The Supreme Court had ruled that sexual orientation should be read into Alberta’s human rights legislation. But the Alberta Government had one more tool it could use to deny equality to its Queer population.
That option was the Notwithstanding Clause.
The province slipped into turmoil as the Alberta Government debated whether or not to invoke the Notwithstanding Clause.
As Premier Ralph Klein remained silent, hate and vitriol bubbled to the surface of public discourse resulting in massive letter-writing campaigns and death threats.
Welcome to episode 8 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.
Archival audio of Delwin Vriend, et al. v. Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Alberta, et al was used with permission from the Supreme Court of Canada.
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: Michael Phair recalls the deluge of hate mail, including death threats, he received as Edmonton’s only openly gay city councillor after the Vriend ruling was announced. CREDIT: Edmonton Community Foundation
