Support for the Gay Village in Ottawa.

 

To try to break a years-long logjam over whether to designate a six-block stretch of Bank Street as Ottawa’s “gay village,” Somerset Councillor Diane Holmes plans to survey nearby residents to find out what they think.

The idea has been discussed and studied for years, given the concentration of gay bars, bookstores and sex shops on Bank between Nepean and James streets, but much of the debate has been driven by local merchants and the Bank Street Promenade Business Improvement Area, which decided to forgo any official designation or branding. Business owners might fly rainbow flags and try to attract gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered shoppers however they want, but that’s the extent of it.

Gay renters face discrimination

 

Single parents and gay couples face more discrimination than straight couples searching for rental housing in Metro Vancouver, according to a new study released by the University of British Columbia, reports the Vancouver Sun and Journal of Social Problems.

The study, published in the August issue of the journal Social Problems, found that same-sex male couples who apply for rental housing are nearly 25 per cent more likely than straight couples to be rejected by landlords, while single parents are about 15 per cent more likely to lose out on bids for housing.

Canadian changing social state thanks in part to TV & music?

 

The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender recurring characters on mainstream cable has seen a year-over-year increase of 40 per cent. Queer and anti-bullying anthems are a fist-pumping fixture on the radio. And celebrity ``coming out'' stories that, just five years ago, guaranteed a cover story are now routine tabloid footnotes (sorry, Jonathan Knight).

Victoria Pride

 

Pride week in Victoria culminates with a parade this Sunday and looks all set to be the big highlight of the annual celebration by the local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.    The parade is due to start at noon from the corner of Government Street and Pandora Avenue and so far more than 75 colourful entrants, including floats and marching bands, are expected.

Toronto Pride Is 31

Toronto Pride is 31 years old,    it may have started out life as a small grass-roots march protesting police raids on gay bathhouses of 1981 and demanding gay and lesbian rights,  but it has become a major celebration on the city,  which lasts 10 days and brings more than a million people to the city.

Toronto Mayor Shuns Pride and The Gay Community

 

Many in Toronto thought a mayor was supposed to support the city,  support diversity, support a large section of the population, support business in the city,  however they have been proved wrong.  Mayor Rob Ford has told everyone,  he wants nothing to do with Pride or the gay community

Church Blessings Now Possible For Gays In Nova Scotia

 

Canada often claims to be the leaders in equality,  especially in the Americas,  a clear case of this is new that legally partnered same-sex couples in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, are  now able to get a blessing from the country’s Anglican Church.

Gay artist granted reprieve from deportation

 

Alvaro Orozco, a gay artist who fled Nicaragua due to his sexual orientation, has been granted the right to remain in Canada.

 

 

Hello Sailor! Gay life at sea!

 

It was a not-so-secret side of seafaring chronicled in private snapshots: male sailors, dressed in beautiful gowns, stockings and heels, mugging for the camera.

Others made up as showgirls, revelling in the culture of being openly gay at sea that's now the focus of an exhibit making its North American debut at a waterfront museum in Halifax.

School Students Support Gay-Positive Policy In Canada.

They may have lacked numbers,  but they made up for that in their enthusiasm!    Dozens of Burnaby students, complete with signs, flags and their voices, rallied for more than two hours Tuesday night before, during and after the Burnaby school district's regular school board meeting.
 
 

Canadian Schools Full Of Homophobia

Two out for three students don’t feel safe.

Rampant and largely unchecked homophobia stalks the hallways and classrooms of most Canadian schools,  is the key finding of a national study on homophobia in Canadian schools to be released today at the University of Winnipeg.

Gay Film Festival Establishes Award for Gay Porn Channel

 

In Canada a gay adult cable channel, HardTV is sponsoring a new award for this year’s Inside Out Festival.The HardTV Hot Shorts Award will be part of the Toronto GLBT Film and Video Festival’s awards program and will award a cash prize to one or more films annually.

Toronto's gay community to storm city hall rotunda May 16

 

On the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia - and with potential cuts to Pride Toronto (PT) funding looming - Toronto’s queer community will bring a big gay message to the city hall rotunda on May 16.

Judge Blames The Victim In Canada ‘Gay’ Bashing

 

 

Alex Myros.

Rarely, do you hear a judge take such a strip off an alleged victim of crime.   "I found everything he said to be calculated and I disbelieved most of what he said," the judge said of Brandon Wright, the so-called victim at the centre of a controversial London assault case.

Canada's best hope for another gay MP?

 

With at least 18 openly gay and lesbian candidates seeking election on May 2 under the national party banners, election 2011 may see more queers on the ballot than any before. But aside from the four incumbents, the one with the best odds of serving in the 41st Parliament is city councillor Randall Garrison, seeking election in the Victoria-area riding of Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, reports Xtra.

 

How Alberta pioneered gay adoption

 

Interesting report on how Alberta in Canada pioneered Gay Adoption appears in today’s Calgary Herald.

While the provincial tories were fighting same-sex marriage, their privatization zeal was opening the door to a new kind of adoption that has put alberta at the forefront of same-sex parenting

Canadian guide still light on gay content

In the first edition of the federal government’s Discover Canada guide for new immigrants, the only mention of gays and lesbians was a caption under a photo of Mark Tewksbury that read, “a prominent activist for gay and lesbian Canadians.” The second edition, released on March 14, adds a single sentence on gay people Canada.

“Canada’s diversity includes gay and lesbian Canadians, who enjoy the full protection of and equal treatment under the law, including access to civil marriage” has been added to a section entitled diversity.

Toronto's only gay football league takes flight

 

Creating Toronto’s first gay football team sounded like a kind of mission impossible to Ken Scott. He’d played other organized, more gay-friendly sports like softball, volleyball and bowling — but football had always been his true sporting love.

Dozens in Toronto's Gay Village Harassed

 

News from Canada, comes more tales of harassment to the residents and visitors to the gay village, by teens.

In an bizarre copy from  TV show ‘Glee’ Crossing guard Phil Ogison has had slushies thrown at his face.

Gay Village local Buddha Poitras spends many afternoons scrubbing pop off his windows.

Canadian Blood Ban Money

Two years after Canadian Blood Services created a $500,000 grant to research if and when gay men can safely donate blood, not a single scientist has applied to do the work.




And officials are baffled by the reluctance.


Current rules bar men who have been sexually active with another man since 1977 from donating blood for his entire lifetime because of fears it would be tainted by HIV. The policy has been hotly contested.


The blood ban against gay men made headlines last year when a lawsuit required an Ontario judge to rule if the rules were discriminatory under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She ruled the ban was lawful.


"Researchers of Canada: pay attention. Get on this," said Lorna Tessier, director of public relations for Canadian Blood Services. "It's a fully funded grant opportunity in a very interesting area of research."


Not a single research team has applied for the grant, which is jointly funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research. Tessier said she doesn't know why.


The research could ultimately open the door for gay men to be added to the donor list.







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© 2011 Copyright Jason Shaw