and several other acts relating to family law and children law. The bill passed by the Assembly replaced the expression "husband and wife" with the gender-neutral term "spouses" in section 43(4) and added "or spouse" in section 13(b). The Adoption Act was also amended to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The bill received royal assent by Commissioner Edna Elias on 31 October 2011. Section 13 of the Marriage Act, entitled "Civil Marriage", reads: Marriage statistics From July 2005 to October 2006, only one same-sex couple married in Nunavut, the lowest among all of Canada's provinces and territories. The first same-sex marriage involving an Inuk man was performed between Joe Kucharski and Dwayne Nowdlak, who is originally from Pangnirtung, in June 2017. There had already been one marriage for an Inuk lesbian couple. The first same-sex marriage in Cambridge Bay was performed between Jason Koblogina and Kyle Mercer in August 2018. The 2016 Canadian census showed that were 25 same-sex couples living in Nunavut, though it is unknown how many were married, in a common-law marriage or cohabiting. Religious performance In July 2019, the synod of the Anglican Church of Canada narrowly rejected a motion to authorise same-sex marriage and allow clergy in the church to officiate at such marriages. Instead, the church synod passed a resolution known as "A Word to the Church", allowing its dioceses to choose whether to perform same-sex marriages. Clergy of the Diocese of The Arctic, including Bishop David Parsons, have been vocally opposed to the solemnisation of same-sex marriages within the church. Following the passage of the resolution, several dioceses, including those of Ottawa and Rupert's Land, announced they would permit their clergy to solemnise same-sex marriages in accordance with the new resolution passed by the church synod. The Diocese of The Arctic chose to distance itself from these dioceses, but, responding to concerns that it might be leaving the Anglican Church of Canada, it released a statement, "The Diocese of the Arctic remains a diocese within the Anglican Church of Canada, but must distance itself from those who violate the marriage canon. The implication of this is a state of ‘impaired communion'." See also Same-sex marriage in Canada LGBT rights in Canada Sipiniq (ᓯᐱᓂᖅ), person in Inuit culture who is believed to have changed their physical sex as an infant References Nunavut Politics of Nunavut Nunavut law 2005 in LGBT history