Thursday, December 5, 2002
Canadian human rights tribunal rules on domestic partner health premiums
A story released today by the Canadian Press reports that a Canadian human rights tribunal has ruled that the province of Alberta, Canada has discriminated against same-sex couples by forcing them to pay individual health-care premiums.
The province has been ordered to stop denying family coverage to gays and lesbians, said Marie Riddle, director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Details of the ruling were to be officially released Thursday, but gay rights activists were applauding the decision after being notified Wednesday.
The decision, effective immediately, came as Premier Ralph Klein's government passed legislation Wednesday extending marriage-like rights to gays and lesbians.
Health Minister Gary Mar said he supports the tribunal's decision and its ruling will not be appealed.
"We probably would have come to the same result," said Mar, adding that regulatory changes are coming to many provincial laws as the term "spouse" is removed under the new legislation.
The ruling did not come as a huge surprise. During a human rights tribunal in October, lawyers for Alberta Health did not challenge the arguments put forward by counsel for the same-sex couples.
