A woman who sought to be legally recognized as the mother of a child borne by a surrogate mother was thwarted by a Quebec Court judge who held that, unlike in the rest of Canada, surrogacy agreements are illegal in Quebec.
“This child does not have a right to maternal filiation at any cost,” said Judge Michel Dubois in his 11-page ruling.
In a ruling hailed as a victory for federalism, the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down dozens of provisions of the federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act it deemed to be unconstitutional because it encroached on provincial jurisdictions.
“If we want to demonstrate that federalism is capable of working, then it must be capable of respecting the jurisdiction of provinces – this was a wise ruling,” remarked Jocelyne Provost, the Quebec Crown prosecutor who successfully argued the case before the appellate court.