Canada faces first lesbian divorce

A lesbian couple is seeking what one of their lawyers believe is Canada’s first same-sex divorce.

The women, identified only as MM and JH, were married a year ago – one week after the Ontario Court of Appeal legalised same-sex marriage.

The couple separated five days after the wedding, ending a five year relationship, JH’s lawyer Julie Hannaford said.

“This is the first same-sex divorce case in Canada to our knowledge,” MM’s lawyer, Martha McCarthy, said.

The petition will add a new facet to the contentious legal debate over same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court of Canada is holding hearings on the legality of same sex marriages in the autumn.

Courts in three provinces and the Yukon territory have ruled that the right for gays and lesbians to marry is guaranteed by constitution’s Charter of Rights, but the Divorce Act has not been amended to apply to same-sex couples.

But MM and JH want the same divorce rights as other couples.

They are asking the court to grant the divorce and declare the Divorce Act’s definition of spouse unconstitutional. The divorce law defines a spouse as “a man or woman who are married to each other.”