The NAA`s first action was a protest against a drug trial in Toronto for pentamidine, a drug already approved for U.S. AIDS patients. AAN brought caskets to the Toronto General Hospital, where the research took place, and demanded that the drug be available immediately. The protests were successful, and two years later Brian Mulroney`s government implemented a program that provided access to experimental drugs and launched the first national AIDS strategy. In December 2020, Canada`s police chiefs formally apologized for decades of repression and opposition to homosexuality and LGBT rights from the 1960s to the present day in Canada. [44] Earlier, the Durham Catholic District School Board stated that student Marc Hall could not bring his 21-year-old friend to dance at Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic High School in Oshawa. Officials acknowledge that Hall has the right to be gay, but said approval of the date would send a message that the church supports his “homosexual lifestyle.” Hall went to the prom. The federal government says it is looking at how same-sex couples who had to come to Canada to marry can be allowed to divorce. Thousands of gays and lesbians who have not been able to marry in the country where they live have travelled to Canada to seek legal marriage. But Canada`s divorce laws do not allow people who have not lived in Canada for at least a year to end their marriage.
In 1999, gays and lesbians won a major victory when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that gay and lesbian couples should have the same rights as heterosexual common-law couples. In June 1999, the House of Commons voted 216 to 55 to maintain the legal definition of “marriage” as the union of one man and one woman. [12] Sexual orientation is included in Nunavut`s new Human Rights Act. Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau is proposing changes to the penal code that, among other things, would relax laws against homosexuality. The first province to allow same-sex adoption of children in Canada was British Columbia in 1996. [55] Since then, same-sex adoption has been legalized in Ontario (1999),[56] Nova Scotia (2001),[57] Saskatchewan (2001),[47], Newfoundland and Labrador (2002),[58] Quebec (2002),[49], Manitoba (2002),[59], the Northwest Territories (2002),[60][61] and Yukon (2003). [62] In Alberta, step-spousal adoption was legalized in 1999. [63] [64] [65] Eight years later, in 2007, joint adoption became legal in Alberta. [66] New Brunswick legalized joint adoption in 2008,[63][67] while Prince Edward Island did so in 2009. [68] Nunavut legalized same-sex adoption in 2011, making it the last province or territory in Canada to do so.
[69] Three provinces (British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan) will grant parental status to three or more intended parents, allowing for a broader range of queer and transgender families. These parents may be in addition to or instead of the biological parent. However, some find that “the law operates within the framework of strong normative constraints”. [70] Our Family Law Group has established a calendar that includes important legal decisions and events that have contributed to the advancement of 2SLGBTQ+ rights in our country. The 1980s also saw a number of important legal victories. In 1982, Canada patriated its constitution and adopted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which became the basis for many future equality decisions. In 1985, section 15 of the Charter came into force, guaranteeing the “right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and in particular without discrimination because of racial or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability” – but it did not cover sexual orientation. In 1984, Pink Triangle Services became the first registered gay charity[20] to later include all people in the queer community and was renamed a sexual and gender diversity celebration center as PTS. [21] Alliance leader Stephen Harper fired Representative Larry Spencer as a critic of family issues Thursday after Spencer said homosexuality should be banned. Quebec includes sexual orientation in its human rights code, making it the first province in Canada to pass a gay civil rights law.
The law makes it illegal to discriminate against homosexuals in housing, social housing and employment. By 2001, all provinces and territories, except Alberta, Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories, will take this step. On May 14, Trudeau`s amendments will be adopted into the penal code, which decriminalizes homosexuality in Canada. Previously, consensual sex between men was punishable by life imprisonment. The Parliamentary Committee on Equality Rights publishes a report entitled “Equality for All”. The committee writes that it is shocked by the high level of discriminatory treatment of homosexuals in Canada. The report addresses the harassment, violence, physical violence, psychological oppression and hate propaganda with which homosexuals live. The Committee recommends that the Canadian Human Rights Act be amended to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal.
Consumer Affairs Minister Bob Runciman says Ontario will not recognize same-sex marriage.