Everett Klippert
Imprisoned indefinitely for consensual sex with men, Everett Klippert became an unwilling catalyst for reform of Canada's criminal law.
George Everett Klippert was born in Kindersley, Saskatchewan, in 1926. Raised in Calgary, he worked in ordinary jobs and did not set out to become a campaigner. His place in Canadian history came from the state's determination to punish his relationships with other men, and from a legal challenge that exposed the consequences of treating homosexuality as criminal and inherently dangerous.
In 1960, Klippert was convicted on eighteen counts of gross indecency and sentenced to four years in prison. After his release he moved to Pine Point in the Northwest Territories, where he worked as a mechanic's helper. In 1965, police questioned him about a suspected arson attack. He was not charged over the fire, but during questioning he disclosed that he had had consensual sexual relations with four men. Those admissions led to another prosecution.
He pleaded guilty and received a three-year sentence. The authorities then sought to have him declared a dangerous sexual offender. Although the evidence did not portray him as violent or predatory, psychiatrists believed he would continue to have sex with men. In March 1966, the designation brought an indefinite term of imprisonment. His presumed future homosexuality, rather than a threat of sexual violence, had become the justification for keeping him confined.
His sister Leah helped secure legal representation. The challenge reached the Supreme Court of Canada, which rejected his appeal by three votes to two on 7 November 1967. The decision attracted widespread criticism and brought the treatment of gay men into parliamentary debate. It contributed to pressure for the reforms associated with Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau.
The changes enacted in 1969 partially decriminalised sexual activity between men, subject to restrictive conditions concerning age and privacy. They did not establish full equality, and they did not immediately free Klippert. He remained in prison until July 1971. The gap between legislative reform and his release is an essential part of the story: a case could help shift public policy while the person at its centre continued to suffer its effects.
Klippert died on 7 August 1996. Decades later, his family sought to clear his record under legislation addressing historically unjust convictions. An expungement order was granted on 18 November 2020, with assistance from the lawyer who had represented him before the Supreme Court. In 2025, the Klippert case was designated a National Historic Event. His story is now commemorated as both a turning point in reform and a warning about laws that turn consensual intimacy into evidence of dangerousness.