purpose of same-sex marriage. Again, the Court reiterated that it is up to the provinces to legislate protection for religious groups. The Court decided not to answer the fourth question as it served "no legal purpose". The federal government had already decided not to appeal the Helpren case in Ontario on the very issue and so there was no point examining it again. Also, the court wished to respect the lower-court decisions upholding same-sex marriage by letting them stand. Implications In terms of rights for same sex couples, a few have speculated that this case does not add much. However, by pre-litigating the following Civil Marriage Act, it effectively precluded court challenge of the act, thereby hastening its acceptance. See also List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (McLachlin Court) Living tree doctrine External links Centre for Constitutional Studies: Reference re Same-sex Marriage (2004) Case summary Canadian freedom of religion case law Canadian LGBT rights case law Same-sex marriage in Canada Section Fifteen Charter case law Supreme Court of Canada cases 2004 in LGBT history 2004 in Canadian case law Same-sex union case law Supreme Court of Canada reference question cases