la mariage-Québec

www.justice.gouv.qc.ca

Canada

In Canada, the legal definition and regulation of common-law marriage fall under provincial jurisdiction. With the exception of Saskatchewan, a couple must meet the requirements of their province's Marriage Act for their common-law marriage to be legally recognized under civil jurisdiction. Saskatchewan does allow married persons to have sametime multiple spouses when one conjugal union is a civil marriage and the other conjugal union is a common law marriage (at the same time). Although Saskatchewan's Marriage Act does not stipulate whether a person must have no existing marriage to be eligible to marry, common law marriages may occur even while one or more civil marriages exist amongst the common law couple. In Saskatchewan ,at present, it is not known whether civilly married persons may also civilly marry other persons, however, it is quite probable that since married persons are entitled to create simultaneous common law partners, so would civilly married persons be entitled to have multiple civilly married partners.

According to the Canada Revenue Agency, as of 2007, a common-law relationship is true if at least one of the following applies:

a) the couple have been living in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months;

b) the couple are parents of a child by birth or adoption; or

c) one of the couple has custody and control of the other partner's child (or had custody and control immediately before the child turned 19 years of age) and the child is wholly dependent on that person for support.

For a full, up to date CRA description go here: Marital Status

In many cases common-law couples have the same rights as married couples under federal law. Various federal laws include "common-law status," which automatically takes effect once two people (of any gender) have lived together in a conjugal relationship for five full years. Common-law partners may be eligible for various federal government spousal benefits. As family law varies between provinces, there are differences between the provinces regarding the recognition of common-law marriage.

In 1999, after the court case M. v. H., the Supreme Court of Canada decided that same-sex partners would also be included in common-law relationships. In Saskatchewan, Queens Bench justices have sanctioned common law marriages as simultaneously existing in Family law whilst one or more of the spouses were also civilly married to others. There is no requirement for mutual consent to become the "legal spouse of a person who has an existing spouse" {S.51 Saskatchewan Family Property Act.}

Ontario

In Ontario, the Ontario Family Law Act specifically recognizes common-law spouses in sec. 29, dealing with spousal support issues; the requirements are living together for no less than three years[8] or having a child in common and having "cohabitated in a relationship of some permanence". The three years must be continuous, although a breakup of a few days during the period will not affect a person's status as common-law. No married person may become eligible to begin the three year "countdown" to have a recognized common law spouse until divorce from the first spouse occurs. However, the part that deals with marital property excludes common-law spouses, as sec. 2 defines spouses as those who are married together or who entered into a void or voidable marriage in good faith. "Good faith" in a voidable marriage cannot occur if one or more of the persons are already married to another. Thus, common-law partners do not always evenly divide property in a breakup, and the courts have to look to concepts such as the constructive or resulting trust to divide property in an equitable manner between partners. Another difference that distinguishes common-law spouses from married partners is that a common-law partner can be compelled to testify against his or her partner in a court of law.

Québec

The Civil Code of Québec has never recognized a common-law partnership as a form of marriage. However, many laws in Québec explicitly apply to common-law partners (called conjoints de fait) in "de facto unions" (marriages being "de jure unions"), as they do to marriage spouses.[9] Same-sex partners are also recognized as "conjoints de fait" in de facto unions, for the purpose of social benefit laws. However, common-law partners do not have any legal rights between them, such as alimony, family patrimony, compensatory allowance and matrimonial regime.

A 2002 amendment to the Civil Code recognizes a type of domestic partnership called a civil union that is similar to marriage and is likewise available to same-sex partners.
Further information: Civil unions in Quebec

No citizen of Quebec can be recognized under family law to be in both a civilly married state and a "conjoints de fait" within the same timeframe. Divorce from one conjugal relationship must occur before another conjugal relationship may occur in family law.

Same-sex partners can also marry legally in Quebec, as elsewhere in Canada.

Other provinces

The requirements in some other provinces are as follows:

In British Columbia a person who has lived and cohabited with another person, for a period of at least 2 years is considered a common law spouse, unless one or both of them were married to another person during this time, according to the "Estate Administration Act".

In Nova Scotia, a couple must cohabit for two years in a marriage-like relationship, and may not have been married to another person during this time.

In New Brunswick, a couple must live together for 3 years or have a natural or adopted child together. They cannot have been married to another person during this time.

In Alberta, common-law marriage has been subsumed since 2003 under the terms of the Adult Interdependent Relationship Act,[13] which may additionally apply to any two unrelated people living together in a mutually dependent relationship for three years. Only one interdependent relationship is allowed at a time. In the event either of the common law spouses are married to other persons during this time, neither of the common law couple can begin to be "interdependent" until divorce from other spouses occurs.

In Saskatchewan, common-law couples must cohabitate for 2 years and be seen as a couple and "cohabitate as spouses" to be eligible to be considered legal spouses. The definition of spouses is stipulated by the Family Property Act in Saskatchewan. Section 51 of the Saskatchewan Family Property Act has been cited as further justification for polygamous unions by Queens Bench judicial authorities in Saskatchewan Canada. There is no requirement to divorce a spouse prior to being able to take another legal spouse under the Saskatchewan Family Property Act. There is no requirement for consent amongst the subsequent spouses either. The Saskatchewan Family Property Act allows married persons to claim simultaneous spousal property rights with multiple spouses. The marital rights of the "subsequent spouse" are subject to the marital rights of the "first-in" spouse. Contrary to Canada's Federal law against polygamy {s.293 Criminal Code of Canada}, the Saskatchewan Family Property Act has been used by Saskatchewan Queens Bench judicial authorities to unilaterally sanction and create "subsequent" sametime common law spouses for persons who are still in an existing marriage. To date, no judicially authoritative persons in Saskatchewan have been charged under Canada's polygamy law, with "sanctioning and assisting with" the judicial creation of same time multiple conjugal unions.