefs about how adults organize their relationships with each other. The Law Commission is inviting Canadians to share their views on how governments can or should recognize and support adult relationships.