FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 02, 1998

EDMONTON -- The president of the Alberta Federation of Labour is adding her voice to the growing chorus of Albertans calling on the Klein government to amend the province's human rights law to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.

"The labour movement in Canada has a long, proud history of fighting to protect the rights of all working people," says Audrey Cormack. "We've raised our voices in defense of the rights of women, minorities and the disabled. And today we are reaffirming our position that gay and lesbian workers are also entitled to legal protection from discrimination."

Cormack's comments were made earlier today after the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that sexual orientation is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court also ordered Alberta to amend its human rights law to reflect the intent of the Charter.

The court decision is the culmination of a seven-year legal battle waged between an Edmonton man named Delwin Vriend and Alberta government. In 1991, Vriend was fired from his job as a lab assistant at Kings College in Edmonton for being gay.

In most other provinces, the college's decision to fire Vriend for his sexual orientation would have been illegal. But because the Alberta human rights law doesn't include sexual orientation as a grounds for discrimination, Vriend had to challenge the law through the courts.

"This is an historic moment for Alberta and for Canada," said Cormack. "Finally, the Alberta government is being taken to task for failing to protect a specific group of people from discrimination. We can only hope that this decision will force Alberta and PEI -- the other provincial holdout -- to leave the dark ages behind."

When it comes to taking action on the Supreme Court decision, the ball is now in Premier Klein's court. While he is considering what to do, Cormack says all Albertans who are concerned about this issue should call or write him "and urge him to do the right thing."

"The is a question of basic human rights. We must make it clear to the Premier that Albertans will not support any course of action that does not uphold the Charter and guarantee that the rights of citizens and are protected -- in their homes, in their communities and in their workplaces."