Little Sister's big day - Action News
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British Columbia

Little Sister's big day

Federal and civic politicians showed up on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of Little Sister's, the high-profile Vancouver bookstore.

Federal and civic politicians showed up on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of Little Sister's, the high-profile Vancouver bookstore.

MPs Hedy Fry, Libby Davies and Svend Robinson were joined by Vancouver city councillors Ellen Woodsworth and Tim Stevenson, as the city proclaimed May 4 as "Little Sister's Day."

The proclamation cited the bookstore for its battle against homophobic violence, for its involvement in AIDS education and charities and for fighting for freedom of expression.

In 1985, the West End bookstore accused Canada Customs of harassment, that Customs was unnecessarily delaying cross-border shipments of gay and lesbian literature.

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed in 1999, forcing Canada Customs to make changes.

But Little Sister's owner Jim Deva says the changes haven't gone far enough. "The systemic discrimination is there that Customs agents are even further confused about how to make decisions at the border around pornography."

Deva says they're heading back to court because Customs stopped the shipment of two gay comic books more than a year ago. The case is set to begin in Jan. 2004.