Law Overhaul to Give Gays Legal Parity

The Canadian government announced an overhaul of 68 federal statutes to erase most legal differences between heterosexual and homosexual couples. The sweeping changes--affecting everything from citizenship to spousal tax credits and spousal benefits in government pensions--would extend benefits and obligations to homosexual couples on the same basis as common-law heterosexual couples. The overhaul would also extend common-law benefits and obligations even further for heterosexuals--for example, the provision preventing transfer of money to a spouse shortly before bankruptcy, which now applies only to married couples, would apply to common-law couples as well.