Gay man and straight woman who had baby together can form conjugal relationship, court rules
Immigration officials had blocked the family being together.
A gay man and straight woman can form a legally-recognised conjugal relationship, a Canadian court has ruled.
The decision concerns a gay refugee to Canada and his straight female friend who he met at university in his home country.
The pair went on to have a baby together – but when the man tried to sponsor the woman and their child to join him in Canada, they were blocked by Canadian immigration officials.
The Times reports officials expressed doubt that “a homosexual man and a heterosexual woman are able to meet the sexual component of conjugal partnership.” (The man’s refugee status was based on his sexuality).
However, a judge for Canada’s Federal Court last month ruled immigration officials had treated evidence “unreasonably and unfairly” based on “closed mind or bias”, according to the publication.
In court proceedings, the man was referred to as AP and the woman as AM.
“The fact of their different sexual orientations does not foreclose the possibility of AP and AM establishing that they are in a committed relationship of some permanence,” the judge reportedly wrote.
The couple’s lawyer Athena Portokalidis told CTVNews.ca: “I think this will hopefully open the door to other couples in similar situations.”
According to the Canadian TV station, court documents said their was “a shift in their relationship” after they had unprotected sex after “a night on the town”.
After AP came out to AM, they became a “family unit”.