2nd Session, 36th Parliament,
48-49 Elizabeth II, 1999-2000

The House of Commons of Canada

BILL C-463

An Act to amend the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act and the Interpretation Act

      Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act

1990, c. 46

1. The long title of the Marriage (Prohibited Degrees) Act is replaced by the following:

An Act respecting and protecting marriage

2. Section 1 of the Act is replaced by the following:

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Marriage Act, 1990.

3. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 1:

Void marriage

1.1. A marriage is void unless it is a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife and neither the man nor the woman was married immediately prior to that union.

RELATED AMENDMENTS

R.S., c. I-21

Interpretation Act

4. (1) Subsection 35(1) of the Interpretation Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

``marriage''
« mariage »

``marriage'' means a legal union of one man and one woman as husband and wife that is not void under the Marriage Act, 1990;

``spouse''
« époux »

``spouse'' means either of a man or a woman who are married to each other;

(2) The Act is amended by adding the following after subsection 35(1):

Construction of ``divorce''

(1.1) Wherever the term ``divorce'' is used in an enactment, the term refers to a dissolution of a marriage.

Construction of ``form of marriage''

(1.2) Wherever the term ``form of marriage'' is used in an enactment, the term refers to a form of marriage between a man and a woman.