Published in the Edmonton Sun
It appears the nuclear family is about to undergo another tectonic shift.
For countless centuries, a marriage has been considered a union between a man and a woman, from which sprang a family.
Thus did humankind reproduce itself.
While that's still the way it works in most countries around the world, in a select few - including Canada - a union between two men or two women has become legally recognized as a marriage.
Now, as the result of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision, the legal definition of a traditional family has shifted yet again.
Ontario's highest court has given legal status to the lesbian partner of a biological mom, giving a young boy three parents, including the biological father.
The case is believed to be the first in Canada in which a child has more than two legal parents.
The biological father is apparently a sperm donor and friend of the same-sex couple who decided to become parents. The three mutually agreed the lesbian couple would be the primary parents while the biological father would have an active role in the child's upbringing.
"Advances in our appreciation of the value of other types of relationships and in the science of reproductive technology have created gaps in the ... legislative scheme," stated the court ruling.
While we're all for responsible parenthood, this landmark decision raises a number of disturbing questions. Such as why were two legal parents considered sufficient when only heterosexual couples were involved in the equation?
An umbrella group of religious organizations has raised a red flag over the ruling. They want to know what the impact will be on grandparents and how many parents a child will end up with if there is a divorce and remarriage.
Canada has led most of the world in its recognition of gay marriage.
Other nations such as France and Ireland have refrained from legitimizing same-sex unions partly because of the unknown impact upon the children.
Canadian lawmakers exercised no such hesitation and as a result, this nation is treading in uncharted territory.
Because of this, we will certainly not argue with the suggestion of one of the protesting religious groups that perhaps it's time to call a royal commission on the future of the family.
But we suspect it would be a long, drawn-out academic exercise that would change nothing.
The better solution is that judges stop rewriting not just our laws, but stop overturning the fundamental building blocks of our society.