Preface: Remembering the Vriend Decision

Teachers' associations or federations, provincial and territorial ministries of education, and other educational interest groups would no doubt agree: the safety and security of children and youth as students in Canadian schools must be a primary focus of educational policymaking and implemented practices.Indeed all students, despite linguistic, ethnocultural, sexual, gender, and other differences, should feel safe and protected in classrooms, corridors, gyms, washrooms, and anywhere else on school grounds.They should also feel safe using school buses or other public transportation, walking between the school they attend and where they live, and hanging out in parks and other public spaces off school grounds.However, sexual and gender minority (SGM) students, a diverse group that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersexual, trans-identified, gender-nonconforming, Two-Spirit, and queer students, are among vulnerable youth subpopulations that often feel unsafe and prone to violence in these environments.More and more, they are relying on the force of Canadian law to acknowledge their right to experience safe and caring schools that respect and accommodate their identities, differences, and needs (Grace, 2007a; Grace & Wells, 2005; Wells, 2008).Canadian law upholds equality provisions enshrined in Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Grace, 2007a).In 2010 Canadians celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the implementation of this section of the Charter.As a tenet advancing social inclusion, Section 15 guarantees individual rights and protections for minorities, including sexual minorities.In 1995 in Egan v. Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that sexual orientation was a character of a person analogous to other characteristics like race and gender, Preface Remembering the Vriend Decisionx Preface as listed in Section 15.Building on this recognition, in 1998 in Vriend v. Alberta, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed equality rights for gay and lesbian citizens.Vriend did more than require provinces and territories to acknowledge sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination in their human rights legislation.It also challenged the Canadian citizenry to develop a broader social, cultural, and political mindset that views members of sexual minorities as true citizens who ought to be able to live, learn, and work free from discrimination in safe and secure surroundings.In truth, Vriend has brought Canada to the forefront of a worldwide movement to ensure civil equity and human rights for sexual minority and, at least in the spirit of the Charter as a living document, gender minority persons.It has led to monumental outcomes.Perhaps most notably, the Government of Canada legalized same-sex civil marriage in 2005, making Canada the fourth country in the world to do so after the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain.These progressive changes represent a move towards a more just and inclusive society for sexual-minority Canadians, a move that must be fully reflected in recasting Canadian education as a more inclusive social institution for transmitting knowledge and values in our society and multiculture.Here the drive to be more inclusive must also encompass recognition and accommodation of gender minority Canadians who do not neatly fit the binary classification of biological male or female.In this preface, I want to focus on the Vriend decision, noting its stunning, positive impact on the quest of sexual-minority Canadians to enjoy the rights and privileges of full citizenship.It is the recent history of Supreme Court decisions like Vriend, and the preceding history of sexual-minority stigmatization and exclusion, that all students should learn about as they study the history of Canada.They should know that Canadians categorized as homosexuals were considered criminals until 1969, when homosexuality was decriminalized thanks to the daring initiative taken by Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 1967 when he was federal Minister of Justice.It took another 31 years for sexual-minority Canadians to have the force of law deem them citizens with equal benefit and equal protection of the law.Students ought to learn how heroes such as Delwin Vriend and Pierre Elliott Trudeau stood their ground to make Canadian society more inclusive for sexual minorities.Knowing this part of Canadian history is integral to efforts to make Canadian schools more encompassing so all children and youth, especially vulnerable SGM youth, can be open, visible, protected, and accommodated as they grow and develop.

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