Nova Scotia was the sixth jurisdiction in Canada and the ninth in the world, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Massachusetts, Yukon and Manitoba, to legalise same-sex marriage.
Domestic partnerships grant cohabiting couples many of the rights and obligations of marriage, including pension benefits, inheritance, and the ability to divide property or other assets at separation or death.
"[5][6] Following the court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in Yukon in July 2004, Sean Foreman, the chairperson of a local LGBT group, said "We are now considering a change in strategy, to proceed with a similar application in Nova Scotia in the near future, rather than wait for the Reference."
Foreman also asked the federal and provincial attorneys general, Irwin Cotler and Michael Baker, to "immediately begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples", but this was not successful.
On August 13, 2004, three same-sex couples brought the suit Boutilier et al. v. Canada (A.G) and Nova Scotia (A.G) against the provincial and federal governments requesting that they be issued marriage licences.
[7][8] The partners who brought the suit were Brian Mombourquette and Ross Boutelier, Kim Vance and Samantha Meehan (who had married in Toronto in 2003 and sought recognition of their marriage at home in Nova Scotia), and Ron and Bryan Garnett-Doucette.
In September of the same year, Bishop Ron Cutler of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island issued a pastoral letter allowing local parishes to perform same-sex marriages.