A VRIEND TIMELINE

1987

Delwin Vriend, 21, takes a job at The King’s College as a lab technician.

1989

Feb. 2: In a case called Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, the Supreme Court rules that Section 15 of the Charter, which lists all the classes of people who are guaranteed equality rights is not exhaustive. The court says that there may be other analogous groups of people who should be protected from discrimination.

1991

January: Vriend is fired on the basis of his sexual orientation. He attempts to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. The commission refuses to hear his case.

1993

Nov. 27: Vriend appeals the commission’s decision to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

1994

April 13: Justice Anne Russell rules Alberta’s law unconstitutional. She “reads in” sexual orientation to the Individual’s Rights Protection Act.

May 5: The Alberta government announces it will appeal Russell’s ruling.

1995

May 25: The Supreme Court of Canada issues its decision in Egan v Canada, in which a same-sex couple sued for pension benefits. The Court rules that sexual orientation is an “analogous” grounds for discrimination, akin to race or religion or disability. However, the Court finds that the government has a legitimate public policy reason to deny pension benefits to same-sex partners.

1996

Feb. 23: In a 2-1 decision, the Alberta Court of Appeal rules that Alberta has no duty to include sexual orientation in its human rights legislation.

Oct. 3: The Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear Vriend’s appeal.

1997

Nov. 4: The Supreme Court hears two days of arguments in the Vriend case. The Court hears from 17 interveners, including religious groups and civil liberties organizations.

1998

April 2: The Supreme Court finds unanimously that Alberta’s human rights legislation is unconstitutional. A majority of justices decide to “read” sexual orientation into Alberta law. Social conservatives in Alberta call on the Klein government to invoke the notwithstanding clause to override the court’s decision.

April 9: Ralph Klein announces his government will not invoke the notwithstanding clause, but will accept the Supreme Court ruling. “It’s wrong, morally wrong, to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation,” Klein says.