Electoral riding commission threatens to split Toronto's LGBT Village in Two....

The Commission looking into redistributing 338 ridings for the federal House of Commons for the next election (up from the current 308) has released its proposals.

They include adding 15 seats to Ontario's current count of 106. Most of the new ridings will be in the 905 around Toronto to take into account the growing populations in those areas. The City of Toronto gets 2 extra seats, including a new seat around Rosedale called 'Mount Pleasant,' which has a southerly border that runs right down Wellesley Street, slashing Toronto's downtown LGBT village in half. If adopted, voters in the village north of Wellesley but south of Bloor would be voting with Rosedale all the way up to Eglinton. Those south of Wellesley would vote in a smaller version of 'Toronto Centre.'

I think it's wrong to cut Toronto's gay village in two like this. Please see an email I sent below to the Commission today and the preliminary response:


From: Matt Guerin
Sent: August-28-12 4:56 PM
To: Commission office - ONTARIO - ontario@rfed-rcf.ca
Subject: concerns about new riding map for Toronto Centre/Mount Pleasant ridings

Dear Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario,

I am writing to express my concerns as a resident of the current riding of Toronto Centre and a member of the LGBT community.

As you may know, the current Toronto Centre riding contains the largest concentration of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) citizens than any other riding in Canada. The centre of this community is the Church & Wellesley neighbourhood in the heart of the current riding. What's become popularly known as 'The Village' stretches from Church & Wellesley north up to approximately Bloor Street, and extends south to approximately Carlton Street. Heading west, one could say Bay Street or University Avenue is the unofficial westerly border of the 'Village', while Sherbourne is likely the unofficial easterly border of the community.

Of course, many LGBT people live in Toronto outside of these boundaries, including myself. I'm an owner of a condo on Shuter Street near Church Street.

But without a doubt, the heart and centre of Toronto's LGBT is the Church & Wellesley intersection. I think if you did any sort of research into this issue, you'd find most Torontonians would agree with this.

That's why I was dismayed to see your new riding boundary proposals for Ontario, which include creating the new riding of Mount Pleasant, carved out of mostly the northern half of the current riding of Toronto Centre. The new riding of Toronto Centre instead runs south of Bloor, east of Sherbourne, and south of Wellesley Street to Queen's Park. Mount Pleasant runs mostly north of this same new line.

In putting part of the southerly border between these two new ridings right down Wellesley Street, you have in fact proposed to cut Toronto's LGBT community, aka 'The Village' right in half. By any reasonable standard, this line seems arbitrary. It would unnecessarily divide up Toronto's LGBT village into two, diluting the voting power of the community into two ridings. I fail to see what the renters in apartment buildings or coops or condo owners who live near Church and Dundonald or Gloucester or Isabella or Jarvis have in common with the millionaires who live in mansions in Rosedale or other rich neighbourhoods north of St. Clair East.

In fact, with this new configuration, voters in the small sliver bordered by Wellesley/Sherbourne/Bloor East/Queen's Park Crescent will be forever overwhelmed by the tens of thousands of wealthier, heterosexual voters who will make up the vast majority of this new riding of Mount Pleasant.

Furthermore, the voting power of the LGBT community now contained within the new riding of Toronto Centre will also be diluted by the majority to the south. However, I would at least agree that the income and other demographics of the new Toronto Centre riding are more in sync. In fact, I would argue that the small sliver of the gay village you are now proposing to include in Mount Pleasant has much more in common with the new proposed Toronto Centre riding.

I believe it is a mistake to put the border of these two new ridings down Wellesley Street and effectively divide one of Toronto's most vibrant and important communities in half. I would suggest that a better dividing line would be right down Bloor Street, leaving those communities of similar income and interest together in the new Toronto Centre riding to the south.

I worry the proposed border down Wellesley Street looks like a deliberate attempt to water down Toronto's downtown gay vote. I strongly urge your Commission to reconsider this border and place it north instead to run directly down Bloor Street between the two new ridings.

Sincerely,

Matt Guerin

****************************

From: Commission office - ONTARIO ontario@rfed-rcf.ca
To: Matt Guerin
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 5:11:52 PM
Subject: RE: concerns about new riding map for Toronto Centre/Mount Pleasant ridings

Good afternoon.

Thank you for your email of today's date. I will bring it to the attention of the members of the Commission.

Beverly Hayter

Commission Secretary.

Toll free: 1-855-747-7224

Fax: 1-855-747-7225

Silver fox Anderson Cooper finally makes it official: "I'm gay"

Belated Happy Pride Day and Happy Canada Day wishes for all!

This news from CNN star Anderson Cooper was a nice post-Pride gift this morning. The silver fox have finally made it official and come out of the closet.

In an email to blogger Andrew Sullivan, Anderson writes: "I've also wanted to retain some privacy for professional reasons. Since I started as a reporter in war zones 20 years ago, I've often found myself in some very dangerous places. For my safety and the safety of those I work with, I try to blend in as much as possible, and prefer to stick to my job of telling other people’s stories, and not my own. I have found that sometimes the less an interview subject knows about me, the better I can safely and effectively do my job as a journalist."

I completely agree, particularly about the potential dangers an out and famous gay person might face simply for being honest in most parts of the world. But let's face it. His longtime reluctance to make his gayness official sent out the wrong message and that seems to have finally tipped the balance in his decision to come out publicly today:

"Recently, however, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something - something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true...The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud."

We need to send the message that being gay is not a big deal, it's a natural part of the human experience and nothing to be ashamed about. Anderson Cooper reinforced that truth today. Good on him!

You can read the full story here on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Beast page.

Pride short-film showcase - 'It makes for a nice escape if people get a little Prided out' says Guerin

Very nice write-up on Xtra.ca about something I've been working on the last few months. I re-print it here in its entirety:

Pride short-film showcase ON SCREEN / 'It makes for a nice escape if people get a little Prided out' - Chris Dupuis / Toronto / Monday, June 25, 2012

If you love celebrating your gayness but can stand huge crowds and 30-plus temperatures for only so long, fear not! An island of cooling serenity awaits you, courtesy of the Canadian Media Guild. The organization’s first ever Pride Week LGBT Short Film Showcase features a collection of works screening daily over Pride week. The films play on a continuous loop, so viewers can drop by whenever it suits them, to get their dose of celluloid in air-conditioned comfort.

“Playing films for only one night can really limit audiences, especially during Pride Week because there is so much going on,” says programmer Matt Guerin. “Getting exposure for the works was as important as providing entertainment, so we wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to come by. It’s situated outside the Village, so it makes for a nice escape if people get a little Prided out.”

Guerin is a filmmaker who also works as a media librarian at CBC. He has brought together a diverse selection of films, including documentaries, animations, comedies and a few tearjerkers. Mostly Canadian, with a handful of international works, the event has something to suit every taste.

Rising star Jordan Tannahill’s Swim (which took home Inside Out’s Emerging Canadian Artist Award last year) will be featured. Based on the artist’s experience of losing a boyhood friend in a dare gone wrong, the piece attempts to relive the original tragedy, 20 years later.

“It’s only three minutes long, but it packs an emotional punch you rarely see in mainstream filmmaking,” Guerin says. “It’s an experimental work but still very accessible and quite beautiful to watch.”

Also on the bill is Mark Pariselli’s After, a dialogue-free exploration of three young gay guys’ fascination with a football-playing jock. Sexy without being explicit, dreamy without being pretentious, this unconventional exploration of teenaged lust has screened at more than 40 international festivals since its debut two years ago.

The program also features plenty of lighter works, including Betsy Kalin’s hilarious Chained! (a documentary chronicling the lesbian community’s fascination with wallet chains) and Christine Chew’s Slow Burn (a Western-infused comedy in which duelling tattoo artists battle for the chance to ink a mysterious girl for her first time).

Bunny is a film about an older gay couple struggling with Alzheimer's. Fresh off this year’s Inside Out program is local boy Seth Poulin’s heart-wrenching Bunny, about an older gay couple struggling with Alzheimer’s.

“I’ve never seen this kind of story told before anywhere,” Guerin says. “Most films aimed at gay audiences depend on young, good-looking guys as part of their selling point. For a filmmaker to tackle this kind of relationship is really daring.”

While short films rarely get exposure outside of festivals, Guerin insists they’re de rigueur viewing for anyone claiming cinephile status.

“Most filmmakers start out making shorts as they develop their abilities and get their name out there,” he says. “There’s an incredible array of talent on display here that you wouldn’t usually be able to see anywhere else. It’s a chance to see the future stars of cinema in the early stages of their career.”

The Deets:
2012 Pride Week LGBT Short Film Showcase Mon, June 25 to Fri, June 29, from 9am to 7pm all week Graham Spry Theatre
CBC Broadcasting Centre 250 Front St W Free 416-591-5333

More info at the event’s Facebook page

The ignorant words of Rev. John Yake and other Catholic leaders

I have been following the ongoing debate in Ontario over the McGuinty government's attempts to address rampant bullying in Ontario's public schools.

I support the recent amendment to Bill 13 which gives high school students the right to use the name, 'Gay-Straight Alliance,' in school club titles should they choose to form such a group.

I went to a Catholic high school in the late 1980s. I wish I had had the chance to form or be a part of such a group. It would've made my high school experience safer. Just having the group in a school would make that school a safer place for LGBT youth, most if not all of whom are experiencing massive stress and isolation due to their sexual orientation (on top of the regular stress of being a teenager). Everyone who made it through adolescence should be able to understand that.

I am particularly disgusted with those who are using this issue to once again bash the LGBT community and denigrate our needs as irrelevant and worthy of neglect. Michael Coren once again buries his head in the sand on this issue, claiming that powerful church leaders (the type who in years past saw no problem protecting child rapists from the law) are now being bullied by the big, bad gay lobby and that gay kids aren't really victims of much bullying.

Coren writes in this column: "First, the dishonesty of the premise that gay children are bullied. Some are, of course, but there is no objective study concluding gays are targeted. Body image is the major reason for bullying and figures that indicate otherwise tend to come from gay organizations."

Of course, being gay organizations, Coren assumes that they can't be telling the truth? Coren is such an asshole and a bigot. You want objective proof of homophobia in schools? Just walk down any high school hallway and listen. When teachers aren't around, I guarantee you will hear some bully use the term 'fag' or 'faggot' in a hateful way within a few minutes. Sure body image is another major reason for bullying in schools. What is the insult of choice against fat kids? 'Fat faggot,' probably. Coren would focus on the attack against the kid's body image, but ignore the second part as irrelevant.

In truth, the vast majority of kids who are attacked using homophobic language in schools are in fact straight. Hence, the reasoning behind the establishment of Gay-Straight Alliances in the first place.

Privileged, inward-looking, ignorant, powerful people in the Catholic school boards and elsewhere like Coren are leading the charge against any recognition of gay abuse in our schools. They don't care about gay kids. They shrug as gay kids continue to contemplate suicide to escape the hell these boards have created for them. And they fight tooth and nail to keep the hatred in our schools unchallenged.

Shame.

When reading some letters to the editor on this subject in the National Post, I came across this ignorant letter from Reverend John Yake of Toronto which clearly points out the ignorance of those who are fighting Bill 13. As we know, gay kids are generally in the closet in high school. They don't feel safe coming out or even raising the issue of being gay for fear of attack, ridicule and further social isolation. Considering this truth, give Rev. Yake's words a look:

"There has been lots of hype over Ontario’s Bill 13, a measure to address bullying based on sexual orientation, but is this really a problem? I recently retired from a 33-year career in teaching where my role as chaplain involved listening to and counselling students. A support group program emerged where issues could be discussed if they were experienced by a number of students. Topics discussed ranged from bereavement, chronic illness, drug and alcohol abuse, families of divorced/separated parents and stress. In my 33 years, the issue of bullying based on sexual orientation never was raised. So what’s this really about? Might the real issue behind Bill 13 be the advancement of an anti-Catholic agenda, a strategy to undermine Christian values under the guise of protecting children? This suggestion sickens me not only because it unfairly uses people’s perceived pain to advance an ideology of hate but also because it is singularly unCanadian especially when exercised by a legitimately elected government that is obliged to guard rights of freedom of religion.
Rev. John Yake, Toronto."

For a former educator in the Catholic system, Rev. Yake displays a horrifying amount of ignorance on the subject he chooses to write and publish. Had I been a kid stuck in Rev. Yake's classroom or support group, I wouldn't have raised my issues of isolation and pain over my sexual orientation with him either. It's this disgusting Catholic ignorance which remains a thorn in the side of all of us who have survived this religion and this school system.

I want to commend Joanne Chianello for this great piece in the Ottawa Citizen this week on this subject. Her thoughts reflect many of my own as a lapsed Catholic.

If one good thing has come out of this debate (besides focusing the public on the issue of bullying in schools and, in particular, the massive vulnerability of LGBT youth in our schools), it has re-awoken the issue of public funding for Catholic schools in Ontario, reminding many of us how archaic Ontario truly is. We must end funding for Catholic schools now and unite the two systems into one, publicly funded, secular system. I wrote about one strategy for how the government could win a mandate to pursue this just path some months ago. I truly hope someone in the McGuinty government is listening and willing to end this historic injustice sooner rather than never.

UPDATE: Here's another lovely article from today's Globe by Tabatha Southey.

Canadian Christopher Plummer wins Oscar

The proudest moment for me during last night's great Oscars telecast: Canadian Christopher Plummer winning Best Supporting Actor for his terrific performance in 'Beginners.'

Richly deserved, the 82-year-old Toronto native who now makes his home in Connecticut becomes the oldest person to win an acting Oscar ever. And to win for such a beautiful film and character, it's icing on the cake. Plummer played a 75-year-old father who comes out of the closet as a gay man following the death of his wife of 44 years.

"You're only two years older than me, darling," Plummer said during his acceptance speech last night, holding up the famous golden statue that resembles a well-formed male, perhaps a humorous reference his character's homosexuality. "Where have you been all my life?"

It's wonderful we are living in a time when a conservative organization like the Academy feels comfortable awarding an actor for playing such a role. [Not that all the Academy's choices are beyond criticism, but still it's nice when they get it oh so right.] The lessons re-affirmed by his character's life - it's never too late to be true to yourself - are most welcome.

Bravo to a great Canadian actor! Congrats, Mr. Plummer!

Horrifying: 'Alta. doctors bill province for treating homosexuality'

Alberta, why must you always disappoint us?...

Thumbs up for XTRA editorial: 'Drummond's glaring omission'

I heartily agree with Xtra's Andrea Houston about Don Drummond's glaring omission in his report last week, which could be nicknamed 'How to cut inefficiencies and duplications in the Ontario government except those inefficiencies and duplications that might require a constitutional amendment and a little fortitude to take on historic inequities.'

It's offensive that Drummond could argue that class sizes should be increased, education workers be fired, and other major cutbacks be endured by all systems rather than address this obvious inequity of funding one religion's public schools, but not others.

I'm sure there were some issues that Drummond was ordered not to even touch (ie. private health care delivery perhaps?) I truly hope he didn't get his marching orders from the McGuinty Liberals to steer clear from taking on the duplication of public school systems in Ontario.

Ontario's Catholic schools quandary...

This article today by Chris Selley is the latest to clearly signal the increasingly irreconcilable conflict between the public sphere in Ontario and one of its two publicly funded education systems, namely the Catholic school system.

While the provincial government has been working hard to combat the biggest threat to students in our schools - bullying (which is frequently homophobic in nature) - the Catholic system has been working at odds to conform with provincial direction while not, in its collective mind, contradicting Catholic faith. The result from Catholic educators is this weak compromise: 'Respecting Difference' clubs instead of provincially-mandated 'gay-straight alliances' in public schools.

I was a closeted, gay student in the Catholic system in Ontario. What I needed then and what similar students still obviously need today is a firm and clear strategy in our schools to combat homophobia. If left alone, hatred of the other (which frequently is the gay other) runs rampant, threatening student safety and productivity. The message must be sent - in public schools and in Catholic schools alike - that homophobia is wrong and that LGBT people are every bit deserving of acceptance and respect as straight people.

The inherent conflict here is in Catholic doctrine which states that homosexuality is against the so-called natural law. It's hard to respect somebody when you believe they, at their core, run "contrary to natural law" and are "intrinsically disordered." If Catholic educators believe such nonsense, why shouldn't a 13-year-old Catholic jock?

These new 'Respecting Difference' clubs as proposed by Catholic bishops who are overseeing the process to draft board policies simply do not go far enough. The clubs themselves, unable to use the word 'gay' in their names and unable to do anything without the condescending presence of school chaplains, seem like a pathetic, pale imitation of the real thing. The whole point of GSAs is visibility. These new Catholic school clubs sound a lot like 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'

I'm increasingly of the opinion that we can't square this issue. A modern society which accepts all people as equal, including its LGBT minority, not to mention the equality of all religions, simply can't go on publicly funding one religion's schools.

Our most vulnerable - our youth - are being subjected to systemic discrimination in one of our publicly-funded education systems.

The clear answer for me is to end funding for Catholic schools in Ontario. The province should be in the business of running one publicly funded system for all students. Additional public funding for one religion's schools at the exclusion of all others is simply outdated and unfair in post-Charter Canada.

The provincial government is using kid gloves to handle its Catholic education partners on this issue. As Selley writes, "this smells to me like yet another attempt to be seen addressing a problem without angering a powerful stakeholder. And it illustrates yet again that when push comes to shove, publicly funded Catholic education, in Ontario, in 2012, makes very little sense at all."

If this is Dalton McGuinty's last term as premier, and we are about to enter into an era of fiscal restraint and fiscal sanity a la Don Drummond in order to tame our public finances, wouldn't this be the right time to re-examine our province's commitment to two publicly-funded school systems, with all the inherent duplication of administration and extra costs, not to mention the lack of commitment to basic student safety? I say yes. Of course, embarking on this path is frightening to politicians who don't wish to cause conflict where none currently exists in the tranquil, unequal, and unjust status quo. But perhaps it is time for someone to finally exercise some needed leadership.

Religious bigots come out swinging against LGBT students and anti-bullying legislation...

Yes, the provincial government has introduced tough new anti-bullying legislation. The legislation includes provisions which will ensure that LGBT students and their straight friends who wish to form Gay-Straight Alliance-type groups in all publicly-funded schools will be able to do so. Such groups help promote tolerance and acceptance for LGBT youth in environments that otherwise remain homophobic and hostile.

Today, the usual suspects of religious bigotry in Ontario came to Queen's Park to hold a press conference (sponsored and/or attended by Ontario PC MPPs Frank Klees and Lisa MacLeod) to demand that anti-bullying provisions designed to fight homophobia and violence against LGBT students and others be dropped.

Yes, so-called religious activists including Charles McVety of The Institute for Canadian 'Values', Rondo Thomas, of the Evangelical Association, and Jack Fonseca, of the Campaign Life Coalition, are fighting for more violence against LGBT youth in Ontario schools. Disgusting!

The legislation these bigots are attacking today allows Catholic boards to create gay-straight alliances without having to use the specific term. This isn't enough for these anti-gay/pro-violence religious advocates. According to them, allowing student-initiated clubs that promote acceptance and combat homophobia in high schools is somehow a violation of Catholic rights.

So trying to stop violence and promote acceptance goes against the Catholic faith? As a recovering Catholic, even I can't remember those pro-violence/anti-acceptance provisions of Catholic doctrine.

Shame on these bigots today fighting to maintain violence and harassment against LGBT youth in our public schools. Shame!

A great clip from 'Designing Women' on World AIDS Day...

This scene and this episode of 'Designing Women' meant so much to me when it first aired in the late 1980s.

I was a closeted teenager living in homophobic and AIDS-phobic times, quite used to sad depictions on television and elsewhere of effeminate, weak gay men dying like helpless victims from AIDS. I remember one particularly awful scene on 'St. Elsewhere' in which a nameless gay man dying of AIDS in hospital announced to his doctors that he's cured because he's decided he wasn't "gay anymore."

But this episode of 'Designing Women' showed a relatively masculine gay male character (played by the handsome Tony Goldwyn) who was passionately supported by his female friends.

I'm happy to share it here today on this World AIDS Day and I hope it brings a smile to your face!

McGuinty Liberals to introduce bill to allow schools to expel bullies...

This is a great 'It Gets Better' video by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, proving yet again he's the right person for the job as leader of this great, dynamic and diverse province.

It's nice to have a premier who stands up for all students and is willing to take action in government to make our schools safer places. I support any government actions that make it harder for bullies to carry on their evil deeds in our schools. This proposed bill is a step in the right direction.

Today, I remain as ecstatic as ever that Ontario dodged the disgusting conservative triumvirate by re-electing an enlightened, visionary and progressive Liberal government in October. I dread to imagine the kinds of destruction that Tim Hudak and his regressive Conservatives would be plotting for our schools were he to have somehow won the recent Ontario election. Hudak would be looking to find ways to ban the mention of homosexuality in our schools, perhaps. He pandered to homophobia during the election campaign, claiming any attempts to make our schools safer for gay kids was somehow an attack on parents' rights. Get used to opposition, Timmy.

Thank you, Dalton, for your leadership. Now I hope you take this further and crack down on Catholic school boards that cater to bullies and bigots by banning gay-straight alliances. We need to do more than promise, 'It gets better.' We need to make it better and ensuring students who want to form gay-straight alliances can do so in all of Ontario's publicly-funded schools would be a good, fair and wise move.

Pro soccer player David Testo comes out...

I love it when this happens. Not only does the LGBT community get to shatter some stereotypes about athletes, we also get a new and VERY HOT hero!

David Testo, a 30-year-old midfielder who played for the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, revealed in a Radio-Canada broadcast Thursday morning that he is gay.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail, the North Carolina native said that he is going public because of a recent string of suicides among gay teenagers, including Ottawa’s Jamie Hubley, an openly gay figure skater who was bullied at school.

“We have to change, and it’s always been my philosophy that you have to lead the change you want to see,” Testo said. “I felt like it was almost my duty to say that this is okay.”

Thanks, David, for this great move and congrats! And if you are ever in Toronto and get lonely, you can always get in touch with me! ;-)