A law student at the University of Ottawa (U of O) has a proposal that would change the face of modern marriage: unions on fixed-term contracts.
Master’s of law student Véronique Laliberté is proposing an alternative to marriage that would be renewed by terms of the couple’s choosing, with an expedited divorce option at the end of each term.
Laliberté said the idea came out of a conversation with a professor about the “point” of marriage when so many unions end in divorce.
“I wanted to defend marriage, then I had this crazy idea to create the fixed term marriage, which is something you can see yourself in in five years,” Laliberté said.
The proposal, she said, could save the troubled institution of marriage if it ever became law.
“To help people who are afraid of commitment, the fixed term could help,” she said.
Her plan has three possible courses of action, depending on the couple and how the marriage is going. At the expiry of the contract, the couple could visit a lawyer to renew their vows for another term of their choosing. Alternately, they could get a divorce, which would be easier because of the expired contract.
“The third option is to do nothing, and then you will be married for the rest of your life, like it is right now,” Laliberté said.
She is proposing a starter term of five years, but said couples would be free to choose lengths depending on their particular needs.
Andrea Mrozek, director of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, said this type of thinking is a reflection of marriage’s troubled place in Canadian society.
“Permanence [in marriage] was always a non-negotiable and so, with regards to fixed term marriages, you are undermining the very essence of what marriage is,” Mrozek said.
“We’ve been undermining the essence of what marriage is like that for a while.”
Although critical response has been mixed, Laliberté said many of the people she talked to are curious but supportive.
“Some critics are good and some critics are bad. I don’t know if society is ready for this,” Laliberté said. “At first all the people that I spoke to about my subject they were shocked, but when I explained the idea they accepted and actually got excited about it.’
Martine Noel, PhD candidate at U of O and soon-to-be bride, said she believes marriage is not given the weight that it deserves.
“I think marriage is not taken as seriously as it should be. Firstly, I think many people prefer the actual wedding to the marriage. It’s not about the party. It’s not about showing off to your friends. It’s about the commitment,” she said.
Mrozek said she thinks children are the main reason couples should stay married for life, noting that children raised by two married parents always “fare best.”
“Marriage really helps to keep people together in order that children can be raised by their parents, and know who their parents are and have security and stability. So that’s a good reason to do the marriage thing and stick it out,” Mrozek said.
Laliberté said her proposal should have no impact on people deciding when and if to have kids.
“People who have kids, they get divorced when they have to. That doesn’t impact having children,” Laliberté said. “For having kids, it may help because you know you will be with the person for at least five years.”
Noel said she thinks that fixed-term marriage is simply another aspect of our “quick fix” culture.
“This proposal is a sign of the times; a sign of our fast-paced, act-before-your-think society . . . Why get married at all if it is meant to be short-term?” Noel said. “When I say my vows I’m not only saying ‘from this day forward,’ I’m really saying that I will continue to love, honour and cherish, as I have always done.”
When it comes to her own love life, Laliberté said she would want to be in her own fixed-term contract marriage.
“If one day the fixed term marriage becomes legal, I want to get married in that kind of marriage,” she said. “I think that maybe we are ready for something new.”
