With his legal team behind him, Delwin Vriend won his case at the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Justice Russel pulled no punches in her written ruling, stating that discrimination against the gay and lesbian communities was an historical, universal, notorious, and indisputable social reality.
It was a big win for Delwin and his team, however it would be short lived as the Government of Alberta appealed the ruling. The next stage in the legal process would not be so kind to Delwin’s pursuit for equality for Alberta’s 2SLGBTQI+ community.
Welcome to episode 4 of Vriend Versus Alberta.
*NOTE: The terms “Queer and Trans” and “sexual and gender minorities” are used in this series to refer to the 2SLGBTQI+ community as a whole. We acknowledge the great diversity within this community, and you can find more information about this here.
Links: Read the Supreme Court’s ruling on Vriend v. Alberta. Watch Senator Paula Simon’s speech in the Red Chamber about Vriend v. Alberta. Learn more about Vriend v. Alberta from the Alberta Labour History Institute. Learn more about Vriend v. Alberta on the University of Alberta’s Bridging Connections podcast. Learn more about Vriend v. Alberta on the Edmonton Heritage Council’s Edmonton City as Museum Project podcast produced with Alberta Labour History Institute.
EPISODE IMAGE: Doug Stollery was co-counsel alongside Sheila Greckol. Together they would lead the process of arguing Delwin’s case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. CREDIT: JoAnne Pearce
