A strong majority of Quebecers are in favor of common-law spouses benefiting from the same protections as married couples in the event of separation, by allowing a right of withdrawal, indicates a study conducted by researchers from the National Research Institute scientist (INRS) and the University of Sherbrooke.
More than 2,500 people from across Quebec responded to a survey in 2022 on this subject, which is part of a larger study. The survey’s analyzes were published in the report A legal framework for common-law unions in Quebec? What the population thinks.
Hélène Belleau, INRS professor and holder of the Money, Inequalities and Society Chair at the Chamber of Financial Security, explains that several scenarios were proposed to survey respondents. And the vast majority responded in the affirmative to the question: “Would you be in favor of giving common-law spouses the same protections as married couples in the event of separation, but allowing a right of withdrawal to couples who refuse such protection? “.
“What emerges is really a fairly general consensus in Quebec of people who are in favor of equal treatment between de facto spouses and married spouses,” including couples with children, and those who do not. have none after a certain number of years of living together, indicates Mme Belleau.
Regarding the statement, “we find 72% of people who are in favor. When we just look at common-law couples, it’s 76%. Women are 75%, while men are 68%,” explains the professor.
This observation does not surprise M.me Belleau, because Quebecers are very much in favor of equality between men and women, she indicated.
“Most people realize that the arrival of children, married life, can lead to an imbalance between spouses,” she says.
In light of previous studies, she explains that “the reason common-law couples don’t get married is often because they consider it too expensive to get married, and to have a wedding administratively it risks being an affront to the family, or to the friends who invited these couples to their own wedding.”
Some couples may also not want to marry for religious reasons, or because they associate marriage with traditional roles, she added.
However, “in Quebec, there are half of common-law couples who believe that it is the same thing to be married or in a common-law union,” explains M.me Belleau. This confusion is partly explained by taxation and social laws in the province, while couples must notably declare themselves as de facto spouses on their income tax return after a certain number of years of living together, underlines the professor. .
According to data from the 2021 Census, 42% of people who lived as a couple in Quebec were in a common-law union, while this number rose to 8% in 1981, we can read on the website of the Institute of Quebec statistics.
What about Bill 56?
The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, tabled Bill 56 on Wednesday, which modifies the Civil Code. Quebec is therefore proposing to create a new “parental union” regime and to regulate the rights and obligations of de facto spouses with children.
Carmen Lavallée, full professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sherbrooke, who also participated in the study on common-law unions, indicates that when the bill was tabled, the minister clearly indicated that he was not intended to provide a legislative framework similar to that for married couples to de facto spouses.
Rather, the bill aims to protect children born from a common-law union. However, the bill does not protect all children from the outset.
“The bill extends the protection of the family residence to children born from a de facto union, however, this protection will only be applicable to children who will be born after the entry into force of the law, therefore at the end of June 2025,” explains Mme The valley.
“The bill ultimately maintains three categories of children. Children born in marriage who still remain better protected, children born in de facto unions who were already born at the time the law came into force, who remain without any legal protection, and children arise after the entry into force of the law,” she adds. It indicates that for children born in a common-law union to benefit from this protection, the non-owning spouse must make a declaration of family residence.
Mme Belleau also specifies that few common-law spouses will be affected by this measure, while in 2022, 80% of common-law spouses with minor children in Quebec have bought their house together.
“This idea of putting an end to the discrimination that children experience should, in my opinion, have led the legislator to apply it immediately to all children born in a de facto union as soon as the law comes into force” , argues Mme The valley.
Bill 56 includes other provisions, such as the possibility of claiming a compensatory benefit and the sharing of certain property.
“Yes, the law provides for a certain number of things, but when we look at each of the elements that the law provides, we realize that these provisions are not so advantageous in the sense of reducing the economic consequences of the termination of the contract. “de facto union”, on children as well as on de facto spouses, summarizes Mme The valley.