Canadian Supreme Court grants pension benefits to surviving same-sex partners

[Doondoo]

OTTAWA–The Supreme Court of Canada says it was unconstitutional for the federal Canada Pension Plan to deny survivor benefits to gays and lesbians, ending one of the last big battles for equality for homosexuals.

But in one of its most deferential rulings to date, the country's top court yesterday did not order the federal government to pay benefits to gay and lesbian survivors retroactively to 1985 when the Charter of Rights guarantee of equality first came into force.

Instead, it bowed to Parliament's choice to limit payments back to July 2000 when the government first tried to update its discriminatory laws, giving politicians the benefit of legal uncertainty that existed over same-sex rights for years after the Charter took effect.

The ruling means the federal government will now pay out about $50 million to $75 million in back payments to about 1,000 gay and lesbian individuals whose spouses are deceased. From now on, those surviving spouses will continue to receive monthly cheques averaging about $500.


http://www.thestar.com/News/article/187482