In 2015, Libby Davies made the long trek home from Ottawa’s House of Commons to Vancouver for the final time. For 18 years the NDP MP represented Vancouver East, where she’d spent decades at the centre of some of the most important activism the city has seen: fighting for the rights of low-income residents to safe and affordable housing; the rights of sex workers to protected and dignified workplaces; and the rights of drug users’ access to clean drugs, among others. In her hopeful new memoir ‘Outside In,’ Davies recounts those early days with her partner Bruce Eriksen, bringing to life a Vancouver pumped full of activist adrenaline and the dream of making the city a decent home for all. Davies also recounts her years as a member of Canada’s Opposition, which showed her that progressive policies were still possible when people worked collaboratively across parties, together, in good faith. In 2001, Davies was the first female Canadian MP to reveal publicly that she was in a same-sex partnership. Today, we’re pleased to share an excerpt from ‘Outside In,’ about the steps towards Canada legalizing same-sex marriage, which finally happened in 2005.