The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that so-called common-law couples in Quebec who split up are not entitled to the same rights as married couples when it comes to spousal support.
By a slim margin, the top court decision released Friday says the province's civil code is constitutional in its treatment of non-married couples who separate in cases involving alimony and the division of assets.
The decision means Quebec remains the only province that does not recognize common-law unions as de facto marriages.
The ruling has broad implications in a province where the 31.5 per cent of couples report being in de facto marriage relationships, versus an average of 12.1 per cent in the rest of Canada.
The so-called Lola vs. Eric case had been making its way through the court system for years. It involved a Quebec couple who never married, but lived together for seven years and shares three children.
A court order prevents the publication of the parties' real names.
$50M lump sum sought by woman
After separating, Lola sought spousal support, but Quebec's Civil Code provides no such provision for couples who are not legally married.
Lola had been seeking a $50-million lump-sum payment as well as $56,000 a month from her former spouse — a well-known Quebec business tycoon known in the case as Eric. Lola was 17 when she met the then 32-year-old entrepreneur.
The woman took her case to the Quebec Superior Court in 2009, when a judge rejected her claims, saying that under existing law, partners in a common-law relationship have no rights, duties and responsibilities to each other — no matter how many years they've lived together.
In November 2010, a Quebec Court of Appeal decision invalidated that section of the civil code, saying the law discriminates against unmarried couples, and the province was given one year to change the law.
The Quebec government described that ruling as a mistake, and appealed to the Supreme Court.
Nearly 1.4 million Quebecers are in common-law relationships, according to the 2011 census, and about 60 per cent of children are born to unmarried couples.
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