Egale Canada (Canada's LGBT Human Rights Organization)

Egale Canada is a national organization committed to advancing equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-identified people, and their families, across Canada. Egale has members in every province and territory of the country. Our Board of Directors is comprised of an elected male and female representative from each of six regions of Canada.

Egale has intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada in every gay rights case that has reached the Court, including Egan v. Canada, Mossop v. Canada, Vriend v. Alberta, M v. H & Ontario, Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v. Canada Customs, B.C. College of Teachers v. Trinity Western University, Chamberlain v. Surrey School Board, and most recently the Marriage Reference. Egale has also participated in numerous lower court cases, including the marriage cases in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

Egale has appeared before numerous federal Parliamentary Committees, including the House of Commons Committees on Justice and Human Rights, Human Resources Development, Citizenship and Immigration, and the Sub-Committee on Tax Equity for Families with Dependent Children, as well as the Senate Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Custody and Divorce. Egale has also participated in the Ministerial Legislative Review on immigration issues, Statistics Canada consultations concerning the 2001 census, public hearings conducted by the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission, and public consultations held by the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies.

Egale has been involved in extensive public education and international activities. Egale participates in annual consultations sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Egale representatives have attended the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, the International Year of the Family Conference in Montreal, and the UN World Conference against Racism in South Africa.

Egale maintains an active commitment to bringing an intersectional approach to our work, meaning that we recognize the linkages between different forms of oppression, including oppression based on race, sex, class, religion, (dis)ability, age, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Respect for each individual's full identity requires that our struggle for equality cannot be carried out in isolation from the struggle for equality of all disadvantaged communities.