On November 27, Ontario Labour Minister Bill Wrye announced that the Peterson government is considering making it illegal to “discriminate” against homosexuals. Wrye promised to unveil “reforms” to the Ontario Human Rights Code within a few weeks.
“I think we ought to take a real close look at it (sexual preference)” the Toronto Star (Nov. 28) reported Wrye as saying. Wrye acknowledged that the matter was controversial, as it had been in 1981 when the PC government rejected a similar call from the NDP. “The matter was obviously a matter of some controversy and I don’t think that’s particularly changed, he said MPP Evelyn Gigantes (NDP, Ottawa-Centre) said she hoped the Liberals would make the change.
The matter is controversial because in practice protection for sexual “orientation” or “preference” will mean protection for homosexual activity.
Evelyn Gigantes introduced a private member’s bill, an Act to amend the Human Rights Code, 1981, on October 17, 1985. It received second reading on December 17. The bill inserts “sexual orientation” whenever possible in the text of the act, in order to force all citizens to overlook a person’s homosexual activity in connection with all “services, accommodation, contracts, employment and vocational association.”
