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Etsuko Joy Masuhara
(August 15, 1957 - living) Canada

Etsuko Joy Masuhara

Physician

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Joy Masuhara was born and raised in Vancouver. She is a family physician who specializes in community mental health work. She was an administrator at the Mid-Main Community Health Centre and also works as a school physician at two East Vancouver high schools. She is a clinical assistant professor with the Faculty of Medicine, UBC, but no longer teaches. Joy is a breast cancer survivor and paddled with the dragon boat team, Abreast in a Boat.

Joy and her partner, writer and poet Jane Eaton Hamilton, met and fell in love in 1993. They were one of eight couples who challenged the British Columbia marriage laws for discriminating against same-sex couples; on May 1, 2003, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in their favour, giving the federal and provincial governments until July 12, 2004 to change existing marriage laws. They married June 28, 2003 in Toronto, two weeks after the courts ruled to allow same-sex marriage in Ontario but before their home province, BC, came on board.

On their first wedding anniversary, there was a Canadian federal election which very nearly put the Conservatives, ready to annul the same-sex marriage, into power. On their second wedding anniversary, Parliament, which had squeaked into power with a minority Liberal government the year before, voted into law controversial legislation in favour of same-sex marriages.

"Everyone knows what marriage is... Hopefully, having equality will give the message to society that this is okay, that this is not something wrong, deviant, scary or evil. These are just loving relationships, with all their flaws and imperfections, trials and tribulations that any other relationship has."

Joy and Jane have been together for twelve years. Joy adopted Jane's biological children in 1997. Joy also works at the Mid-Main Community Health Centre in Vancouver (as a health care provider). n her spare time, Joy is a Master Gardener and avid taiko player. Jane and Joy also ballroom dance, particularly in west coast swing.

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