Should the spousal incompetency rule be extended to apply to common law spouses?

In the recently released decision of Nguyen, the Court of Appeal had occasion to consider whether the spousal incompetency rule applies to common law spouses. Despite the fact that individuals have a Charter protected right to be free from discrimination based on marital status, the Court determined that common law spouses are compellable witnesses for the Crown. This means that a common law spouse could be forced to testify against his/her spouse. It will be interesting to see if this decision is appealed to the Supreme Court. Consider it a small victory for marriage!