Queer Ontario would like to cordially invite all members of our LGBTQ communities to come to RECOGNIZE! The 25th Anniversary celebration of the inclusion of ‘Sexual Orientation’ into the Ontario Human Rights Code. It promises to be an evening full of merriment and remembrance.

Special guests Tom Warner and Susan Gapka will be present to speak about recognition struggles past and present; and we will be presenting the John Damien Award for Outstanding Activism to an individual or group that has caused a major stir this year.

So please, come on by, bring your guests, and celebrate with us.

Visit our Facebook event page for further details: https://www.facebook.com/events/267604516625048

Special Thanks to our sponsors:

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives

Xtra!

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On August 28, 2011 Queer Ontario graced the steps of Parliament Hill in Ottawa to commemorate the 40th anniversary of We Demand, the first nation-wide rally in Canada where gay men and women got together to demand legal and social reforms from the federal government. As John Wilson, an original member of the rally, noted in his keynote speech on Sunday: while a number of reforms have been achieved in the 40 years since 1971, there is still a lot of prejudice that needs to be challenged and abolished, particularly on the part of government. This includes the government’s refusal to extend human rights protections to transsexual, transgender, and intersex individuals, as well as its insistence on criminalizing HIV transmission.

Indeed, it is worth remembering that the extension of marriage rights to same-sex or same-gender couples did not finalize the struggle for queer and trans rights but, rather, re-invigorated it, as we now fight for the rights of those who are marginalized by the expectation to marry and privatize our sexualities; and those whose identities, relationships and livelihoods have yet to be recognized and accommodated by government.

Special thanks go out to Susan Gapka, Michael Burtch, Melanie Pasztor, and Brent Bauer for lending us their voices and their words of inspiration in highlighting all the work that needs to be done to create a trans-embracing, queer-loving, and sex-positive Canada. A very special thanks to A.J. Lowik for giving voice to our Demands list; as well as the over 100 people who attended the rally and shared their demands and their experiences of discrimination with us.

On August 13, Queer Ontario will be hosting the PinQ PotluQ PicniQ at Hanlan’s Point, Toronto Island, from 12 noon to 6 p.m. It’s an all-day event where LGBTQ people across Ontario will be able to get together and party like it’s 1971!*

There will be food, games, and lovers & strangers, so be sure to join us for some serious grassroots fun. (And bring all your friends, too!)

*Also known as the year of the legendary ‘gay picnic’ on Centre Island, arguably the first ‘gay pride’ celebration long before Gay Pride events ever existed.  —    Read more…