TORONTO – Queer Ontario submitted today a series of amendments to Bills 13 & 14 that would strengthen the language of the Bill, foster a greater understanding of equity and inclusivity amongst teachers and staff, and establish clearer guidelines of compliance and accountability in all publicly-funded schools.
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“A longstanding issue in our work around the banning of Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in Catholic schools has been the reluctance of Catholic School Boards to enforce pre-existing policy, coupled with the Ministry’s lack of commitment to enforce its own,” says Queer Ontario Chairperson Nick Mulé. “We have continually contended that the Ontario Government’s existing Policy/Program Memorandum 145 already compels public school boards to support students who wish to form LGBTQ support groups, and that the lack of enforcement on the parts of the Boards and the Ministry of this Policy is at the core of the current struggle over LGBTQ youth wishing to form these valuable support groups.”
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Also included within the submitted amendments is language that explicitly establishes the rights of students to choose the name of the LGBTQ support group they wish to form. “As it currently stands, we feel that the language surrounding Bill Provision 303.1(d) regarding Board support of students wishing to form LGBTQ support groups is unclear,” says Casey Oraa, Queer Ontario Vice-Chair. “Adding ‘as determined by the pupil’ to this provision will ensure that naming rights rest in the hands of the students, as opposed to the school’s Board or staff.”
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Queer Ontario is also calling for the introduction of reporting mechanisms on school climate; the mandating of professional development programs related to anti-bullying and anti-harassment issues; and the inclusion of ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as social locations protected by the Bill.
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Queer Ontario’s Deputation on Anti-Bullying Bills 13 and 14
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Queer Ontario’s Amendments to Anti-Bullying Bill 13
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1. THE SECOND READING OF TOBY’S ACT
– (Thurs. May 10, 2:00pm at the Ontario Legislative Building)

Toby’s Act is a private member’s bill that will amend the Ontario Human Rights Code to include ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ as protected grounds against discrimination. It is being co-sponsored by members of all three political parties and is expected to go into second reading on Thursday, May 10, at around 2:00pm. Any attempts to persuade your Member of Provincial Parliament to vote in favour of this bill would be of much help. This includes:

(1) Calling your MPP to let them know that you support Toby’s Act.
A list of current MPPs with their contact information can be found here. If you are unsure of the name of your Riding, then you can find it here,

(2) Signing our Online Petition
Signing this petition will send a letter to the leaders of all three provincial parties letting them know that you support this Bill.

(3) Joining us at the Ontario Legislative Building on Thursday, May 10th, 2:00pm
The more people we have there showing support, the better!

Information about Toby’s Act can be found here: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=2574
This is the fourth time the Bill is being considered by the Legislative Assembly. We hope it will be the last.

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2. ONTARIO FEDERATION OF LABOUR OUT@WORK CONFERENCE
— (Thurs. May 10, 7:00pm at The 519 Community Centre, Toronto)

The Ontario Federation of Labour is holding its Out@Work conference at The 519 Community Centre in Toronto. It will feature a Rapid Rights Roundtable moderated by OFL President Sid Ryan and Toronto City Staffer Jane Farrow. It will also feature performances by performance poet / multi-media musician and transpride campaigner Nichola Ward. A poster invite has been attached.

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3. ONTARIO GSA COALITION RALLY
– (Sat. May 12, 1:00pm at Queen’s Park, Toronto)
— Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/352024081525735/

This rally is in support of the LGBTQ-protective clauses in Bill 13, the Liberal Party’s “Accepting Schools Act”, which seeks to mandate the establishment of LGBTQ-focused student groups in Ontario secondary schools — and the acceptance of LGBTQ-specific language to name them. It is currently being considered by the Standing Committee on Social Policy alongside the Progressive Conservatives’ “Anti-Bullying Act” (Bill 14), which is expected to be merged with Bill 13.

According to the GSA Coalition, there is a risk that the Progressive Conservatives may attempt to delay the advancement of the final Bill because of these LGBTQ-affirming clauses. The aim is to have a final Bill approved by June to make sure that Ontario secondary school students have these protections by the start of the new school year in September. This rally is in support of this LGBTQ-specific language and the speedy approval of the final wording.

Information on Bill 13 can be found here: http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2549
Information on Bill 14 can be found here: http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2550

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4. STANDING COMMITTEE HEARINGS ON ANTI-BULLYING BILLS
— (Various Days, Ontario Legislative Building)

Today (Monday, May 7) and tomorrow (Tuesday, May 8), the Standing Committee on Social Policy will be holding public hearings in response to both the Liberal’s “Accepting Schools Act” and the Progressive Conservatives’ “Anti-Bullying Act. We will be deputing at one of these hearings.

Other hearing are scheduled for Monday, May 14 and Tuesday, May 15 in Toronto; and May 22 in Ottawa. If you wish to address the Committee at one of these hearings, then contact the Committee Clerk (Katch Koch) at 416-325-3526 or katch_koch@ontla.ola.org. Times are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Let Premier McGuinty, Andrea Horwath (Leader, ONDP), Tim Hudak (Leader, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario) and their parties know that you support the inclusion of “gender identity” and “gender expression” in the Ontario Human Rights Code. For every person that signs the petition, an e-mail will be sent to all the parties listed above letting them know that you support Toby’s Act. So sign now!
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2.  Call your MPP and let them know you support Toby’s Act

A list of current MPPs with their contact information can be found here. If you are unsure of who your MPP is, then you can use this handy tool to find your Riding, which can then be found on the contacts link.
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3.  Join us at the Ontario Legislative Building on Thursday, May 10th.

The bill is set to be discussed at around 2:00 pm. The more people we can get into the galleries to show support, the better!
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Together we can make this fourth attempt a success, and to finally have gender identity and gender expression recognized in the Ontario Human Rights Code. We extend our thanks to the Trans Lobby Group, and to MPP Cheri DiNovo, for their vigilence and persistence.

Hi Everyone,
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This is to report that Queer Ontario had a highly successful presence at the 2nd Annual LGBTQ Volunteer Fair put on by the 519 Church Street Community Centre.
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Earlier this afternoon Research and Education Committee Chairperson, Alana Boltwood, and I staffed the Queer Ontario table which elicited the signing up of 56 new volunteers!  There was an exciting mix of ages, races, ethnicities, interests and skill sets matching the vibrancy felt in the room and at the event itself.  In addition to Toronto numerous were from other geographical areas including North York, Markham, Brampton, Oshawa, Ottawa, Ajax, New Lowell and Thunder Bay.
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This is the 2nd year Queer Ontario has taken part and received such a great response.  Special thanks are extended to Queer Ontario Secretary, Martin Otarola, for setting us up with the needed material resources and Alana for joining me for the full event in representing Queer Ontario to potential volunteers.
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We will soon be following up with each of these volunteers to see how best we can involve them in the important work of Queer Ontario.
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Cheers,

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Nick Mulé
Chairperson,
Queer Ontario
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Queer Ontario is pleased to announce its participation in the 519 Community Centre’s second annual LGBTQ Volunteer Fair this Sunday, April 15, 2012. There, Queer Ontario members will be on-hand to speak to you about who we are, what we do, and where we’re headed. So if you’re interested in meeting some of these members or are interested in getting involved with us, then make your way down and say hello!

The event will run from 12:00 noon to 4:00pm in The 519 Auditorium. For more information, please visit the 519 Community Centre website, or the 519′s Volunteer Fair’s Facebook page.
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– 12:00 pm (noon)  Meet at the McDonald’s in front of the Royal Ontario Museum to make signs (192 Bloor Street West)

– 1:30 pm  Meet in front of the Ontario Legislative Building / Queens Park to protest.

– 3:00 pm  Protest ends.
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According to Christin Milloy, the event organizer (Cell 416-277-1701):
“If you can’t bring a sign, that’s fine, just bring yourself and as many people as you can round up. “

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** To read the predominantly religious premise of the naysaying protest, see here:
http://www.lifesite.ca/news/toronto-rally-to-protest-gay-focused-anti-bullying-bill-set-for-thursday-ma
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** To read the details of the proposed Bill, see here:
http://ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&Intranet&BillID=2549.
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Do make an effort to attend, if you can!
The Queer Ontario Steering Committee

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From the Facebook Event Page created by Christin Milloy

There is a group who are planning to protest against Bill C-13, Thurs March 29 from 2-3 PM at Queen’s Park.
Let’s show them we prefer safe and accepting schools, with an awesome counter-protest!

PLEASE MEET EARLY FOR SIGN MAKING AT 12PM:
We’ll do sign making at McDonalds, 192 Bloor Street West (across from ROM), which has an upstairs we can use to prep and chat before heading down to Queen’s park.

The anti-13 group is called Concerned Catholic Parents of Ontario, and their rally goes from 2PM to 3PM. I’d like us to get there before them, so we’ll head down from McD’s no later than 1:30PM.

If you can’t make it for sign-making, just show up and find us in front of the Legislature at 1:30 PM. If you can’t bring a sign, that’s fine, just bring yourself and as many people as you can round up.

I can be reached by phone at 416 277 1701. Thank you everybody!

Toronto, ON — March 26, 2012 – Queer Ontario partially applauds the Ontario Appeals Court Ruling on Canada’s prostitution laws for its decision to recognize sex work as a legitimate line of work. We are relieved to see that a more experiential consideration of sex workers and their rights has taken hold in the judicial system, as opposed to the sex-negative moralism that had previously governed their living and working conditions.

The Court’s decision to strike down the prostitution-specific clause in the ‘bawdyhouse’ provision, and to criminalize ‘living on the avails of prostitution’ only when it involves worker exploitation, grants sex workers the ability to establish safer workplaces and to live off of their earnings without criminal persecution. It makes it easer for sex workers to report instances of exploitation and gives them the ability to establish multi-person brothels, or to hire bodyguards and chauffeurs.

However, we reject the Court’s decision to uphold the ‘communication for the purposes of prostitution’ provision since it continues to criminalize sex workers who work outdoors. It is a decision founded on phobic attitudes that deem sex workers and any evidence of their work to be a ‘public nuisance’ — a decision that places the rights of hypothetical communities above the individual and inalienable rights of sex workers, thus failing to provide basic legal protections to those who need them the most.

Indeed, it is unreasonable for the Ontario Court of Appeals to presume that all sex workers will start working indoors now that the ‘bawdyhouse’ and ‘living off the avails’ provisions have been amended. Working outdoors still provides greater visibility to sex workers, which can contribute to a greater availability of clients and, with that, a more sustainable income. Unfortunately, working outdoors also presents a greater security risk for sex workers — risks that can be allayed by pre-screening their clients — and the decision to criminalize their communication in public fails to equip them with the legal support they need to do their work safely.

Moreover, the Appeals Court failed to realize that establishing and operating a brothel requires a certain level of income, a certain level of connectedness, and a certain level of entrepreneurial know-how to do so successfully, which many sex workers do not have because of economic, educational, and language barriers, among others.

We expect that the imminent Supreme Court decision will give greater consideration to the implications behind the public solicitation law, as well as the social, financial, and knowledge requirements needed to establish and operate a brothel. A protection of sex worker rights invariably includes the protection of those who work outdoors, in public. To criminalize them is to be complicit in the continued stigmatization of sex workers as a class of people.

Queer Ontario’s position statement on sex worker rights can be found here:
http://queerontario.org/2011/12/17/queer-ontario-policy-statement-on-sex-work

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For inquiries, please contact

Nick Mulé
Chairperson, Queer Ontario
info@queerontario.org

Queer Ontario is a provincial network of gender and sexually diverse individuals — and their allies — who are committed to questioning, challenging, and reforming the laws, institutional practices, and social norms that regulate queer people. Operating under liberationist and sex-positive principles, we fight for greater accessibility, recognition, and pluralism in society.

For a PDF version of this statement, click here:
QOResponse-AppealsCourt-ProstitutionRuling

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Deadlines
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The first set of works will be published in July of 2012. Therefore,
the soft deadline for July consideration is Friday, April 20, 2012.
The absolute last day to submit work for July consideration is
Friday, May 25, 2012.
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You are free to submit works after the deadline, which will be considered for our next publication cycle in October.
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Works will be reviewed and selected by the Think Tank Editorial Committee, which is made up of Queer Ontario volunteers.
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For More Information…
(Note that the links below do not make use of the “www.”)
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To head over to the Think Tank website,
please visit thinktank.queerontario.org
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For instructions on how to submit work,
please visit thinktank.queerontario.org/submissions
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To read the Think Tank’s editorial guidelines,
please visit thinktank.queerontario.org/editorial
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For a list of our issues of interest,
please visit queerontario.org/issues
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For all other questions or comments,
please email us at info@queerontario.org
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Sincerely,
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The Queer Ontario Steering Committee
www.queerontario.org
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Notes:
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* “LGBTQ” is used here to refer to individuals who are marginalized because of their sex, gender, sexuality, relationships, and/or way of life. This includes, but is not limited to: individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, agender, two-spirited, cross-dressing, intersexed, neutrois, asexual, pansexual, polyamorous, and/or kinky.
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We know that forms of oppression based on sex, gender, sexuality, relationships, and/or way of life cannot be seen in isolation from other forms of oppression, so we encourage their joint articulation as well.
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* If you are interested in participating in the Think Tank Editorial Committee, then please email us at info@queerontario.org with your name, a brief introduction, and the subject line “Think Tank Editorial Committee.”
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Resistance-and-Resurgence.pptx
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