Community Land Trust is developing a new co-op at 981 Davie St. They seeking community input into its name. I am respectfully petitioning that the new co-op at 981 Davie Street be named in honour of Janine Fuller and Barbara Findlay, —two extraordinary pioneers whose lifelong contributions to queer rights, civil liberties, and community-building have profoundly shaped Vancouver, British Columbia, and Canada as a whole.

Davie Street has long stood as a historic heart of Vancouver’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Naming this new co-op after Janine Fuller and Barbara Findlay would root the building in that legacy, ensuring that future generations understand and honour the struggles and victories that made inclusive housing and safer communities possible.

Janine Fuller is best known for her leadership at Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium and for her central role in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v. Canada (Minister of Justice). Through years of tireless activism challenging discriminatory censorship practices by Canada Customs, Fuller defended not only a bookstore but the fundamental principles of freedom of expression and equal treatment under the law. Her work helped affirm that queer literature and culture belong fully and legitimately within Canadian public life.

Beyond this historic legal battle, Fuller has been a writer, playwright, performance artist, and community organizer. Her advocacy spans gender equality, freedom to read, and, following her diagnosis with Huntington’s disease, health awareness and disability advocacy. Her contributions have been recognized nationally, including her appointment to the Order of Canada in 2024. She has also been inducted into the Q Hall of Fame Canada and honoured by The ArQuives: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives, reflecting her enduring impact on Canadian cultural and civil rights history.

Barbara Findlay, KC, has likewise dedicated her career to advancing justice and equality. Called to the bar shortly after Canada decriminalized homosexuality, she has spent decades at the forefront of LGBTQ+ legal advocacy in British Columbia. A founding member of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference (SOGIC) of the Canadian Bar Association and an active member of numerous equality-focused organizations, Findlay has championed family law rights, child custody protections, and trans rights. Her work in cases such as Kimberley Nixon v. Vancouver Rape Relief Society has helped shape the evolving legal landscape for gender identity rights in Canada.

Findlay’s life story—documented in the film "In particular, barbara findlay" —reflects resilience and courage, from being involuntarily institutionalized as a young university student for acknowledging her attraction to women, to becoming one of the country’s most respected queer legal advocates. Her career embodies a steadfast commitment to justice, dignity, and the protection of marginalized communities.

Together, Janine Fuller and Barbara Findlay represent complementary pillars of progress: one fighting censorship and defending queer cultural expression; the other advancing legal rights and protections in the courts. Both have made Vancouver not only more inclusive, but more just.

A housing co-operative is, at its core, a model of shared responsibility, collective care, and equitable access—values that align deeply with the lives and work of Fuller and Findlay. Naming the co-op in their honour would not only commemorate their contributions but would affirm Vancouver’s ongoing commitment to equality, freedom of expression, and community solidarity.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge to name the new co-op at 981 Davie Street in honour of Janine Fuller and Barbara Findlay, KC. Doing so would permanently enshrine their legacy within the very neighbourhood they helped transform and protect.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.