Author Description

Canada is considered a leader when it comes to LGBTQ rights, but as Queer Mobilizations shows, this has less to do with progressive politicians than with the tireless work of LGBTQ activists. Ever since certain homosexual acts were decriminalized in 1969, queer activists have fought for – and won – a series of public policy battles in governments across Canada. As this volume argues, anti-discrimination legislation, the extension of benefits to same-sex couples, the right to marry, adoption rights, and the protection of gay-straight alliances in schools did not result from a single act, nor the work of a single organization but rather from the concerted efforts of many people, in many places, over many years. Consequently, it took twenty five years for all of Canada’s human rights laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Queer Mobilizations examines the relationships between LGBTQ activists and local, provincial, and federal Canadian governments. Contributors explore how various governments have tried to regulate and repress LGBTQ movements, and how, in turn, LGBTQ activists have successfully shaped public policy across the political spectrum, from city halls to the House of Commons.