Photo : Jonathon Liedtke

OurWindsor.Ca by   Jonathon Liedtke

Roughly two-dozen supporters protested in front of the Catholic District School Board’s office to show support for a student who claims she was bullied by her teacher due to her sexual orientation and whose message to other bullied students is to stand up for yourself.

Grade 12 St. Thomas of Villanova student Brooke Mulligan claims that her religion teacher discriminated against her due to her sexual orientation and that she attended the protest because she wanted “to stand up against bullying.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” Mulligan exclaimed in response to the number of people who attended the protest.

“I’ve had a past teacher who has been bullying me at school [since] coming out,” stated Mulligan who added that the religion teacher when discussing homosexuality would explicitly stare at her during class and taught that “homosexuals can’t get married in the Catholic church [which] upset me. Obviously I want to get married when I’m older, in a church.”

“We don’t feel that this is a case of bullying but we are still investigating the circumstances,” said Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board superintendent Michael Seguin who also explained that an investigation into the matter has been launched.

Mulligan claims that a complaint had been submitted to both the school and the school board, however Seguin stated that the board hasn’t received any formal complaint and that Mulligan going to the media caught the board off guard.

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Mitchell Wilson, 11, took his own life in September 2011 after being bullied. (Wilson family)

New anti-bullying legislation coming to Ontario schools in September is a step in the right direction, but hopes that it will eliminate bullying completely are unrealistic, say education advocates.

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Allison Cross  Jul 4, 2012 – 2:35 PM ET | Last Updated: Jul 4, 2012 5:00 PM ET

The night of her high school prom, Connor Ferguson anxiously pulled on a floor-length leopard print dress and slipped her feet inside six-inch high heels covered in glitter.

Handout / Facebook

Connor Ferguson, 18.

Despite loving the outfit she’d chosen, the 18-year-old transwoman from Trenton, Ont., considered not going to the prom at all, worried her peers might say something nasty or rude. She never expected they would name her prom queen.

“It was absolutely unreal. I’ll definitely remember that moment forever,” said Ferguson, who was crowned queen at Trenton High School on June 22.

“The cheers from classmates was overwhelming as well … So much support I cannot even put it into words.”

Ferguson heard rumours she might receive a vote or two from her classmates but she never saw herself winning.

“When I got there everyone was so welcoming,” she said. “It was so fun.”

The teen went out with friends later that night and everywhere she went she heard the words: “Congratulations on your win.”

Ferguson’s experience contradicts the notion that high school is a place where bullies thrive and difference is punished.

“I’ve gotten hardly any flack [at school] for being trans,” she said.

“So many of the students and faculty at school have given me words of praise. I cannot give enough thanks for having one of the best high school experiences.”

The story of Ferguson and her crown has spread on Twitter, giving the teenager a glimpse of fame.

Ferguson wrote a letter to CBC.ca last month, outlining her transition experience that began four years ago. At that point, she began building a women’s wardrobe and began using she and her, rather than he and him.

It is a process that has included harassment from some in Trenton, a military community 170 kilometres east of Toronto and home to roughly 20,000 people.

“I wake up every single day in my small town wondering if I’m safely able to leave my house,” wrote Ferguson, who has lived all her life in Trenton.

“I’ve had things yelled at me on the streets. I’ve even been driven at by cars. I don’t let silly things like this stop me from being a happy, confident individual. Regardless of my status as a woman or transwoman I try my hardest not to let the little things bother me.”

It’s not every day that history is made at Queen’s Park.

But Wednesday will be different.

That’s when the Ontario Human Rights Code is expected to be amended to add the terms “gender identity” and “gender expression” to prevent discrimination against transgendered people.

Thanks to the tenacity of NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo — with help from Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott and Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi — some of Ontario’s more marginalized residents will finally enjoy the same protections as the rest of society.

“This is absolutely historic. This will be the first jurisdiction in North America outside the Northwest Territories to have included trans people as full citizens truly and given them human rights along with everyone else,” DiNovo said Tuesday.

“The time has come. Hats off to the trans lobbyists who been working on this for years and years,” she said of the bill known as Toby’s Act, after the late musician Toby Dancer, who led the gospel choir at Emmanuel Howard Park United Church where DiNovo ministered.

“We know there’s a 78 per cent attempted suicide rate in the trans community — that there’s a 48 per cent poverty rate. So this is a very marginalized and beleaguered community and they desperately need this to begin to right that.”

The code currently guards against prejudice for “race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status or disability.”

While the Parkdale—High Park MPP had tabled similar amendments to add “gender identity” and “gender expression” four times over the past six years, it wasn’t until Ontario’s minority legislature that she was able to secure enough support for passage.

Elliott (Whitby—Oshawa) and Naqvi (Ottawa Centre) co-sponsored DiNovo’s bill, which will likely be passed at around noon Wednesday.

“The time has come,” said Elliott, praising transgendered activists for never giving up. “Everyone’s rights need to be protected. It’s a breakthrough point.

“I really congratulate Cheri for her persistence to bring this forward and for the trans group to keep coming back with it … and educate us along the way.”

Naqvi noted the amendment coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Ontario Human Rights Code this Friday.

“Just like we did back in the 1980s with sexual orientation, we will now be protecting the rights of the trans community in Ontario,” he said, adding there remained a “lack of clarity” in the code when it came to discrimination on basis of “sex.”

“There is ambiguity because it was not categorically listed. What this does is ensure that we send a very clear message … and put in effect clear protection for the trans community in Ontario.”

Congrats Ontario! And just to be clear, the Catholic schools in this article are publically funded, not private.

Q.

Catholic church, educators upset over potential allowance of ‘gay-straight alliance’ title

The Canadian Press

Posted: Jun 5, 2012 6:30 AM ET

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2012 11:59 AM ET

The Liberal government’s anti-bullying bill has raised the ire of the Catholic church and angered those who claim the issue has become more about funding for Catholic schools. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

Catholic schools and parents will soon come to accept the provisions of the government’s anti-bullying legislation, according to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.

Ontario’s anti-bullying bill, also known as Bill 13 or the Accepting Schools Act, passed through the legislature just before noon today by a margin of 65-36. Only the Progressive Conservatives voted against the legislation.

Catholic educators and church leaders oppose the bill because it requires schools to allow students to call anti-homophobia clubs gay-straight alliances if they wish.

McGuinty said the issue of protecting kids from bullying transcends all faiths and partisan politics. He added Catholics would understand the true significance of the bill is to build a stronger, more cohesive society.

School officials not held accountable, Ontario PCs say

The Conservatives say McGuinty used the anti-bullying bill to intentionally trigger a debate over the funding of Catholic schools that they believe Ontarians do not want to have.

Deputy PC leader Christine Elliott also accused the premier of trying to make her party seem homophobic. She also said the bill does not do enough to hold school officials accountable.

The New Democrats will support the Liberals when the bill comes up for third and final reading today before noon.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath was concerned the original bill would have allowed schools to ban the use of the word gay in the titles of student clubs.

This bill could be the first one passed through the Ontario legislature since the election last October.

A good summary on the current legislation to allow GSAs in Ontario schools.

Q.

Roman Catholic archbishop opposes requiring GSA name

By Daniel Schwartz, CBC News

Posted: May 30, 2012 5:19 AM ET

Last Updated: May 30, 2012 12:09 PM ET

Ontario politicians are debating amendments to the province’s Education Act designed to deal with bullying and they find themselves running up against formidable opposition in the form of the province’s Catholic bishops.

It is not that the clergymen are in any way supportive of bullying. What they object to is that Bill 13, the accepting schools act, gives “particular emphasis” to “LGBTTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, transsexual, two-spirited, intersexed, queer and questioning) people.” They also oppose a particular clause that would enable students to call anti-bullying groups they form at school a “gay-straight alliance.”

And this week the archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Cardinal Collins, spoke out against the new amendments, writing that “all forms of bullying need to be addressed, and all victims of bullying need to be helped.”

In that vein, he said, “it is not helpful to propose one particular way, such as the one commonly called GSA.”

The Catholic bishops also say that the emphasis in any anti-bullying campaign should be based on “an accurate understanding of those who are most at risk.”

But that is a point that has been dealt with in a number of research studies.

Sexual orientation and bullying

Actual or perceived sexual orientation is the number 2 reason students are bullied, according to a U.S. survey in 2005. Appearance was the number 1 reason cited.

Protesters outside a high school in Flour Bluff, Texas, on March 4, 2011, support a senior at the school, after she was denied permission to start a gay-straight alliance club. (Todd Yates/Corpus Christi Caller-Times/Associated Press)

A more recent 2010 study by doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found that sexual minority youth are bullied two to three times more than heterosexual youth.

A 2011 study funded by Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, a gay rights advocacy group, found that “20.8 per cent of LGBTQ students indicated being physically harassed due to their sexual orientation, compared to 7.9 per cent of non-LGBTQ participants.”

The LGBT students also endured six times as much verbal harassment about their sexual orientation.

The survey also found that almost two-thirds of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school.

Students support GSAs

There is also strong support for gay-straight alliances from students in both public and Catholic schools in Ontario.

In a 2011 survey of over 7,000 students for the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association, 88 per cent agreed,”that a student wanting to establish a Gay Straight Alliance club in their school should be allowed to do so.”

Bullying defined

Here’s the definition of bullying that the Ontario government proposes to add to the province’s Education Act:

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For those in Ontario.

Q.

Research could lead to improved healthcare provision for sexual minorities

The researchers behind one of the most ambitious health studies in history are reaching out to Ontario’s LGBT people.

 

Starting on May 28, a new series of questions aimed specifically at LGBT participants will be added to the Ontario Health Study questionnaire. It will make the study one of the first of its size to court LGBT respondents.

 

“There is virtually no significant Canadian data on the LGBT community, particularly as it relates to health, prevention and management of chronic diseases,” says professor Lyle Palmer, the study’s executive scientific director. Palmer hopes the study will provide “the first evidence-base for decisions related to LGBT health,” eventually leading to targeted health promotion and intervention efforts, and more effective health policy and spending.

 

Launched in 2010 and designed to continue indefinitely, the Ontario Health Study has already surveyed more than 200,000 participants. Researchers say they hope the study will grow to include at least one million people. At that size, says Palmer, it “will unquestionably be the largest health study ever undertaken in the world and a major cornerstone of international biomedical research.”

 

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Finally!

Fourth time’s the charm for bill known as Toby’s Act

Justin Ling / National / Friday, May 11, 2012

Ontario NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo stood beaming in the Ontario Legislature on May 10.

 

“Today we have seen the ‘progressive’ in Progressive Conservatives. We have seen the true ‘liberal’ values in the Liberal Party,” she said. 

 

DiNovo’s legislation, Bill 33, finally made it to second reading in the provincial legislature.

 

The bill - also known as Toby’s Act - has seen the floor of the legislature three times before. It’s named for well-respected trans rights activist Toby Dancer, who died in 2004. This time, for the first time, it appears that it may pass.

 

That, says trans rights activist Susan Gapka, is “historic.”

 

The previous incarnations of the bill - introduced by DiNovo in 2007, 2009, 2010 - received first reading in the legislature, and then quietly died on the floor. They received no debate, never made it to committee and were never brought to a vote.

Cheri DiNovo introduced Toby’s Law in 2007, 2009, 2010 and again this year.

(Marcus McCann)

 

The 2010 version of the bill met a particularly unhappy end at the hands of Ontario’s Attorney General, Liberal Chris Bentley, who said that the protections the bill afforded were already covered under federal law.

 

This time around, it’s the Liberals and PCs who breathed life into the bill.

 

“It was three parties … all speaking in favour of extending human rights,” says Gapka, chair of the Trans Lobby Group, who was cited several times by members of all parties for her work on trans rights. She says the love coming from the legislature was “rare.”

 

The bill was co-sponsored by Liberal Yasir Naqvi and Progressive Conservative Christine Elliott. Both took to the floor, along with a couple of their fellow partisans, to support DiNovo’s bill.

 

That is, DiNovo says, “phenomenal.”

 

The Liberal support for the bill amounted to a sort of mea culpa. In an interview with Xtra, Naqvi said while he believed the provisions in this bill were already covered by law, just as the Auditor General said in 2010, he admits “we need clarity.”

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by Christin Scarlett Milloy

Today the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal issued a ruling, declaring that the portion of the Vital Statistics Act requiring “proof of transsexual surgery” as a pre-requisite to changing the sex designation on an Ontario Birth Certificate is a human rights violation.

As first reported by Andrea Houston at XTRA, The Ontario provincial government has been given 180 days to rectify the Vital Statistics Act to implement a policy for allowing trans people to change their legal Sex designation (on their birth certificate) that does not require them to prove they have had surgery performed.

Prior to this landmark ruling, Ontario Drivers’ licences have been the easiest ID documents for trans people to have changed, requiring only a doctor’s note saying it is “medically appropriate.” That was also as the result of another human rights case that went before Tribunal, A.B. v. Minister of Transport and Minister of Government Services, which settled in 2006.

While some have advocated for a similar “doctor’s note” solution to be implemented for the birth certificate change, I believe we need a solution which promotes greater access to personal liberty for all; not every trans or gender variant Ontarian has the benefit of regular access to a cooperative healthcare practitioner to write a note (also many doctors charge money for such letters which not everyone can afford). A more equitable solution is called for.

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Approximately 200 Catholic and evangelical parents, led by several anti-gay religious leaders, decried Bill 13 and “homosexual sex clubs” on the steps to Queen’s Park March 29.

About 20 feet away, a small group of smiling, rainbow flag-waving people chanted and cheered, “Bullying is mean so vote 13.” The quickly organized counter-protest consisted mostly of students, who held up colourful handmade signs in support of Bill 13 and gay-straight alliances (GSA).

MPPs are currently debating two anti-bullying bills: the Liberals’ Accepting Schools Act (Bill 13) and the Conservatives’ Bill 14. Bill 13 would make it law that schools establish welcoming environments for queer youth and provide supports, such as GSAs, if requested by students. Second-reading debate for Bill 13 will likely continue in the first week of April. 

Religious parents gathered at Queen’s Park March 29 to protest the Liberals’ anti-bullying legislation, Bill 13, and gay-straight alliances (GSAs).

(Andrea Houston)

Speakers and protesters at the anti-Bill 13 rally were unapologetic about their feelings toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. Several religious parents — some of whom were accompanied by small children, who also held “Stop Bill 13” signs — said they don’t want their children learning about homosexuality at all in the classroom.

Charles McVety, president of Canada Christian College, spoke to the crowd, many of whom held signs that referenced Biblical verses. He said Bill 13 “violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by forcing radical lifestyles on religious families.”

“They are trying to teach that there are six genders. What kind of nonsense is that? I have a young daughter. She is a sweet girl. Don’t confuse her. Why are they trying to confuse our children?”

Casey Oraa, co-chair of Queer Ontario, was among those who called out some of the inaccuracies and misleading information perpetuated by some of the speakers. “McVety again refers to it as six gendered, not cisgendered,” he tweeted.

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Two sex-trade laws ruled unconstitutional

By Geoff Nixon, CBC News

Posted: Mar 26, 2012 6:37 AM ET

Last Updated: Mar 26, 2012 11:46 AM ET

Video Content

Sex-trade ruling reaction LIVE11:59:59

UPDATE — We can begin by signing this petition on change.org, brought to us by Queer Ontario.

by Christin Scarlett Milloy

Today in Ontario’s Provincial Parliament, at Queen’s Park in Toronto, MPP Cheri DiNovo has once again introduced Toby’s Act (Right to be Free from Discrimination and Harassment because of Gender Identity or Gender Expression). It was my privilege to be present at this historic event.

This bill will enshrine into the Ontario Human Rights Code protections for trans people which bring members of the trans community up to the same level of equal protections currently afforded to Ontarians based on sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, and a number of other factors. Toby’s Act is similar to the bill C-279 which is currently before Federal Parliament, except Toby’s Act would afford protections at the Provincial level of government (for Ontario residents). With such an important issue, it is important to work toward protections at all levels of government.

This is the fourth time DiNovo has introduced Toby’s Act into Provincial Parliament, however it is the first time that the bill has been cosigned—by all major Ontario political parties, no less. For the 2012 version of Toby’s Act, Cheri DiNovo (NDP) is joined in introducing the bill by Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi, and (in what may come as a pleasant surprise to many readers) by Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott, who (as it happens) is also the Deputy Party Leader for the Ontario Progressive Conservative party.

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GSA year end wrap up (by xtraonline)

New teachers in Ontario will soon graduate from college with an improved understanding of gender and sexuality to bring to the classroom, says queer activist Davina Hader.
 
Hader is part of a group, led by Toronto Centre Liberal MPP Glen Murray, that will soon be developing training for new teachers to focus on equity and diversity. “It’s incredible. It will be required for every teacher. This is pretty groundbreaking,” Hader says. 
 
Schools must be accepting and welcoming for students and staff, Hader says. “And teachers’ curriculum is part of that change.”

Hader says the issue of inclusive education has been underscored this year as Ontario students have fought for gay-straight alliances (GSAs). 
 
“The problem the Liberals have been up against with regard to GSAs is the separate school board,” Hader says. “Boards have been saying ministry policies are not enforceable because Catholic schools have special rights. Well, they can’t use that card anymore. This is a push for equality in education right across the board.
 
“With this we are teaching the people at the top, and they’re going to have to listen. It will be mandated as part of their curriculum. They won’t have a choice.”

Queer activist Davina Hader is working with MPP Glen Murray on developing a new curriculum for student teachers.

(Andrea Houston)

 
Murray says new teachers will soon complete two years of training instead of one through the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). An increased focus on equity and diversity will be built into the new curriculum as a way for new teachers to better understand the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans community.
 
The new curriculum is linked to the Ministry of Education’s new Accepting Schools Act, Murray says. It will be written over the course of 2012 and launched in 2013. The curriculum will be mandatory for all teachers, Catholic and secular.
 
“There will be increased training in sexual orientation and gender diversity,” he says.
 
Murray says he is currently consulting teachers unions, staff in education faculties, parents, queer advocacy groups, students and the larger community.
 
“The Accepting Schools Act is very clear,” Murray says. “Not only can schools not discriminate against gay, lesbian and trans students, schools must create healthy and welcoming spaces for everyone. That will be the policy of Ontario.
 
“We want all students and teachers to feel welcome in schools, not just tolerated.”

Toronto Centre Liberal MPP Glen Murray.