25 March 1993 Income Tax Severed Letter 9304185 - Meaning of "Spouse" for Purposes of the Act

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department. Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.

                                           5-930418
XXXXXXXXXX                                 Adèle St-Amour
                                           (613) 957-8953

Attention: XXXXXXXXXX March 25, 1993

Dear Sirs:

Re: Meaning of "spouse"

This is in reply to your letter of February 4, 1993, in which you ask the opinion of the Department on whether the term "spouse" in the current subsection 146(1.1) of the Income Tax Act (the "Act") and the proposed subsection 252(4) of the Act would include a person of the same sex who otherwise met the specific requirements of those two provisions.

We are aware of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision regarding homosexual rights. However, for purposes of the Act, the Department has taken the position that the term "spouse" includes only persons of the opposite sex who are legally married to each other according to the laws of Canada. The meaning of the term is given a limited extended meaning in subsection 252(3) of the Act with respect to certain provisions to include "a party to a voidable or void marriage..." and is specifically defined in subsection 146(1.1) of the Act for certain registered retirement savings plan provisions and for registered pension plans in subsection 147.1(1) of the Act to include common law relationships.

We note that because of perceived inequities in the Act relating to common law relationships, the Minister of Finance, in a Notice of Ways and Means Motion dated June 19, 1992, proposes to introduce new subsection 252(4) of the Act to extend the definition of the term "spouse" for purposes of the Act. Proposed new subsection 252(4), which applies after 1992, provides that the term "spouse" of a taxpayer includes a person of the opposite sex who is cohabiting with the taxpayer in a conjugal relationship and has so cohabited with the taxpayer throughout a preceding twelve-month period or is a parent of a child of whom the taxpayer is also a parent. In view of the foregoing, the intention of Parliament in confining the definition of the term "spouse", for income tax purposes, to opposite-sex couples seems clear.

We trust that the above is satisfactory.

Yours truly,

for Director Financial Industries Division Rulings Directorate