The Struggle for Equal Rights
• Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO), established in 1975, fought to include sexuality under the protective clauses of the Ontario Human Rights Code. • In 1995, a key legal ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada found that while sexual orientation wasn't specifically mentioned in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they could be "read in." The next year, the federal government amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation. Paré, Michael F. “History of Gay Toronto and Birth of Queer West” Queer West. N.p 2012. 22 Mar. 2012.
CBC News-http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/samesexrights/timeline_canada.html • Delwin Vriend, a lab instructor at King's University College in Edmonton, Alberta, fired from job because he is gay. The Alberta Human Rights Commission refuses to investigate the case because Alberta Individual Rights Protection Act does not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation. • Vriend takes the government of Alberta to court and, in 1994, the court rules that sexual orientation must be added to the act • The government wins on appeal in 1996 and the decision is overturned. • high court unanimously rules that the exclusion of homosexuals from Alberta's Individual Rights Protection Act is a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court says that the act would be interpreted to include homosexuals even if the province doesn't change it- November 1997 • May 1999- The Supreme Court of Canada rules same-sex couples should have the same benefits and obligations as opposite-sex common-law couples and equal access to benefits from social programs to which they contribute. •
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