OTTAWA, January 31, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When Canada's Liberal government passed its legislation equating homosexual partnerings with natural marriage, homosexual activists were encouraged to "marry" in Canada and return to their home countries to launch court cases to have the union recognized legally.

Until recently, however, Canada's immigration law would not allow the reverse of the process; the Canadian half of homosexual couples "married" abroad to bring their partner into the country as a "spouse," under the rules for families.

The government argued that a provision recognizing homosexual "marriages" could be used by non-homosexuals for illicit entry. Canada's relaxed rules about immigration have been a thorn in the side of US efforts against domestic security threats, including terrorism.

But Bill Siksay, a homosexual MP of the socialist New Democratic Party had been campaigning to have the restriction removed, reasoning that if Canada recognized homosexual partnerings as marriage, it should apply in reverse. The Tory government agreed to review the policy.

Last week the government announced that the restriction was lifted, saying, "The failure of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to treat legal gay and lesbian marriages performed in jurisdictions outside Canada was clearly discriminatory."

 "CIC has moved to annul the interim policy on same-sex marriage," wrote. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley "As a result, same-sex marriages legally performed in Canada and in foreign jurisdictions are now recognized for all immigration purposes."

In May 2004, the federal department of immigration announced that it would recognize same-sex liaisons of Canadians who "marry" a foreign partner in Canada. Previously Canadian-born homosexuals with foreign same-sex "marriages" had to be in a relationship for a year before becoming eligible to sponsor him citizenship, a requirement essentially matching that of common-law status.

In 2001, the Netherlands, as the world's leader in leftist social and legal readjustment, became the first country in the world to decree that homosexual liaisons could be called "marriage." Since then Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Spain, and the U.S. state of Massachusetts have followed suit.

At latest count, legally recognized same-sex civil unions, "domestic partnerships" or "registered partnerships" are available in varying degrees of equivalence to natural marriage in Andorra, Croatia, Czech Republic, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. They are also available in parts of Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, the U.S. states of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, and Vermont, and the U.S. District of Columbia.