Tag Archives: Supreme Court of Canada

Queer History @ FairyTales27!

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Kevin Allen | Leave a comment

The 27th Annual Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival launches this week and will run June 12-15 at Contemporary Calgary. The Festival opens with Pride vs. Prejudice: The Delwin Vriend Story, which revisits the landmark 1998 Supreme Court case that led Alberta to include sexual orientation in its human rights legislation.

The screening, followed by a “Then and Now” panel discussion, couldn’t be more timely as the province again finds itself at the center of national conversations about 2SLGBTQIA+ protections. The panel (featuring Brendan MacArthur Stevens – Blakes law firm; Amelia Newbert, trans advocate and founder of Skipping Stone Foundation; and Keith Purdy, 2SLGBTQIA+ advocate and representative of the Alberta Federation of Labour) will reflect on the legal and cultural impact of Vriend’s activism—and the ongoing work for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights in Canada.

The Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival is one of the longest-running and most impactful queer film festivals in Western Canada. It features 21 film screenings, an Artist Market showcasing 17 local queer artists and makers, interactive workshops, and dynamic drag performances—all celebrating the diverse intersectionality, talent, and lived experiences of queer creators.

On the Festival’s final day, join the Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen for one of his favourite films, Winter Kept Us Warm. Experience the ground-breaking film that changed Canadian cinema forever: the first English Canadian gay film ever made! This beautifully shot black-and-white gem captivated audiences worldwide upon its 1965 release, boldly depicting queer desire at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized in Canada. Winter Kept Us Warm was remastered for its 60th anniversary—a time capsule of pre-liberation queer intimacy and a watershed moment in our nation’s film history. Kevin will host a talk-back session after the film. Kevin will host a talk-back session after the film.

Winter Kept Us Warm, Sunday, June 15th @ 4:30 PM.

Visit the festival website for the full schedule.

Tickets can be purchased through the Arts Commons Box Office: here.

See you at the Festival!

{KA}

Everett Klippert Coda

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Kevin Allen | 4 comments

As many readers of the Calgary Gay History Project know, a lot of our work has been focussed on the life of Everett Klippert—unjustly incarcerated for most of the 1960s for being gay.

*Everett (bottom right) with his brothers, the year before his first incarceration*

In 2020, the Klippert family applied to the Parole Board of Canada for an expungement of their uncle’s criminal record—a provision that was made available to them through the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act. This Act was part of the Government of Canada’s formal apology to the LGBTQ2 community in 2017.

The expungement order was granted on November 18, 2020, which means Everett is deemed never to have been a criminal. Although he died almost 25 years ago, his family is deeply satisfied with the outcome.

Interestingly, Ottawa-based lawyer Brian Crane, who defended Everett in the Supreme Court trial of 1967, offered to assist the family with the application, pro bono. It’s remarkable that Mr. Crane’s career has spanned these two ends of Everett’s story.

*Kevin Allen and Brian Crane in conversation as part of Calgary Pride’s 2020 History Program*

The Calgary Gay History Project is very grateful to have been part of this journey with the Klippert family. To learn more about Everett’s story, and why it is important to Canadian history, we have included a few links.

Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story, an award-winning 17 minute documentary by director Laura O’Grady.

Legislating Love, the podcast by playwright Natalie Meisner, Sage Theatre and the Alberta Queer Calendar Project.

Why I’m Celebrating 1969 and Calgary’s Gay Rights Anti-Hero in the Sprawl.

Everett Klippert in the Canadian Encyclopedia

Klippert Month: a series of articles on this website about th e life of Everett Klippert.

*A car loan due to Merton Klippert—Everett’s debts are paid in full.*

{KA}

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Brian Crane, Everett Klippert, expungement, gay, gross indecency, Laura O'Grady, Legislating Love, lesbian, Natalie Meisner, Parole Board of Canada, queer, Sprawl Calgary, Supreme Court of Canada, transgender

Legislating Love Launch!

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Next Monday, December 9th, join us for a significant Calgary gay history event: Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story, the award-winning play, is launching as a book. Published by the University of Calgary Press, Legislating Love features local playwright, Natalie Meisner’s emotionally engaging script with director’s notes from Sage Theatre’s Jason Mehmel and essays from the Calgary Gay History Project’s Kevin Allen and Tereasa Maillie.

There will be speeches, a special performance from the play, and a reception and book signing to follow. This free event starts at 7 PM in the BMO room of the Central Library. The library would prefer people to register in advance: here.

December 9, 2019 Book Launch

Sage Theatre premiered Legislating Love in March 2018 to much acclaim. The play explores the story of Calgary bus driver Everett Klippert, who was the last Canadian convicted of being a dangerous sexual offender because of his homosexuality. The Supreme Court of Canada’s landmark judgment in November 1967 set a new bar for injustice: Klippert was given a life sentence.

The judgment led to outrage amongst some progressives in Canada, prompting Pierre Trudeau’s famous quote: “Take this thing on homosexuality, I think the view we take here is that there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” It also profoundly impacted the nation’s gay community when homosexuality was subsequently partially decriminalized in 1969.

Giving our stories artistic expression keeps them vital; it allows our history to have resonance and relations with the present. One of the things most admirable about Legislating Love is how deeply centred it is in Calgary. In fact, our city was more than a backdrop for the drama; it was a character itself in the play. Chicken on the Way, the Calgary Tower, and the Number One bus route: Calgary audiences thrilled to place themselves in the play’s narrative.

Audiences were moved emotionally by the production. The genuine quality of the play and positive word of mouth ensured that the run became largely sold out.

Playwright Natalie Meisner

Natalie said: “For me, one of the greatest endorsements for the show was the live testimonials as well as the written ones by Everett’s family and contemporaries. We have been contacted by theatres from across the country with interest in the script. I think this means we have opened a door to this Calgary based story and indeed this particular man’s story to the hearts and the minds of the country.”

{KA}