The public discussion should be broadened. This new category would be open to heterosexual and homosexual couples alike and, for public policy purposes, would be legally equivalent to marriage. This would meet the test of fairness, doing justice to the variety of situations in which two people live together in a long-term relationship of mutual dependence and care. This category would be open to heterosexual and homosexual couples alike. Committed relationships that seek entitlement to public-policy benefits need public declaration.
Heterosexual marriage requires public declaration of troth before witnesses.
These terms should not be broadened to include any other types of relationships. Public justice for all persons and communities should be practised within a framework of Canadian law and public policy that equitably protects all and discriminates against none. All Canadians are entitled to legal equality and fair public treatment, to equal protection and equal benefit of the law, without discrimination based on irrelevant criteria. It is only just that equal protection and equal benefit be extended to all Canadians. Equal justice for all requires respecting the nature of different human relationships.