Ken Haire has been left in legal limbo and cannot access his deceased partner’s pension because same-sex laws in their specific case were not made retroactive.
The 71-year-old says he and his partner of 33 years, Gerry Schwarz, were in an exclusive common-law relationship for more than three decades before Gerry died unexpectedly from heart failure on Jan.
2, 2012, at the age of 76. Schwarz retired from CN Rail in 1991 and while the company recognized Haire as his spouse, the CN Pensioners Association does not because the recognition of same-sex couples will not be made retroactive to his retirement date.
Haire says he has been forced to sell the house they shared and some of their belongings just to get by. He has spent parts of the last