Colorful shapes and text that says George Everett Klippert
“Some people are revolted at the idea of having homosexual relations, while I am revolted at the idea of having heterosexual relations."
– George Everett Klippert
Born on September 6, 1926, in Saskatchewan, Canada, George Everett Klippert would move with his family to Calagry at a young age and would be raised in Alberta. He would become a bus driver in Edmonton, remembered as so friendly and kind that people would miss their bus if it meant getting on his instead. Many would be surprised by the turn his life would take. The last man in Canada to be imprisoned for being gay, Everett would change the shape of a nation through simply being openly himself at a time when any trace of queerness opened up the risk of legal punishment.
Though Canada has gained a reputation for being fairly progressive in terms of queer rights, this was not always the case. Due to laws implemented during the colonization of Canada, homosexuality was only decriminalized in 1969. The United States of America and England, two countries that have deep influences in Canadian politics, decriminalized homosexuality in 1962 and 1967 respectively. Though the law was rarely enforced by the 1960s, it was an ever present threat for queer people. Police used it as an excuse to harass and surveil queer people and communities at the time. It was, in fact, because of the police’s focus on punishing queer people that George Everett Klippert was first brought in to be interrogated in the Northwest Territories.
It was not Everett’s first offense in terms of sexual relationships with men that got him so much attention. While he was still living in Edmonton in 1960 he was charged with eighteen counts of gross indecency due to his relationships with men. He was sentenced to four years in prison. After serving his sentence, he left Alberta in an attempt to protect his family from his reputation as a queer man.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were not satisfied with this and called ahead to where Everett was moving in the Northwest Territories. So when an arson was committed in the community, Everett was brought in. The logic from the police was that because arson and queerness were both “deviant behaviour,” Everett must be involved.
It is here that one thing becomes obvious about Everett: he was honest and plain-spoken. He was open and did not lie to the police even though it may have changed the direction of everything if he had. Gay rights lawyer Douglas Elliott said, “He couldn’t stop confessing, I think you’d have to hold your hand over Everett’s mouth to stop him from blabbing.” He would also say about Everett’s earlier arrest, “The whole case against him, 98 percent of it came out of his own mouth.”
This remained the case, and Everett was charged and sent to prison for his confession. He was sentenced for life due to "preventive detention," as he was defined as "incurably homosexual" by the court appointed psychiatrist. This sentencing caused an uproar throughout Canada. Though the Stonewall Riots were happening around the same time, they took up little space in Canadian newspapers. Everett’s case was what the queer community was largely paying attention to.
It was a conundrum from the perspective of the legal system. Two things were clear: Everett had broken the law and he planned to continue doing so if he was released. This was the discussion that brought his case forward to the Supreme Court of Canada. While psychiatrists agreed that Everett had never forced himself on anyone and likely never would, and had only had relationships with men overage, it was undeniable that he would reoffend.
The technical definition of “dangerous sexual offender” was voted by 3 out of the five judges to include Everett. His family, which had been working to fight for him in every legal way possible, was then faced with the biggest obstacle. If the law defined Everett as dangerous enough to be kept in prison, then the law would have to change.
His case, which had been closely monitored by politicians and newspapers alike, again brought forward outcry. This time, politicians led the charge. Tommy Douglas, the leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada, said "Homosexuality is a social and psychiatric problem rather than a criminal one." The current Minister of Justice and future Prime Minister Pierre Trudeu said:
“Take this thing on homosexuality; I think the view we take here is that there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation, and I think what’s done in private between adults doesn’t concern the Criminal Code.”
Bill C-150 was introduced within six weeks of this statement. It amended the colonial era law and decriminalized homosexuality all throughout Canada. This did not immediately affect Everett though. The reason has been debated, but the prevailing theory is simply that he didn’t want to cause a fuss. Despite homosexuality being decriminalized in 1969, it took until 1971 for Everett to be released from prison.
From there Everett would return to his family in Alberta and become a truck driver. He would live a quiet life, marrying a woman and close friend, and turning down opportunities to lead the pride parades. In 1996, he would die of kidney disease at age 69, and in 2020 an expungement order was issued by the Parole Board of Canada.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Disclaimer: some of the sources may contain triggering material
After LGBT apology, the story of Everett Klippert, the last Canadian to be imprisoned for being gay. (2017, November 28). CBC Radio. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.4422830/after-lgbt-apology-the-story-of-everett-klippert-the-last-canadian-to-be-imprisoned-for-being-gay-1.4423300
Allen, K. (2017, October 5). Klippert Month – Week 1. Calgary Gay History. https://calgarygayhistory.ca/2017/10/05/klippert-month-week-1/
Allen, K. (2021, March 12). Everett Klippert Coda. Calgary Gay History. https://calgarygayhistory.ca/2021/03/11/everett-klippert-coda/
Bird, H. (2017, November 28). Everett Klippert: The last Canadian to go to jail simply for being gay. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/everett-klippert-lgbt-apology-1.4422190
Calgary’s Gay History: The Life of Everett Klippert. (2018, August 22). RETROactive. https://albertashistoricplaces.com/2018/08/22/calgarys-gay-history-the-life-of-everett-klippert/
Canadian Bar Association - Everett Klippert: Canadian Legal History’s Troubling Hero. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2024, from https://www.cba-alberta.org/Publications-Resources/Resources/Law-Matters/Law-Matters-Summer-2017/Everett-Klippert-Canadian-Legal-History-s-Troublin
Everett Klippert: A Fight for Justice. (n.d.). Northwest Territories Timeline. Retrieved September 26, 2024, from https://www.nwttimeline.ca/stories/everett-klippert-a-fight-for-justice/
Everett Klippert, the last person in Canada to be jailed for being gay | Canada. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2024, from https://dailyhive.com/canada/everett-klippert-homosexuality-decriminalization
John Ibbitson. (2016a). Everett Klippert Case. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/everett-klippert-case
John Ibbitson. (2016b, February 27). The long, late redemption of a Canadian punished for being gay in the 1960s. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/everett-klipperts-story/article28927305/
Kevin Allen. (2016). The Life and Meaning of Everett Klippert. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-meaning-of-everett-klippert
Kevin Allen. (2019, August 26). Why I’m celebrating 1969 and Calgary’s gay rights anti-hero. The Sprawl. https://www.sprawlcalgary.com/why-im-celebrating-calgary-gay-rights-anti-hero
Klippert v. The Queen, 1967 SCR 822. https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/4738/index.do
VIDEO: Everett George Klippert and Bill C-150. (n.d.). The Village Legacy Project | Le Projet de Legs Du Village. Retrieved September 26, 2024, from https://www.villagelegacy.ca/items/show/115?tour=4&index=3
Wiart, N. (2016, June 10). Everett Klippert: An unlikely pioneer of gay rights in Canada. Macleans.Ca. https://macleans.ca/facebook-instant-articles/everett-klippert-an-unlikely-pioneer-of-gay-rights-in-canada/