It is #PrideMonth and this is the story of LGBTQ rights activist Jim Egan, who brought forward a landmark Supreme Court case!
Jim Egan was born in Toronto on Sept. 14, 1921. Egan realized he was gay at a young age & in 1948, he met his partner John Nesbit.
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Since he was self-employed, Egan knew he could speak out without losing his job. Starting in 1949, he began writing hundreds of letters, articles & op-ed pieces to newspapers and magazines advocating for equal rights for the LGBTQ community.
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His letters and articles appeared across Canada, first under a pseudonym and then under his real name by the 1960s.
In 1964, he appeared in a Maclean's article that was a positive portrayal of homosexuality that was rare in mainstream media at the time.
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His partner Nesbit asked him to give up his activism, but Egan refused and the couple broke up.
Soon after, Egan moved to B.C. The couple reunited on Vancouver Island in the mid-1960s.
In 1986, Egan retired and began collecting Canada Pension Plan benefits.
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He applied for spousal benefits for Nesbit in 1987 but this was denied. Egan took the matter to court. He lost at the Federal Court in 1991 & the Federal Court of Appeal in 1993
He reached the Supreme Court in 1994, which ruled against Egan & the issue of spousal benefits
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The court did rule that sexual orientation should be included as a prohibited grounds for discrimination under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
This was a massive victory for the LGBTQ community.
Egan died in 2000, Nesbit died three months later
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Murray Sinclair was a Senator, judge and university chancellor.
But his greatest contribution was as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the early-2010s.
This is the story of a lifelong champion of Indigenous rights.
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Murray Sinclair was born on Jan. 24, 1951 in Selkirk, Manitoba. Raised on the St. Peter's Reserve, he was his class valedictorian and Athlete of the Year at his high school in 1968.
He attended the University of Manitoba but left to care for his grandparents.
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In 1971, while working at the Selkirk Friendship Centre, he was elected vice president of the Manitoba Metis Federation. He was also the executive assistant to MLA Howard Pawley.
In 1976, Sinclair enrolled at the University of Winnipeg. He then attended law school.
Olga Kotelko may be the greatest athlete Canada has ever produced.
She held 30 world records and won over 750 gold medals. And she did it all from her 70s to 90s.
This is the story of this legendary athlete!
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Olga Kotelko was born on March 2, 1919 in Smuts, Saskatchewan. When she was 22, she graduated from Saskatoon Normal School and taught at a one-room school near Vonda, Saskatchewan.
After her marriage broke up, she raised her two children.
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After she retired in 1984, she took up playing softball. At the age of 70, she made a double play. After she gave up her position to a 55-year-old, she started in track and field. She chose that because she had developed her running and throwing skills in softball.
On June 23, 1611, Henry Hudson, his son and six others were put into a boat in Hudson Bay by mutineers and cast adrift. From that point, they disappeared from history.
So what happened to Henry Hudson?
Let's explore the mystery
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Henry Hudson was a celebrated explorer during the early-1600s.
In 1607 and 1608, he made two attempts to find the Northeast Passage. His explorations of North America laid the foundation for Dutch colonization of the present-day New York region.
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In 1610, he began a new expedition to find the Northwest Passage. He became the first European to see Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay.
Entering Hudson Bay, he believed he had found the passage to the Pacific. He soon realized this was wrong but by then winter had set in.
On June 22, 1971, Joni Mitchell's magnum opus album, Blue, was released.
It is not only hailed as her best album, but one of the greatest albums ever made.
The album is celebrated to this day by critics and fans alike.
This is the story of Joni Mitchell's fourth album.
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The first three albums in Mitchell's career were acclaimed but by 1970 she needed a break from performing.
In the spring of 1970, she set off on vacation in Europe. While in Crete, she wrote some of the songs that appeared on Blue.
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Many of the songs on the album were inspired by personal experience including her relationships with Cary Raditz and Graham Nash. Both My Old Man and River are typically credited as being inspired by her troubled relationship with Nash.
Tommy Prince was one of the most decorated soldiers in Canadian history through two different wars.
But after his war service finished, he was forgotten by the country he had served.
This is the story of Tommy Prince.
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Tommy Prince's ancestors had served in support of the Crown during the 1870 Red River Resistance, and his father Chief William Prince was a member of the Nile Expedition in 1885. Family members also served in the First World War.
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Tommy Prince was born on Oct. 25, 1915. Growing up, Prince was an excellent marksmen. He also developed tracking and stealth skills.
Prince's father taught him to shoot using a target the size of a playing card at 100 metres.
Chief Dan George led an amazing life.
A gifted poet. An activist for his people. A movie star.
Remembered as the first Indigenous person to receive an Academy Award nomination, he was so much more than that.
This is his story.
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Dan George was born Geswanouth Slahoot on the Burrard Reserve on July 24, 1899.
He was a descendant of Chief Wautsauk, who met Capt. George Vancouver when he landed in the area in 1792.
From an early age, he went by the first name Daniel.
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After he was forced into Residential School at the age of five, his last name was changed to George.
At the age of 16, he left Residential School and began working various jobs. These jobs included as a bus driver, longshoreman and construction worker.