The Law in Colour: Canadian LGBTQ+ Cases

The Cause

\"The Law in Colour: Canadian LGBTQ+ Cases\" is a set of five illustrated short stories whose plots are derived from Canadian case law and an accompanying lesson plan. The purpose and benefit to the community of \"The Law in Colour\" is to educate community members on the legal rights of LGBTQ+ students and teachers within the Canadian secondary school system. The five cases we have selected are: Vriend v. Alberta; Willows v. Halifax Regional School Board; BC College of Teachers v. Trinity Western University; Hall v. Powers; Chamberlain et al. c. Surrey School Board. Printed copies of the stories will be produced to accompany in-class presentations on the cases in participating schools or community centres. We intend to reach out to senior high schools, youth shelters, and LGBTQ+ community resource centres in the city of Edmonton. We will complete the illustrations and scripting for the short stories in August, 2016, at which point they will be displayed on a public website that we will create using Wordpress. The lesson plan will be completed and published at the same time. In July-August 2016, prior to the completion of the illustrated stories, we will contact schools, shelters, and community centres to ask if they would like to schedule an in-class presentation of the stories or to offer educators printed copies of the storybooks and lesson plan to use in class. Ongoing presentations of the stories and delivery of printed copies to educators/community workers will occur through to December 2017, at which point the project will reach completion. The stories and lesson plan will remain online as a public resource. (The attached photographs represent the style of illustration that we will use in \"The Law in Colour\").

Who Will it Benefit?

\"The Law in Colour\" will benefit LGBTQ+ high school students, educators, school administrators, and the general community in Edmonton. Publishing \"The Law in Colour\" online will increase accessibility to members of the community. Providing printed copies to schools and community centres will allow community members without internet at home to access the resource. \"The Law in Colour\" will empower individuals by giving them a better understanding of their legal rights within Canada. The collection of stories will focus on cases concerning the LGBTQ+ community within the Canadian school system, which makes The Law in Colour ideal for use in classrooms. Part of our project will be providing educators the opportunity to have presenters come in to share the materials with their students.
\"The Law in Colour\" seeks to a) empower LGBTQ+ students and teachers with insightful information about their rights, b) increase students’ and teachers’ knowledge of the legal system, c) provide an easily accessible educational resource on Canadian LGBTQ+ legal issues.