The History of Pride in Canada - Timeline 1994 - 2012 - Part 2
Good day, my dears,
This was originally posted on Patreon & Ko-fi June 27, 2024
Welcome to Part 2 of my posts about the History of Pride in Canada. This section of the timeline will be covering Pride events from 1994 - 2012.
For Part 1 where I cover 1969 - 1993, see below:
The History of Pride in Canada - Timeline 1969 - 1993 - Part 1
If you want to follow along you can check out the link below to where I am getting my information from:
Canadian Queer History - Timeline
I have to say, even the first part of these posts has really affected me. It's made me realize a whole period of time was incredibly violent, known for being such, and that violence is still present, but in many different shades. I expect I will cry again as I continue these posts, and that is okay. The whole point of sharing what I learn is that we can understand together our history, our past, and how far we've come, and how far we have yet to go.
Timeline 1994 - 2012
* February 17th, 1994 - Raid of Montreal's Gay Bar Katakombes - Montreal's gay bar KOX/Katakombes was raided by the police, who arrested the 165 men that were present. This occurred several weeks prior to the Human Rights Commission that stated that the police has been repression the gay community.
* July 16th, 1994 - First Pride March in PEI - PEI saw its first Pride March this day, in solidarity to demand protection for the LGTBQ people under the law and raise awareness. Protestors wore paper bags over their heads in fear of being outed. People threw oranges at the protestors in retaliation, some of the oranges were made into smoothies afterwards.
* March 2nd, 1995 - OHRC Ruled that City of Hamilton Actions were Discrimination - Due to Mayor Bob Morrow refusing to proclaim Gay Pride Week in Hamilton in 1991, the Ontario Human Rights decided in 1995 that he discriminated against the LGTBQ. He was also ordered to pay $5,000.00 (approx. $9000.00 in 2024) to complainant Joe Oliver. It was ordered that Morrow would proclaim Gay Pride Week the following year, however, the council banned proclamations as a way to side-step issuing the Gay Pride edict.
* May 24th, 1995 - Same-Sex Couples Gain Legal Rights to Adoption in ON - Ontario was the first province to change their laws regarding same-sex couples being able to legally adopt. Justice Nevins ruled that "spouse" should include same-sex partners. An Ontarian Court judge declared that now allowing same-sex couples to apply for adoption as "a more blatant example of discrimination." The provinces of BC, Alberta, and Nova Scotia follow ON's example.
* May 25th, 1995 - Sexual Orientation Included in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms - On May 25th, 1995 two gay men, Jim Egan and Jack Nesbit, sued Ottawa for their right to be able to claim spousal pension under the Old Age Security Act. The Court ruled that despite not being specified in Section 15 of the Charter, that it guarantees the "right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination." However, the court still ruled against them.
* October 29th, 1995 - City of London Refuses Pride Request - Dianne Haskett, mayor of the City of London, refused the recognize the Pride weekend request by HALO (London gay rights group). Halo's president, Richard Hudler, filed a human rights complaints in response and OHRC ruled that Haskett discriminated against the LGTBQ community. London was ordered to officially proclaim a Pride weekend and the city and the major were fined $10,000 (approx. $18,000.00 in 2024). The city of London wouldn't have an officially proclaimed Pride until 1998.
* June 20th, 1996 - Bill C-33: Sexual Orientation included in Canadian Human Rights Act - The federal gov't passed Bill C-33 which added sexual orientation to the Canadian Human Rights Act. This meant that it was prohibited to discriminate against someone due to their sexual orientation for any federal activities. The Parliament declared that LGTBQ people were entitled to "an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives they are able and wish to have."
* January 1st, 1997 - The First Trans Festival - Between 1997 and 2002 in Toronto Counting Past 2 was a Trans Acts Festival. It was founded by Mirha-Soleil Ross, an activist and artist. It was to recognize the distinctive cultural and economic situation of trans people and their communities. The festivals centered on trans people and allowed them to have a space to present their art. Counting Past 2 was the first festival of its kind in North America.
* April 2nd 1998 - The Supreme Court of Canada Rules that Provinces Cannot Discriminate - Beginning in 1991 Delvin Vriend filed a discrimination complaint against the King's University College in Edmonton after being fired for being open in a gay relationship. It took until 1998 and many appeals between the Albertan gov't and the Supreme Court of Canada to conclude that provincial gov't cannot exclude protection of individuals form human rights legislation on the basis of sexual orientation.
* May 19th, 1999 - The Supreme Court Rules Same-Sex Couples Have Rights to Equal Treatment - A case in 1992 of "M v. H" where two Toronto women broke up after living together for a decade would change the rights of same-sex couples. M sued H for spousal support, however the provincial law did not recognize same-sex relationships as spousal. The Supreme Court ruled that the Ontario Family Law Act's definition of "spouse" was required to be amended to mean between "two persons" and not "a man and woman". They were given 6 months to make the amendment.
* June 1st, 1999 - Blockorama: First Black Queer Space at Toronto Pride - This started as a space for black queer people at the Toronto Pride Festival. As of today it's a dance part and stage - all day - to celebrate Black Queer and Trans history, creativity, and activism.
* June 8th, 1999 - Gov't Votes to Not Include Same-Sex Marriage in Their Definition of Marriage - The gov't voted 216 to 55 in favour of keeping their definition of "marriage" as the union of a man and a woman. Justine Minister Anne McLellan stated that the federal gov't has "no intention of changing the definition of marriage or legislating same-sex marriage."
* October 25th, 1999 - Bill 5 - Provincial Act to Include Same-Sex Couples - Due to the Supreme Court's decision to rule that Ontario had to amend their legal definition of "spouse" to include same-sex couples, Attorney General Jim Flaherty introduced Bill 5. Instead of changing their definition of "spouse" they changed the Family Law Act to read "spouse or same-sex partner". Bill 5 also amended more than 60 laws in Ontario to make it so same-sex couples had the same rights as common-law couples.
* March 16th, 2000 - Alberta Refused to Allow Same-Sex Marriage in Bill 202
* April 11th, 2000 - Bill C-23 Passed - Includes Same-Sex Couples - Bill C-23 was introduced by the Liberal Party and was the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act. It stated that same-sex couples that have lived together for more than a year have the same benefits and obligations as common-law couples. The vote passed 174 to 72 and it affected over 68 federal statutes. Some statutes affected were pension benefits, old-age security, income tax deductions, the Criminal Code, and bankruptcy. However, Justice Minister Anne McLellan stated that the definition of marriage would be "the lawful union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others." Despite the gov'ts definition of marriage and spouse to continue to only be between a man and a wife, same-sex couples were included in the definition of "common-law relationship."
* September 14th, 2000 - Toronto Police Raid the Pussy Palace - The Pussy Palace was an all-female queer and trans event held at Club Toronto. This raid resulted in protests and pickets of the police division. In 2002 the ON provincial court ruled that the police was in the wrong. This, and a class action lawsuit in 2005 , along with a complaint to the OHRC resulted in a $350,000.00 settlement (over $595,500.00 in 2024). It included an apology in writing and the police force was required to have cultural competency training in regards to the LGTBQ community.
* December 15th, 2000 - Little Sisters Bookstore Wins Freedom of Expression - For years Little Sisters Bookstore fought the gov't stated Canada Customs was targeting them and confiscating and burning their books and magazines. The Supreme Court rules in agreement with Little Sisters' and declares that Canada Customs was indeed discriminating against them and the LGTBQ community. Justice Ian Binnie stated: "when Customs officials prohibit and thereby censor lawful gay and lesbian erotica, they are making a statement about gay and lesbian culture, and the statement was reasonably interpreted by the appellants as demeaning gay and lesbian values." Despite this decision, Customs Canada still continued to target gay bookstores and cited an older Supreme Court decision in 1992 against LGTBQ publications in order to continue to seize book and magazines.
* November 18th, 2001 - Community Rally Against Homophobia - After the assault and murder of Vancouver resident Aaron Webster by 4 young offenders in Stanley Park, over 3,000 people marched and held a vigil protesting anti-gay violence.
* January 31st, 2002 - The Northwest Territories Includes Gender Identity in Human Rights Act - This would be the very first jurisdiction in Canada to protect gender identity and prohibit discrimination in its human rights act.
* May 10th, 20002 - ON Supreme Court Sides with Marc Hall - Marc Hall wanted to take his boyfriend with him to prom to Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic High School. The Durham Catholic District School Board attempted to restrict him from being able to do so. The school officials stated that Marc Hall has the right to be gay, but they did not want to be seen as supporting his "homosexual lifestyle" by allowing him to bring his boyfriend to prom. The ON Supreme Court and Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert McKinnon ruled against the school board and Hall was allowed to attend with his boyfriend. However, after multiple delays, Hall withdrew his lawsuit in June 2005.
* June 28th, 2002 - Immigration Rights in Canada to Extend to Same-Sex Partners - From this moment onward, gay men and lesbians were able to sponsor their partners. The IRPA and the Immigration and refugee Protection Regulations insured that the laws and regulations regarding immigration and refugees were to include the family class to incorporate common law, conjugal partners, and married partners.
* July 12th, 2002 - Steps for Marriage Equality Begins - Justice LaForme declared that prohibiting same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Ontario was given 2 years to amend their laws to extend to marriage of same-sex couples. Alberta decided to double-down on their decision to define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman and was determined to use the notwithstanding clause to avoid recognizing same-sex marriages if the federal gov't decreed them amend their Marriage Act.
* September 1st, 2002 - Quebec City has it First Pride Parade - This Pride event and march marked the 25th anniversary of Quebec's bill of rights that outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation.
* December 2nd, 2002 - Calgary Police Raid Goliath Sauna and Texas Lounge - Police raided the gay bathhouse Goliath and charged two bartenders for running a common bawdy house. (A Common-Bawdy House is another term for place that has prostitution available) They charge 13 patrons for having no lawful excuse for being there. The Crown stayed these charges citing the community standards had changed.
* June 10th, 2003 - Same-Sex Couple Married in Ontario - The first same-sex couple to be married in Canada was Michael Leshner and Michael Stark in Toronto. Over the next two years, 7 provinces and one territory would follow suite and legalize same-sex marriage. BC in 2003, NS, NFLD, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Yukon in 2004, and NB in 2005.
* August 4th, 2004 - Hamilton's Warehouse Raids - Under the disguise of public health inspectors, the police raided Hamilton's warehouse, lied stating they had no idea the business was a bathhouse. The truth was, they found out about the bathhouse by searching gay cruising websites. The police arrested two patrons for indecency. This raid created outrage amongst the queer community.
* July 20th, 2005 - Bill C-38: Civil Marriage Act - Canada became the 4th country in the world to officially allow same-sex marriages.
* December 7th, 2006 - Conservatives Try to Rule Against Same-Sex Marriage - The Conservative Party attempted to reopen the ruling of same-sex marriage. Thankfully they were out-voted by 175-123.
* February 1st, 2007 - Supreme Court Rules in Nixon's Case -Kimberly Nixon's rejection of being allowed to volunteer as a peer rape counselor at the Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter lead to her filing a human rights complaint against the society. VRRS declared that she was not allowed to volunteer because she, as a trans woman, did not have the proper life experiences as a woman from birth. Nixon successfully won the Human Rights Tribunal on the basis of discrimination. However, VRRS was not held guilty based on the group's right of freedom of association, and they would be allowed to continue to organize women-only spaces, irrespective of gender identity. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Nixon's request to appeal this decision. Due to the organization going against trans equality and inclusion criteria, the City of Vancouver revokes municipal finding to them.
* March 1st, 2007 - Gov't Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couples - In response to a class action lawsuit, an Ontario court ruled that benefits for same-sex survivors to who's partners had died, would be retroactive to April 17th, 1985, instead of only until 1998. This would mean that it matched the equality of rights change in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
* June 27th, 2009 - Toronto's First Trans March - The Trans March was started by Karah Mathiason in response to Pride's lack of organizing events for the Trans Community. The March was not recognized by Pride Toronto. When the march reached Church and Wellsley Streets, there were large metal barricades set up in attempts to stop the march. They pushed past the barricades and finished their first Trans March inside the village.
* February 8th, 2010 - Fredericton Holds its First Official Pride - For years there was no official Pride Parade at Fredericton due to City Council's opposition, despite Pride Parades being held in other cities in NB, such as Saint John and Moncton. Over 300 people attended the march, several hundred people stood in support lining the parade route. This Pride was a big step forward for showing support and acceptance to the LGTBQ community.
* February 8th, 2010 - Olympics Has a Pride House - The LGTBQ athletes at the winter Olympics that was held in BC had their very first Pride House.
* June 17th, 2010 - First Trans Protest in Quebec - Quebec's first trans protest was organized by the activist group PolitiQ-queer solidaire. They fight against forms of heterosexist and cissexist oppression and exclusion in Quebec. Close to 200 people attended the event, including members of legal, academic, and political sectors of society. The goal of the protestors was to have changes be made to Quebec's regulations that required people seeking gender marker changes to their civil status to undergo forced sterilization. They also wanted more easily accessible ways to change their name.
* November 6th, 2010 - The Hockey Hall of Fame inducts Angela James - Angela James was known as the "Wayne Gretzky of women's hockey," and led the Canadian women's hockey team to 4 world championships in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1997. She would be the first openly gay hockey player and the second black athlete to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2009 Toronto re-named her home town hockey arena The Angela James Arena in honour of her, her contributions, and her work in the community.
* January 10th, 2011 - Saskatchewan Court Reinforces LGTBQ Rights - Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal ruled that marriage officers cannot refuse marriage permits to same-sex couples on religious grounds. The gov't proposed that marriage commissioners employed prior to the law change in 2004 could refuse.
* August 1st, 2012 - Yukon Has its First Pride March - The first Pride March in Yukon was organized by Queer Yukon activist Stephanie Hammond and Fiona Griffin in protest against the bishop in the territory introducing a policy that allowed the Catholic schools to discuss sexuality and thereby teach children that being queer and having same-sex attractions was evil, wrong, and punishable.
* August 31st, 2012 - Northwest Territories Has First Pride Event - The first Pride event in NWT took place from August 31st to September 3rd, 2012, founded by Iman Kassan. It was with the hope that LGTBQ people in the community, even in Yellowknife, would know that they are apart of the whole community and had nothing to be ashamed of for being queer.
Personal Notes:
Disappointments:
I'll be honest, it's disappointing to learn how raids were still going on between 1993 to 2004. There should be no reason to be committing raids on the LGTBQ community unless it is treated as equal to any other proper criminal act/organization. As much as I understand the police use the resources they have available, it still feels very violating that they would search the gay cruising websites to find places to raid. People deserve a place to be free to be themselves. Besides the fact that there are much more important and dangerous crimes the cops could have been focusing on.
The other thing that really bothered me was seeing how Alberta really did not want to accept having to allow same-sex marriages. At the point of 2002, LGTBQ people were already gaining equal rights, free from being discriminated against legally for being queer. I actually expected to see more events that were centered around homophobia. Just really disappointing when the rest of Canada was following suit to make the necessary legal changes to allow for same-sex marriages.
Lawsuits:
One thing that has really stood out to me is how impactful legal battles as been to creating genuine change within society. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for queer people to fight for their rights in such a toxic space. And to see that many of these cases ended in such unsatisfactory ways where the places that committed discrimination were never truly held accountable. For all the fighting, for all their efforts and work to pave a way forward for not just themselves, for all of us, they deserved more. They deserved to see accountability.
The Swaying Back and Forth:
I can say, I didn't cry when writing this section of the timeline. But to see the constant sway back and forth of LGTBQ people gaining rights, equality, marriage, met with more raids, discrimination, is frustrating. This is only a general timeline, I can only imagine how many smaller cases are not recorded here.
Conclusion:
Part 2 will end here for now. This section felt easier to process emotionally. Seeing more and more trans movements, LGTBQ rights being gained, official prides happening in different provinces and territories across the country, felt so gratifying to see. To know that all of our elders' fighting, protests, marches have amounted to genuine change despite the discrimination that was on-going during that time, and still going on even today.
My next part will be the final one for the the Timeline of Pride Events in Canada. Part 3 will cover 2013 - Present. After that's completed I'll be working on looking at significant moments in Canada's history with Pride. This will be an on-going series that I'll be posting it on Ko-fi and here on Patreon.
Thank you all for reading and for joining me on this journey together as we learn about a part of the history of Pride.
Much Love,
Katherine
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