Employment Benefits for Same Sex Couples: The Expanding Entitlement

Canada has recently seen a growing amount of litigation raising the issue of whether same sex couples are entitled by right to employment benefits already made available to opposite sex couples. This litigation raises the important issue of whether our legal system should be affirming homosexuality by acknowledging that longstanding same sex relationships should be treated in the same way as more traditional families. Canadian human rights legislation has not provided a clear answer to this question and by default our legislators have left this matter to be resolved by the courts. It will take some time before this process of litigation is completed, but a clear pattern has emerged that suggests that the courts are likely to affirm the right of same sex couples to employment benefits.