Former party leader Stephen Harper has repeatedly stated that his government will not attempt to ban same-sex marriage in Canada. Same-sex marriage was recognized nationwide in Canada in 2005 with the "Civil Marriage Act". Harper most recently restated this commitment after news broke that a lawyer with the federal Justice Department was of the opinion that foreign same-sex couples visiting Canada to get married who are from regions where same-sex marriage is illegal were not obligated to get divorced in Canada since their marriage in their home region was never legitimate. Harper corrected the record and restated that his government will not legislate nor attempt to legislate same-sex marriage. However, the Conservative Party of Canada's Policy Declaration states, "We support legislation defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman".