December 15, 1977
THAT DAY...................................... CANADA becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Canada has frequently been referred to as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world, with its largest cities featuring their own gay areas and communities. Since 1982, the Constitution of Canada has guaranteed fundamental human rights to the LGBT community, as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which applies to all legal instruments, "shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians". Every summer, Canada's LGBT community celebrates gay pride in all major cities, with many political figures from the federal, provincial and municipal scenes.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Canada are some of the most advanced in the Americas and in the world. Same-sex sexual activity has been lawful in Canada since June 27, 1969, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act (also known as Bill C-150) came into force upon royal assent. The rights of LGBT Canadians are now as well protected as those of other Canadians largely due to several court decisions decided under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that was included in the Constitution of Canada in 1982, with Section 15 coming into effect in 1985.
The Constitution of Canada prohibits the main types of discrimination to which LGBT Canadians may be subject : “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability."
However, the gay community has shown courage and everything has not been rainbows and flowers. on October 1977, more than 200 gays were arrested at the Truxx bar in Montreal. That night, the fifty policemen who pop up at the Truxx bar in downtown Montreal make 220 arrests. This is the biggest roundup since the October crisis. Of these, 143 will be charged with "gross indecency" and "present in a bawdy house". The following day, the Association for the Rights of Gay Quebec organizes a demonstration to demand the end of the police repression. 2000 people participate.the journalist Jean-Yves Michaud gives the floor to the Association for Gay Rights of Quebec. Its president, Claude Beaulieu, argues that the Truxx is a bar, a meeting place for the gay community and not a house of debauchery. He also claims from the Quebec Ministry of Justice that all the charges laid in the wake of this raid, marked by police brutality. The mobilization will make its way to Quebec City with government recognition.
On December 15, 1977, the National Assembly passed Bill 88, which condemned discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment as well as access to housing and public services. The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms is amended accordingly. It is the first province to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in 1977. Same-sex spouses are legally recognized in 1999 and, in 2000, across Canada, "says Dr. Line Chamberland, Ph.D. sociology and holder of the Research Chair on Homophobia at the University of Quebec in Montreal In July 2005,
Today, Canada can boast of being in the forefront of the LGBTQ cause. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is a lesbian; Manon Massé, a Quebec MP, has never concealed her homosexuality, and in British Columbia, four candidates for MP positions for the 2017 elections belonged to the LGBTQ community. For the past 15 years, Ontario and British Columbia have even taken the leadership role in the fight for transsexual rights: "In Ontario, it is forbidden to discriminate on the basis of gender identity or gender expression In British Columbia, transsexual immigrants can change their name, which is not allowed everywhere in Canada, "says Chamberland.
To know more about the subject:
Canada, Ontario (Human Rights Commission), "Policy on Discrimination and Harassment because of Sexual Orientation" 18pp. (2000) Accessed on March 3, 2006.
Peters, Rob. "Pride and Prejudiced: A history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender milestones, in Vancouver and around the world". The Tyee, August 4, 2006. Accessed on September 25, 2008.
McKinnon, Neil. "The First Gay Protest in Canada". 7 July 2011. Xtra!. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
Looking back at Quebec queer life since the 17th century" Archived 2014-12-14 at the Wayback Machine. Xtra!, December 15, 2009
The Battle Over Same-sex Marriage". The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. PBS. June 30, 2005. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
Donald W. McLeod: Lesbian and gay liberation in Canada: a selected annotated chronology, 1964-1975: Toronto: ECW Press/Homewood
Raiding History: Why can’t Canada’s LGBTQ community tell its story correctly?". The Walrus, June 28, 2016.
