Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackRedGold25
I wasn't aware that cousin marrying was allowed in Canada. Interesting that you knew that though. 
But replace cousins with siblings then. How many people here are against sibling marriage and why? |
The obvious answer is that no one is proposing or asking that siblings be permitted to marry. That said, however unlikely, I suppose that it is possible that one day some brave person will challenge the legislated prohibition on sibling marriage. When that day comes, I imagine that the courts will have little trouble dismissing it.
In order for a distinction (or differential treatment) to be discriminatory, it must be made on the basis of one of a number of "enumerated or analagous grounds" or personal characteristics. There are nine grounds enumerated in the text of Section 15 of the Charter: race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. A personal characteristic can also be analagous if it is immutable or cannot be changed or can only be changed at excessive cost (for example, sexual orientation.)
In the case of not being permitted to marry one's sibling, that distinction is not based on either an enumerated or analagous personal characteristic, and therefore cannot constitute discrimination.
Of course, this is a (very cursory) examiniation of the question through a legal framework, rather than a purely moral one. However, I think that the two (moral framework and this legal framework) are very closely related.