the lesbian and gay community. Social statusRites was an important forum for the publication of Canadian lesbian and gay history, publishing the first interview with Jim Egan, Canada's first public gay activist in the 1950s (who initiated a lawsuit – Egan v Canada – that ultimately led, in 1995, to a landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision interpreting the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to prohibit discrimination by the state based on sexual orientation). The magazine also carried articles on the history of lesbian and gay communities in Toronto and Montreal, and published a special supplement of lesbian and gay history book reviews. Other special supplements published in Rites over its history included features on families, youth, lesbians and gays of colour, lesbian and gay survivors of childhood sexual abuse, AIDS prevention, racism, science fiction, aging, and relationships. In Vol. 7 No. 8 (January/February 1991) Rites published "Queer Entries", a comprehensive index to its first six volumes (from May 1984 to April 1990). Rites was also indexed in the Alternative Press Index. Disbandment Rites Publishing ceased operation in April 1992, citing a shrinking volunteer workforce and growing debts caused by escalating costs and declining revenues. Collections of Rites'' can be found in a number of public libraries in Canada, as well as at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives in Toronto. See also List of lesbian periodicals References 1984 establishments in Ontario 1992 disestablishments in Ontario LGBT-related magazines published in Canada Defunct magazines published in Canada LGBT culture in Toronto Magazines established in 1984 Magazines disestablished in 1992 Magazines published in Toronto