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1. W. S. Tarnopolsky, Discrimination and the Law in Canada (Toronto: Richard De Boo Limited, 1982), pp. 25-37.

2. Human rights legislation came into effect in Yukon in 1987, Nunavut in 2003, and the Northwest Territories in 2004. Yukon and the Northwest Territories both have human rights commissions, while in Nunavut allegations of discrimination are dealt with directly by the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal.

3. R.B. Howe and D. Johnson, Restraining Equality: Human Rights Commissions in Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000), pp. 42-44.

4. Ibid, pp. 34-35.

5. M. Smith, "Social Movements and Judicial Empowerment: Courts, Public Policy, and Lesbian and Gay Organizing in Canada," Politics & Society 33, no. 2 (June 2005), pp. 327-353; T. Warner, Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism in Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2002), pp. 191-217; M. Smith, Lesbian and Gay Rights in Canada: Social Movements and Equality-Seeking, 1971-1995 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999), pp. 42-43, 66, 134-136; D. Rayside, On the Fringe: Gays and Lesbians in Politics (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998), pp. 105-139; M. Smith, "Reluctant Recognition: The Liberal Government and Lesbian and Gay Rights" in L.A. Pall, ed., How Ottawa Spends 1998-99 (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 293-314.

6. T. Warner, Never Going Back, p. 46.

7. D. Kimmel and D.J. Robinson, "Sex, Crime, Pathology: Homosexuality and Criminal Code Reform in Canada, 1949-1969," Canadian Journal of Law and Society 16, no. 1 (2001), pp. 147-165.

8. See e.g., K. Lahey, Are We ‘Persons’Yet? Law and Sexuality in Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999), p. 28.

9. M. Smith, "Recognizing Same-Sex Relationships: The Evolution of Recent Federal and Provincial Policies," Canadian Public Administration 45, no. 1 (Spring 2002), pp. 1-23. See also M. Smith, Lesbian and Gay Rights in Canada.

10. Although the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in section 15 of the Charter does not expressly include sexual orientation, this has been recognized as an ‘analogous’ground in jurisprudence: see Haig v. Canada (1992), 9 O.R. (3d) 495; Egan v. Canada, (1995) 2 S.C.R. 513.

11. M. Smith, "Reluctant Recognition: The Liberal Government and Lesbian and Gay Rights," in Pal, How Ottawa Spends, p. 296.

12. Ibid, p. 296.

13. M. Smith, "Social Movements and Judicial Empowerment: Courts, Public Policy, and Lesbian and Gay Organizing in Canada," Politics & Society, p. 336.

14. See D.G. Casswell, Lesbians, Gay Men and Canadian Law (Toronto: Edmond Montgomery Publications Limited, 1996), pp. 29-39.

15. This occurred as a result of court decisions in Newfoundland (Human Rights Commission) v. Newfoundland (Minister of Employment and Labour Relations) (1995), 24 C.H.R.R. D/144 (Nfld. S.C.), and Vriend v. Alberta (1998), 1 S.C.R. 493.

16. Canadian Human Rights Act, R.S., 1985, c.H-6, s. 2.

17. Canadian Human Rights Act, s. 26(1).

18. Canadian Human Rights Act, s. 26(2)-(4). The Commissioner of Official Languages is appointed for a fixed seven-year term for a similar reason. As MacMillan explains, a seven-year term ensures that the Commissioner does not become "the mouthpiece of the government of the day." M.C. MacMillan, "Active Conscience or Administrative Vanguard? The Commissioner of Official Languages as an Agent of Change," Canadian Public Administration 49, no. 2 (Summer 2006), p. 161-179.

19. Federal Courts Act, R.S.C. 1985 c.F-7, s.18.1(4).

20. The National Action Committee on the Status of Women and the Canadian Labour Congress were two groups that appeared before the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, arguing for the necessity of including sexual orientation as a ground in the proposed CHRA. See: Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, 2nd Session, 30th Parliament, 1976-1977, Issue No. 7, March 29, 1977. (Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing, 1977), p.7; and Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, 2nd Session, 30th Parliament, 1976-1977, Issue No. 9, April 26, 1977. (Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing, 1977), p. 11.

21. Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Debates, 2nd Session, 30th Parliament, 1976-1977, Vol. 120, No. 69, Feb. 17, 1977. (Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing, 1977), p. 3143.

22. Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, 2nd Session, 30th Parliament, 1976-1977, Issue No. 6, March 10, 1977, p. 21; Issue No. 9, April 26, 1977, pp. 16-17. (Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing, 1977).

23. Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence of the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, 2nd Session, 30th Parliament, 1976-1977, Issue No. 6, March 10, 1977, pp. 11-12 (remarks of Mr. Mike Landers, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, p. 21 (remarks of Mr. B. L. Strayer, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy and Planning, Department of Justice). (Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing, 1977).

24. T. Warner, Never Going Back, pp. 26-28.

25. G.H.A. Mackintosh, The Development of the Canadian Human Rights Act: A Case Study of the Legislative Process (Masters Thesis, University of Manitoba, 1982), p. 171.

26. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1979 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1980. Cat No. HR 1-1979), p. 8. Additional grounds recommended in the 1979 Annual Report include "political belief," "mental handicap (retardation)," "mental illness" and "previous history of mental illness and previous history of dependence on alcohol or other drugs."

27. Ibid, pp. 9-10.

28. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1980 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1981. Cat. No. HR 1-1980), p.6.

29. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Canadians and Discrimination: An Analysis of the 1981 Opinion Poll (Ottawa: Research and Special Studies, Canadian Human Rights Commission, 1982), p. 11.

30. G.H.A. Mackintosh, The Development of the Canadian Human Rights Act, pp. 172-173.

31. The 1989 annual report is the only report from this time period that does not repeat the recommendation for the inclusion of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground in the CHRA.

32. Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. Standing Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs, Equality for All. Issue No. 29, October 1985, 33rd Parliament, 1st Session, 1984-1985. (Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada, 1985), p. 30.

33. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1991 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1992. Cat. No. HR1-1991), p. 43.

34. Ibid, p. 41.

35. Haig v. Canada (1992), 9 O.R. (3d) 495.

36. K. Lahey, Are We ‘Persons’Yet?, pp. 49-50.

37. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1995 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services Canada, 1996. Cat. No. HR1-1995), p. 15.

38. "Ottawa Fails Gays: Yalden: Legal Stalling Blamed on PM," The Province (Vancouver, BC: Mar 20, 1996), p. A16.

39. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1996 (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 1997. Cat. No. HR1-1996), p. 14

40. "Relational rights" is a term used to describe the rights enjoyed by persons in spousal relationships. See K. Lahey, Are We ‘Persons’Yet?, p. 19, 76-77.

41. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1992 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, 1993. Cat. No. HR1-1992), p. 55.

42. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1994 (Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services, 1995. Cat. No. HR1-1994), p. 10.

43. Gerald Hunt’s survey of private sector unions shows that by 1998, most labour federations were addressing sexual orientation issues, however, there was variation in the level and scope of union involvement. See G. Hunt, "No Longer Outsiders: Labor’s Response to Sexual Diversity in Canada," in G. Hunt, ed., Laboring for Rights: Unions and Sexual Diversity Across Nations (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999), pp. 10-36.

44. Canadian Human Rights Commission, "Employment Benefits for Same-Sex Couples: A Question of Human Rights," remarks by Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay at the Professional Institute of the Public Service Symposium "The Road to Full Equality of Benefits for Same-Sex Common Law Spouses", Ottawa, 25 September 1993.

45. Canada (Attorney General) v. Mossop, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 554

46. Egan v. Canada, [1995] 2 S.C.R. 513

47. See K. Lahey, Are We ‘Persons’Yet?, pp. 66-72.

48. Canada (Attorney General) v. Moore (No. 1) (1996), 25 C.H.R.R. D/351 (Can. Trib.)

49. Canada (Attorney General) v. Moore (No. 2) (1997), 29 C.H.R.R. D/185 (Can. Trib.)

50. Rosenberg v. Canada (Attorney General) (1998), 38 O.R. (3d) 577

51. Canada (Attorney General) v. Moore (No. 1) (1996), 25 C.H.R.R. D/351, para. 104(d).

52. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1998 (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 1999. Cat. No. HR1-1998), p. 39.

53. M. v. H., [1999] 2 S.C.R. 3. See M. Hurley, "Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights", Current Issue Review 92-1E (Ottawa: Library of Parliament, 31 May 2007), pp. 8-14 for discussion.

54. British, Columbia, Ontario and Québec had already introduced comprehensive legislation recognizing the rights of same-sex couples in the provincial legislative domain. See M. Hurley, "Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights", pp. 9-12.

55. Canadian Human Rights Commission, "Bill C-23, Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act", Statement by Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Ottawa, 31 May 2000.

56. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2000 (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2001. Cat. No. HR1-2000), p. 17

57. In 1974, Richard North and his partner, Chris Vogel, applied to have their same-sex marriage registered under the Manitoba Marriage Act. For more insight into the legal case that emerged as a result of this application, see D.G. Casswell, Lesbians, Gay Men, and Canadian Law , p. 231.

58. Leyland v. Ontario (Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations) (1993), 104 D.L.R. (4th) 214 (Ont. Div. Ct.).

59. See M. Hurley, "Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights", p. 15.

60. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1992, p. 21.

61. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 1995, p. 52.

62. The issuance of marriage licenses in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction and therefore, is not subject to the CHRA.

63. See M. Hurley, "Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights", p. 26.

64. Canadian Human Rights Commission, "Bill C-23, Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act", Statement by Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Ottawa, 31 May 2000.

65. Law Commission of Canada, Beyond Conjugality: Recognizing and Supporting Close Personal Adult Relationships (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2001. Cat. No. JL2-18/2001E), p. 131.

66. Canadian Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2001 (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2002. Cat. No. HR1-2001), p. 19.

67. Canadian Human Rights Commission, "Same Sex Marriages," Submission of the Canadian Human Rights Commission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, April 29, 2003.

68. M. Hurley, "Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights", p. 16.

69. Halpern v. Canada (Attorney General) (2003), 65 O.R. (3d) 161 (Ont. C.A.).

70. Catholic Civil Rights League v. Hendricks (2004), 238 D.L.R. (4th) 577 (Qué. C.A.).

71. Reference re Same-Sex Marriage, [2004] 3 S.C.R. 698

72. By this time, courts in eight provinces and one territory already permitted same-sex marriages in their individual jurisdictions. See M.C. Hurley, Sexual Orientation and Legal Rights: A Chronological Overview, PRB 04-13E (Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament, Ottawa, revised 26 September 2005), p. 12.

73. Anne Smith, "The Unique Position of National Human Rights Institutions: A Mixed Blessing?" Human Rights Quarterly 28, (November 2006), pp. 904-946.

74. A.H. Young, "Keeping the Courts at Bay: The Canadian Human Rights Commission and its Counterparts in Britain and Northern Ireland: Some Comparative Lessons," University of Toronto Law Journal 42, (Winter 1993), p. 65.

75. K. Lahey, Are We Persons Yet?, p. 28.

76. D. Rayside, On the Fringe, p. 121.

77. Canadian Press/Legér Marketing, "Canadian Perceptions of Homosexuality," Public Release Date: June 22, 2001. For further discussion of these changes in public opinion, see J. Scott Matthews, "The Political Foundations of Support for Same