The province’s Supreme Court has ruled that marriage commissioners can’t refuse to marry same-sex couples based on their own religious beliefs.

Last week’s decision involves a woman who was appointed by the province to perform civil marriages before same-sex marriage became legal here in 2004. The government then sent letters to all marriage commissioners stating they must either marry same-sex couples or resign their appointment.

The woman did resign but later filed a human rights complaint claiming discrimination based on her religious belief that prevented her from marrying gay couples.

In the end, the court ruled she wasn’t being forced to perform such marriages, noting she had a choice to marry any couples who wished to avail of her services. But the court said she could not discriminate based on her own beliefs as long as she was a civil marriage commissioner appointed by the province.

Said the judge: “What a marriage commissioner is not allowed to do is refuse to marry a qualified couple because they are a same-sex couple, just as a landlord is not allowed to refuse to rent to tenants based on their race.”