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COMMON-LAW RELATIONSHIPS - A DANGEROUS PLACE TO BE
According to the 2001 census, the number of
common-law unions in Canada has now increased to 14% of couples.
In fact, with each census (conducted every five years) we
have seen the number of common-law couples nearly triple since
1981, when common-law unions were only 5.6% of families.
This trend toward common-law relationships
is strongest in Quebec, where 30% of all couples there live
common-law. The number of common-law relationships in Quebec
is higher than many western European countries. In fact, the
number of Quebec common-law couples is comparable to Sweden,
a country often referred to as having one of the highest incidences
of non-marital unions. The proportion of common-law couples
in Quebec exceeds Norway (24.5%), Finland (19%) and France
(17.5%). It is also close to twice as high as in Mexico and
more than three times the percentage of common-law couples
in the United States.
One wonders why it is that many couples in
Canada are now choosing to live common-law instead of marrying.
This is a concern, since a common-law relationship is not
a safe place to be financially, emotionally or physically.
Although federal legislation such as the Canada
Pension Plan (CPP) accommodates common law partnerships, most
provinces do not. However, each province has different legislation
defining what constitutes a common law relationship and what
rights the parties have when the relationship breaks down
and the couple separate. Common-law partners at separation
do not have the same financial rights as legally married spouses.
Instead their rights are usually limited to the actual financial
contribution they made to the partnership. That is, there
is no provision, for example, for on-going support for the
ex-partner, but there is a legal requirement to support any
children born of that union. Nor are there any rights to the
family dwelling place or equal distribution of family assets
as there would be for the couple legally married. In short,
since there is no legal commitment to each other in a common
law relationship there is no on-going legal responsibility
for each other after separation, no matter how long that couple
may have been together.
A sad result of these common-law relationships
is the effect they have on the children born of such unions.
About 732,915 children, or 13% of children
aged 0 to 14, live with common-law parents, according to the
2001 census. This is more than four times the proportion in
1981 (3.1%). This suggests a change in the historical view
that marriage is a prerequisite for raising children - a change
which is not in a child's best interest.
As usual, in regard to Quebec, far more children
are living with common-law parents, (29%) than in the rest
of Canada (8.2%). In 1997, 44% of births in Quebec were to
common-law mothers, more than double the proportion in 1990.
According to a 2003 Statistics Canada study,
unfortunately, 63% of common-law relationships break up within
10 years, compared to only 14% of legally married couples.
This is definitely not good news for children born into these
relationships. Research has also found that children who experience
the separation or divorce of their parents while growing up
are more likely to become separated themselves later in their
adult lives.
This all indicates that it is no longer plausible to argue
that all relationship types are equal. Further, it is beyond
dispute that children thrive best in a family environment
where they can learn gender identity and sex-role expectations
from their married parents. Such children also do far better
academically, financially, emotionally, psychologically and
behaviourally. This is based on the Statistics Canada National
Longitudinal Study of 23,000 children which released its findings
in 1996 and 1998.
There is further bad news about common-law
relationships. According to a 1993 Statistics Canada Survey
on Violence Against Women, 9% of women living common-law experienced
assaults in the preceding 12 month period, whereas only 2%
of legally married women experienced assault during the same
period of time. That is, women living in a common-law relationship
are four times more likely to experience violence from their
partners than legally married women.
In June, 2003 the U.S. Population and Development
Review Magazine completed a review of literature on the subject
of marriage by Lidia Waite and Evelyn Leheher The magazine
is published by the New York based Population Council, not
normally noted for its support of traditional moral values.
According to this study, legal marriage has far reaching positive
effects over other relationships, since getting married, and
staying married to the same person is associated with better
mental health and overall greater happiness.
Further, according to a 2004 study in Quebec,
"Disparities in Pregnancy Outcomes According to Marital
and Cohabitation Status", published in Obstetrics and
Gynecology, a collaboration of Statistics Canada, McGill University,
and the Fetal and Infant Health Study Group of the Canadian
Perinatal Surveillance System, it was found that mothers living
in common-law unions were more likely to have adverse pregnancy
outcomes than those in traditional marriage relationships.
Some of the differences in adverse pregnancy
outcomes may be related to maternal smoking, which is more
common among women in common-law unions compared with those
who are legally married. However, mothers in common-law unions
also apparently experience greater stress during pregnancy
owing to less stable relationships than those in traditional
marriage.
It is true that lone mothers had even worse
pregnancy outcomes than mothers living in common-law unions.
However, the risks among common-law mothers are of greater
public concern because of the high and increasing proportion
of births to such mothers.
Adverse pregnancy outcomes include pre-term birth, low birth
weight, small for gestational age, stillbirth, and neonatal
and post-neonatal mortality.
Even if a couple living common-law eventually
marry, there is still bad news. According to a study published
in the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, published
in April 1999, by Professor Sheng Wu, cohabitation before
marriage greatly increases the odds that couples will eventually
divorce.
According to this 2003 study, women who have
lived with a man out of wedlock are 80% more likely to eventually
divorce or separate than are women who have never had a live-in
relationship. Men who have been in a common-law union are
150% more likely to experience marital breakdown.
Even more disturbing is the high rate of divorce
and separation among survivors of common-law relationships,
even if these common-law relationships end and they both marry
others. That is, the risk of divorce is highest when both
husband and wife have previously lived in a common-law relationship.
This study certainly weakens the often-heard
argument that if couples live together before marriage, they'll
know each other better and will have a better marriage. This
is not the case.
The intriguing question then, is, why does
living common-law decrease the chances of having a long time
committed marriage? Dr. Wu suggests that census data and national
surveys indicate this may be due to the fact that these couples
begin with qualms about marriage. These factors include the
fact that individuals in common-law relationships are more
likely to be non-religious, the partners are from working
class backgrounds, are less educated and more likely to have
had an unhappy childhood. Further, says Professor Wu, common-law
couples are generally liberal and unconventional and are not
inclined to stay together for the sake of children. Another
possible explanation, according to Dr. Wu, is that being together
out of wedlock fosters a more casual attitude towards marriage
and actively decreases commitment.
Any way you look at it, it seems that living
together without marriage is to live dangerously, physically,
emotionally and financially.
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