Vancouver LGBTQ bookstore at centre of landmark legal case celebrates 40th anniversary
CBC
A Vancouver bookstore that has long been a safe haven for the city's LGBTQ community and waged a court battle against the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
"It's our birthday, you can't miss it," said drag queen Batty Banks Friday at a celebration to mark the 40th anniversary of Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium on Davie Street.
Banks says the store, which sells erotic, instructional and self-help books, as well as gifts, clothing and sex toys, has long been a pillar in the LGBTQ community.
"They've been here for, hello, 40 years," Banks said. "Serving the community, being a safe space for people to come and ask their questions, learn about themselves, and get a little toy or two, if you're feeling it."
Bruce Smyth and Jim Deva opened the store at its original location at Thurlow and Davie Streets in 1983.
The store gained national attention for taking the CBSA to court, saying the agency prevented materials it deemed as obscene from being delivered to the store.
After multiple legal challenges, the case ended up in the the Supreme Court of Canada in 2000, where a judge agreed the CBSA unjustifiably discriminated against Little Sister's.
A lawyer with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which represented the store, told the CBC in 2019 that the case still resonates.
"Little Sister's really represents a fight against government censorship and homophobia," Megan Tweedie said.
The court also struck down a provision that left it up to importers to prove the materials were not obscene. Because of the case, the onus is now on customs officials to prove that they are.
In a social media post, Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert credited the store for "fighting censorship, creating a safe haven, pushing boundaries, supporting authors, and creators, and helping people find the freedom to be all they can."
A nearby plaza in Davie Village is named after Deva, who passed away in 2014.
"It's a legacy we hope to keep working on," Don Wilson, the current owner of Little Sister's, said Friday.
The anniversary party will continue at Little Sister's on Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.
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