Gay old time in Pointe Claire

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by Matthew Hays

The gay couple Theo Wouters and Roger Thibault feel they have won a small victory in their fight for fair treatment in their home town of Pointe Claire.

After gay activists rallied around the couple, whose plight has gained considerable media attention both locally and nationally, a march and rally were planned to support them. Last Tuesday night, city council approved the route for the march, which will wind its way through to the quiet street where the couple have lived for 23 years. The city originally considered the route inappropriate and wanted the event restricted to a nearby football field.

The couple report living peacefully in Pointe Claire until about six years ago, when a new neighbour discovered they were gay and began complaining to other neighbours. This, says Wouters, prompted another neighbour to call them "faggots" and curse them across the fence, among various other forms of harassment.

After a year of what Wouters feels has been terrible psychological abuse, he says he and Thibault just want their lives to return to normal. "This has gone on long enough," declares Wouters. The comfort, he says, has come through support from the gay community and members of the media, but also from virtually all of their other Pointe Claire neighbours.

The march begins this Sunday, May 27 at 2:30 p.m. at the Pointe Claire commuter train station. Buses will leave at 1:30 p.m. from Sky Pub (1474 Ste-Catherine E.). To reserve a spot on the bus or for further information, please call 529-6969.