Collection

Boutilier, Ross Fonds

Span Dates: 1984 - 2015
Bulk Dates:
Volume: 60 cm

Description

This collection includes a series for the Safe Harbor Metropolitan Community Church which includes administrative files, annual reports, programming, newsletters, and posters. It also includes Boutilier's participation in the Eastern Canadian District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Other series contain records documenting Ross Boutilier's legal challenges over same-sex benefits and equal treatment in Nova Scotia and provincial and federal legislation to gain access to same-sex marriage. Other series include production and administrative records of Wayves magazine, committee records of Halifax Pride, and newspaper clippings about the LGBTQ community in Nova Scotia and elsewhere in Canada.

Hist/Bio Note

Biographical history Ross Boutilier is an LGBTQ activist and community volunteer who pursued a number of successful challenges to his federal employer to gain equal treatment and benefits for same-sex relationships. He and his partner, Brian Mombourquette, also challenged both federal and provincial legislation to gain equal access to marriage and became one of three couples married as a result of the 2004-09-24 Marriage Decision. Born in 1956, Ross is a retired geophysicist with a 30-year career with Natural Resources Canada at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He began community work as a volunteer and resource person with the Metro Area Committee on AIDS in 1989-1993. From 1993-1998 he was a member, producer and coordinator of the editorial collective producing the Gaezette (now Wayves). He served as treasurer of Safe Harbour Community Church between 1993-2003 and as a volunteer, coordinator and city liaison officer with the Halifax Pride Committee from 1994-2003. In 1996 he founded Manna For Health special needs food bank, for which he also served as a treasurer and liaison officer until 2003. Ross was a steward and elected official with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada from 1996-2006—in that capacity he served in multiple roles, including as chair of the Human Rights Committee.

Finding Aid

An online finding aid is available.
https://findingaids.library.dal.ca/ross-boutilier-fonds

Location

This collection is housed at the Dalhousie University Libraries. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
https://libraries.dal.ca/find/university-archives/archivalcollections.html

Tags

Canada | Marriage Equality | MCC | Nova Scotia