Playing the (Policy) Fields: The Lesbian and Gay Movement and the Development of the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Bill

Abstract

The lesbian and gay rights movement in Canada has a rich history comprised of numerous groups and individuals that worked tirelessly for decades to promote lesbian and gay rights and champion for protections to the community at a number of levels. One of the primary challenges that occurred was in relation to relationship recognition. Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s in Canada, the lesbian and gay movement worked to achieve relationship recognition, challenging the criminal code, human rights protections, and finally full relationship recognition through the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act in 2000. Using the theory of fields as outlined by Fligstein and McAdam (2012), this thesis will provide a comprehensive view to understanding select challenges that occurred to key policy fields in order to create the conditions which allowed for the passing of Bill C- 23 in Canada. I address the question of how the lesbian and gay community worked to challenge the policies that supported the Criminal Code and Human Rights frameworks – both of which inform understandings of ‘relationship politics’ – in order to re-define the underlying logic within the strategic action field of ‘relationship politics’, leading to a reconceptualization of it through the passing of Bill C-23 in 2000. In Chapter One, I introduce the lesbian and gay movement in Canada, presenting key achievements the movement made throughout the late-20th century. In Chapter Two, I provide a comprehensive overview of the ‘theory of fields’ as conceptualized by Fligstein and McAdam (2012), specifically how I will utilize their theory in order to explain the ways in which challenger groups and incumbent groups worked to effect change, or maintain the status quo, in relation to the various policy fields that were impacted leading to Bill C-23. In Chapter Three I introduce the field of ‘relationship politics’ that will provide the overview of my primary analysis, situating it in the context of the lesbian and gay movement. In Chapter Four I explore the lesbian and gay movement as a challenger group to ‘relationship politics’, paying close attention to the community mobilization and specific ‘shocks’ to ‘relationship politics’ that the movement was able to take advantage of, which opened up both the policy fields of the criminal code and human rights to lead to Bill C- 23. Finally, in Chapter Five I will focus on the incumbent group, Members of Parliament who were most in control of those policy fields that served to reinforce ‘relationship politics’. I will look at how the incumbent group worked to assert their views of ‘relationship politics’ when debating challenges that came forward, providing a deeper analysis around the specific episodes of contention to the main fields within my analysis. This analysis, while being somewhat unique to the lesbian and gay movement, will provide a framework for understanding how other social movement groups, through collective action and understanding the logic and composition of a variety of policy and public fields, may be able to affect change on a broad scale. The challenge for relationship recognition is somewhat unique in terms of the relative speed with which it came to be implemented, happening within a period of about 30 years. Understanding the numerous spaces through which change occurred, where challenges emerged, and how both challengers and incumbents worked to assert their relative positions, can allow for an understanding as to how other social movements may succeed – or, alternatively, fail – to achieve substantive social and policy change.