to pay $2,500 in compensation to the couple for infringing their right under the Code to access public services without discrimination. In 2009, the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench dismissed Nichols' appeal. The Saskatchewan Government followed by proposing legislation which would allow marriage commissioners to refuse for this reason. In January 2011, on a reference question, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that such a law would be unconstitutional. It was estimated at the time that about 1% of the existing marriage commissioners would resign or be fired because they were unwilling to issue licences to same-sex couples. Provincial law permits religious bodies and officials—but not marriage commissioners—to refuse to perform a marriage in their place of worship for religious reasons. Provincial legislation In 2001, the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan passed two statutes, the Miscellaneous Statutes (Domestic Relations) Amendment Act, 2001, and the Miscellaneous Statutes (Domestic Relations) Amendment Act, 2001 (No. 2), which together changed the definition of "spouse" in 24 provincial laws to treat same-sex couples equally to opposite-sex couples. The changes included the areas of adoption, spousal support, inheritance rights, pensions, and property rights. This meant that same-sex couples were given the right adopt children jointly. The two acts received royal assent by Lieutenant Governor Lynda Haverstock on 6 July 2001. Historically, the provincial Marriage Act, 1995 required marriage commissioners to pronounce a newlywed couple as "husband and wife". In 2021, the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan repealed the Act and enacted in its stead the Marriage Act, 2021, which received royal assent by Lieutenant Governor Russell Mirasty on 13 May 2021. The new law uses gender-neutral language with regards to married spouses. Section 5-9(2) of the Act states that each of the parties shall, in the presence of the marriage commissioner and the witnesses, declare: Marriage statistics The 2016 Canadian census showed that there were 1,070 same-sex couples living in Saskatchewan. The first same-sex marriage in La Loche in the Clearwater River Dene Nation was performed in summer 2018 for a Dene two-spirit couple. Religious performance In July 2019, the synod of the Anglican Church of Canada passed a resolution known as "A Word to the Church", allowing its dioceses to choose whether to perform same-sex marriages. Following the vote, the Anglican Diocese of Saskatoon announced that its clergy would be permitted to solemnise same-sex marriages. Same-sex marriages are not performed in the Diocese of Qu'Appelle, which encompasses