News - International news

Two Royal Canadian Air Force SNCOs were married in May 05, the first gay marriage to be recognised by the Canadian military. The wedding ceremony was conducted at a RCAF airbase in Nova Scotia. The happy couple are a sergeant and a warrant officer and the marriage was presided over by a United Church minister.

At the time of writing same-sex marriages had been made legal in most of Canada's provinces and the government was preparing legislation to formalise gay weddings on a national basis. Not surprisinglly, conservative politicians and religious leaders are stiffly opposed to the proposal.

However, the Canadian Ministry of Defence introduced regulations in 2003 permitting lesbian and gay service personnel to marry. The regulations ensure same-sex couples are treated equally and offered the same rights as heterosexual married couples..