Post by Rick (Admin) on Jun 29, 2013 21:29:51 GMT -5
North Bay man performing marriages for more than two decades without the proper licensing
A North Bay man is one of four individuals who have been performing marriages for more than two decades without the proper licensing.
Daniel Bagley performed an undisclosed number of marriage ceremonies o from October 1990 to March 2013.
The number of marriages Bagley performed wasn't released by Service Ontario, the agency conducting the investigation, however 818 marriages are affected.
Service Ontario representatives are now in the process of notifying couples of the irregularities in their marriage registration and will correct them at no cost to the affected couples.
Calls and e-mails to Bagley were not returned. The other three people being investigated have not been named.
Jason Wesley, spokesman for Service Ontario, said the sole fact the people who performed the marriages were not authorized to do so does not invalidate the marriages.
He said from the information received, Bagley had performed religious ceremonies and wasn't authorized to do so.
“In order to become registered as authorized to perform religious marriage ceremonies in Ontario, a person must apply to Service Ontario and meet all of the requirements under the Marriage Act,” he said.
“These requirements include being part of a recognized religious organization, providing proof of ordination/appointment and providing a letter from the organization’s governing body permitting the applicant to perform religious marriages.”
Welsey said individuals performing civil marriages are not registered by the province. Judges and justices of the peace may perform civil marriages. Municipal clerks also have the option to provide civil marriage services and may delegate this authority.
Service Ontario is investigating these matters and refused to discuss the specifics because of the ongoing investigations.
The problems were detected through Service Ontario's quality assurance processes.
Marriage registrations were checked against the people who are allowed to perform the ceremonies.
Wesley said Service Ontario will determine as a result of its investigations whether a matter will be referred to police for further investigation.
“Police haven't been notified at this time.”
Among the many North Bay couples affected are Pamela and Serge Ruel who were married on August 8, 2008.
The Ruels are celebrating their fifth anniversary in August.
At least, they thought they were.
“We're taking a light-hearted approach to this,” Pamela said. “Actually, we think this is hilarious.”
“A bunch of my friends who were also married by this man are hosting a bachelorette party Friday night.”
Ruel said this incident doesn't change anything in her mind or heart.
Gail Burton feels the same way.
“It doesn't bother me at all, but my husband teases me that now I have a chance to escape,” she said, adding they will celebrate their fourth anniversary this year.
Burton said she received a call from Service Ontario Wednesday afternoon.
“I laughed when I first found out, but I am glad my mother isn't alive (to hear this).”
Burton said she was told she is still legally married, however she has to fill out some paperwork.
“I guess anyone who is no longer together were never married.”
According to Service Ontario, additional safeguards were put in place to prevent this from happening again. Some of the measures are cross-referencing the registration number of the person who performed the marriage on each new marriage registration.
The agency is also providing outreach to stakeholders and organizations that deal with marriage licences, such as municipal clerks' offices.
Couples planning to get married will also be provided with information about the importance of checking to ensure the person marrying them is an authorized official and exploring possible amendments to the Marriage Act to strengthen protection for consumers.
People are encouraged to visit ServiceOntario.ca/GettingMarried for information on requirements for getting married in Ontario and a list of people registered to legally perform religious marriages in Ontario.
A North Bay man is one of four individuals who have been performing marriages for more than two decades without the proper licensing.
Daniel Bagley performed an undisclosed number of marriage ceremonies o from October 1990 to March 2013.
The number of marriages Bagley performed wasn't released by Service Ontario, the agency conducting the investigation, however 818 marriages are affected.
Service Ontario representatives are now in the process of notifying couples of the irregularities in their marriage registration and will correct them at no cost to the affected couples.
Calls and e-mails to Bagley were not returned. The other three people being investigated have not been named.
Jason Wesley, spokesman for Service Ontario, said the sole fact the people who performed the marriages were not authorized to do so does not invalidate the marriages.
He said from the information received, Bagley had performed religious ceremonies and wasn't authorized to do so.
“In order to become registered as authorized to perform religious marriage ceremonies in Ontario, a person must apply to Service Ontario and meet all of the requirements under the Marriage Act,” he said.
“These requirements include being part of a recognized religious organization, providing proof of ordination/appointment and providing a letter from the organization’s governing body permitting the applicant to perform religious marriages.”
Welsey said individuals performing civil marriages are not registered by the province. Judges and justices of the peace may perform civil marriages. Municipal clerks also have the option to provide civil marriage services and may delegate this authority.
Service Ontario is investigating these matters and refused to discuss the specifics because of the ongoing investigations.
The problems were detected through Service Ontario's quality assurance processes.
Marriage registrations were checked against the people who are allowed to perform the ceremonies.
Wesley said Service Ontario will determine as a result of its investigations whether a matter will be referred to police for further investigation.
“Police haven't been notified at this time.”
Among the many North Bay couples affected are Pamela and Serge Ruel who were married on August 8, 2008.
The Ruels are celebrating their fifth anniversary in August.
At least, they thought they were.
“We're taking a light-hearted approach to this,” Pamela said. “Actually, we think this is hilarious.”
“A bunch of my friends who were also married by this man are hosting a bachelorette party Friday night.”
Ruel said this incident doesn't change anything in her mind or heart.
Gail Burton feels the same way.
“It doesn't bother me at all, but my husband teases me that now I have a chance to escape,” she said, adding they will celebrate their fourth anniversary this year.
Burton said she received a call from Service Ontario Wednesday afternoon.
“I laughed when I first found out, but I am glad my mother isn't alive (to hear this).”
Burton said she was told she is still legally married, however she has to fill out some paperwork.
“I guess anyone who is no longer together were never married.”
According to Service Ontario, additional safeguards were put in place to prevent this from happening again. Some of the measures are cross-referencing the registration number of the person who performed the marriage on each new marriage registration.
The agency is also providing outreach to stakeholders and organizations that deal with marriage licences, such as municipal clerks' offices.
Couples planning to get married will also be provided with information about the importance of checking to ensure the person marrying them is an authorized official and exploring possible amendments to the Marriage Act to strengthen protection for consumers.
People are encouraged to visit ServiceOntario.ca/GettingMarried for information on requirements for getting married in Ontario and a list of people registered to legally perform religious marriages in Ontario.