February 28 Vancouver The first […]

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1975-02-28

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February 28 Vancouver The first public hearing in Canada of a gay civil rights case under provincial human rights legislation was held at the Hotel Vancouver. The case involved GATE (Vancouver)'s complaint against the Vancouver Sun that the paper's refusal to print a two-line classified ad for Gay Tide contravened the British Columbia Human Rights Act. During the hearing, testimony was given concerning Sun publisher Stuart Keate's notion that homosexuality was a "threat to society" and that it was linked to "problems regarding V.D. and crime." On January 12, 1976, the Board of Inquiry, chaired by Vancouver lawyer Joe Wood, ruled that the Vancouver Sun had violated the provincial Human Rights Code; it ordered the Sun to pay GATE $500 in costs and "to refrain from committing the same or similar contraventions of the Code in future." GATE organized a victory picket of about fifty people outside of the Sun's Pacific Press Building. On July 16,1976, the Sun appealed the ruling to the B.C. Supreme Court, but in August the court rejected the appeal and upheld the Board's ruling. On June 10,1977, the ruling was overturned by the B.C. Court of Appeal, GATE (Vancouver) took the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, making it the first lesbian and gay rights case ever to make it to the highest court in Canada. On May 22,1979, in a six to three decision, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal of GATE (Vancouver), ruling that freedom of the press allowed the Sun "reasonable cause" to refuse the ad. The Sun eventually changed its ad policy, however, and printed a classified ad for Gay Tide on November 17, 1979.

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October 23 Vancouver Maurice Flood […]

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Pacific Press Building Hotel Vancouver currently Fairmont Vancouver

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Joseph Wood Stuart Keate

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Gay Alliance toward Equality GATE Vancouver

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Gay Tide Vancouver Sun

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British Columbia Human Rights Act

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J.W (John Wilson), "Victory for Vancouver," Gay Rising 2 (January—February 1976): 1—2, 4."Where Gay Tide Draws the Line" (editorial). Gay Tide 2 (March 1975): 2;"The Verdict: Heads We Win, Tails They Lose" (editorial). Gay Tide, no. 21 (1978), p. 2;Paul Trollope, "Supreme Court Dumps Gay Tide," Body Politic, no. 54 (1979), pp. 9-10;"Supreme Court Rejects Gay Rights," Gay Tide, no. 22 (1979), p. 1;"Supreme Court Considers Gay Rights: Laskin Reserves Judgement," Gay Tide, no. 21 (1978), p. 3;"Sun's Ad Policy Opposes Homosexuality, Inquiry Told," Vancouver Sun, four star ed., 1 March 1975, p. 16;"Sun Lawyer Says: Gay Love 'Unlawful,' Gay Lib 'Illegal,'" Gay Tide 3 (August 1976): 1;"Sun Censors GATE Ad," Peak (Simon Fraser Univ., Burnaby, B.C.) (Gay Supplement), 9 July 1975, p. 4;"Ruff: Sun Violates Code; Sun: Gays a Threat," Gay Tide 2 (March 1975): 1, 10;"Rights Law Tested," Advocate (Los Angeles), no. 166 (1975), p. 6;Jeff Richstone and J. Stuart Russell, "Comment: Shutting the Gate: Gay Civil Rights in the Supreme Court of Canada," McGill Law Journal 27 (1981): 92-117;Ken Popert, "Newspaper Appeals Ruling Favouring Gays," Body Politic, no. 26 (1976), p. 7;Stan Persky, "Gays Blast Publisher's Claim Homosexuality Leads to 'V.D., Crime,' " Western Voice, 12-25 March 1975 P- 10;"On to the Supreme Court" (editorial). Gay Tide, no. 17 (1977), p. 1;"Justice Delayed in B.C.," Body Politic, no. 21 (1975), p. 6;"Gays Triumph over Sun," Gay Tide 3 (April 1976): 1;"Gay Tide Wins Round Two," Gay Tide, no. 14 (1976), p. 3;"Gay Tide Washed Out by Supreme Court," Kinesis, June 1979, p. 1;"GATE Wins Leave to Appeal to Supreme Court," Gay Tide, no. 18 (1978), p. 2;"GATE Wins First Hearing in Canada under B.C. Human Rights Legislation," Body Politic, no. 18 (1975). P- 5;"GATE VS. Sun: The Ruling That Was," Gay Tide, no. 17 (1977), p. 7;"GATE VS. Sun: A Chronology of the Case," Gay Tide, no. 17 (1977), p. 3;"Five Year Battle Comes to an End as the Sun Accepts Gay Tide Ad" Body Politic, no. 59 (1979-80), p. 9;"An Exciting Precedent" (editorial). Body Politic, no. 24 (1976), p. 2;Robert Cook, "Gays Win Protection under B.C. Rights Code," Body Politic, no, 23 (1976), p. 1;Bob Cook, "Gays 2, The Sun 0," Body Politic, no, 27 (1976), p, 6;"B.C. Paper Ordered to Take Gay-Lib Ads," Globe and Mail, metro ed,, 13 January 1976, p. 8;The following is a selection of articles; for a comprehensive sampling of articles on the case, see the GATE (Vancouver) papers, 82-005, Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, Toronto;

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Joseph Wood

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