“Section 31 of the Marriage Act authorizes a court to validate a marriage entered into in good faith. The section reads:
If the parties to a marriage solemnized in good faith and intended to be in compliance with this Act are not under a legal disqualification to contract such marriage and after such solemnization have lived together and cohabited as a married couple, such marriage shall be deemed a valid marriage, although the person who solemnized the marriage was not authorized to solemnize marriage, and despite the absence of or any irregularity or insufficiency in the publication of banns or the issue of the licence.
Put simply, the following four elements must be applied for a marriage to be deemed valid under the Marriage Act:
The marriage must have been solemnized in good faith;
The marriage must have been intended to be in compliance with the Marriage Act;
Neither party was under a legal disqualification to contract marriage; and,
The parties must have lived together and cohabitated as a married couple after solemnization.”