Saturday, November 20th, was the Transgender Day of Remembrance. In Ottawa, this was celebrated with the unraveling of a flag at the headquarters of the Ottawa Police, followed by a march to Parliament Hill and a candlelight vigil.
NDP MP Bill Siksay, the man with the megaphone in the picture above, was there to speak about bill C-389. This private member’s bill, which he tabled, would “add gender identity and expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act” (link).
All in all, the mood was very joyous. The crowd was supportive, and Jay and I ended up having a nice long discussion with a trans woman. Growing up in the sixties, she experienced some horrific treatment by those around her. Things have changed since, but laws like this would ensure that there would be no buts or ifs about it.
Canadians from all over came out for this event on Saturday. There was a solid contingent from Montreal (pictured above in the group photo), people from London and Toronto… it was just great to see.