1. Human Rights Sexual Orientation Red- Light Orange- Healing Yellow- Sunshine Green- Serenity Blue- Art Purple- Spirit

2. In 1900… In year 1900 in Canada feminists and suffrages Were being labeled lesbians. Homosexuality was Being treated as a mental illness by doctors.

3. Timeline 1900- homosexuality is considered an illness by doctors. 1965- Supreme Court of Canada ruled Everett Klippart “a dangerous sex offender” because he was homosexually active. 1969- same-sex sexual activity became legal 1975/1976- police raided gay establishments in Quebec and Ottawa for the 1976 Olympics 1977- Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction in the world to ban discrimination of sexual orientation (employment, housing, and certain services) 1982- sexual orientation is added to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 1988- NDP MP Svend Robinson becomes the first MP to “come out” 1992- Canada lifted ban on homosexuals in the Canadian Forces - one of the first countries to do so 1994- homosexual ban on refugee status lifted 1996- sexual orientation added to the Canadian Human Rights Act 1999- Federal statute gave equal rights to homosexual couples as common-law couples July 2005- same sex marriage legalized nationwide Nova Scotia- 1991 New Brunswick- 1992 PEI- 1998 Newfoundland and Labrador- 1995 Quebec- 1977 Ontario- 1986 Manitoba- 1987 Saskatchewan- 1993 Alberta- 1998 British Columbia- 1992 Yukon- 1987 Northwest Territories- 2002 Nunavut- 1999 The year “Sexual Orientation” was added to the provincial Human Rights Act

4. The Obstacle In order to influence the government for freedom of sexual orientation a large number of methods were used. Voting in elections, general lobbying, civil disobedience, media campaigns, petitions, hunger strikes, and court cases were all used numerous times.

5. Everett Klippart, a mechanic in Northwest Territories was being investigated by the RCMP who were questioning his connection with an arson. He was found innocent in this investigation yet ended up in jail for three years anyways. How? During his question Everett Klippart admitted to being homosexual and having had sex with men. This is what he was prosecuted for - “four counts of gross indecency”. He was assessed by a psychiatrist and deemed to be incurably homosexual, for this he was labeled a dangerous sex offender and was supposed to be imprisoned for life (like all dangerous sex offenders). Everett Klippart was released in 1971 however, because a bill decriminalizing homosexuality passed through the House of Commons in 1969. He lived for twenty five more years and died of kidney disease. 1967

6. In November of 2001 Michael Hendricks and Rene Leboeuf challenged the government of Quebec in court. They said that By not being able to be married it was violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. December 7th the government announced it would begin a bill allowing same sex couples to have the same status as marriage. This is possible because though marriage is federally controlled, civil status remains with provincial governments. The bill passed on June 7th, 2002. The court case of Hendricks-Leboeuf and the Government continued and on March 19th, 2004 the court decided that same-sex licenses would be issued. Michael Hendricks and Rene Leboeuf were the first same-sex couple to marry in Quebec on April 1st, 2004. The couple had been together for thirty one years.

7. In February 5th, 1981, organized raids by police broke apart the Toronto Bathhouses in what was said to be the largest mass arrest in Canada since 1970. Over 386 men were arrested after being ambushed by huge groups of police. This large event sparked a great protest by Toronto’s homosexual community that was the turning point for homosexuals in politics. People who agreed and people who disagreed with the actions of the people in the bathhouses all began to question the right of the victims and the right of the police. The day after the multiple planned raids that all occurred in one night, 5000 people gathered to protest against the event. These protests have now turned into Toronto’s Gay Pride Week; the largest gay pride parade in the world. Also, hunger strikes and petitions begin because of the raids. The owners of the bathhouses were charged and fined under the bawdyhouse laws.

8. http://www.wordiq.com/definition/1981_Toronto_bathhouse_raids http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/rights_freedoms/clips/3233/ http://www.canadianelderlaw.ca/Gay%20Timeline.htm http://canada-justice.ca/en/news/nr/2006/doc_31832.html http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2001/112201/news8.html http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marb15.htm http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/legal/ontario_case/cer300604.htm Sources