An organization called OUTLoud North Bay works with 2SLGBTQ+ youth, giving them a safer space to go to. Recently, they wanted to give an opportunity for local youth to try drag. When I think about this, it would be no different then when I was a kid, trying on mom’s make up or shoes, so it seems normal to me for the youth wanting to try these things to express themselves. However, what happened was far beyond what anyone saw coming.

There is a fringe radical group called “Libs of TikTok”, that is based out of the USA, and they take the information from drag shows, Pride organizations, Youth 2SLGBTQ+ and other equity seeking groups, sharing it with their over one million followers, who then set out to destroy anyone who is not the same as them. Individuals then receive threats of violence, hateful comments, and such. What is worse for us, even Canadians are part of this group doing the same thing. Not only have they threatened these organizations, but they also threatened supporters, sponsors, and the like.

The police across Canada have resources for this kind of thing. However, according to them, it can be hard to convict anyone of these crimes, even though threats of violence is a crime in Canada and the USA.

When Canada tried to address this kind of online hate crimes, the Conservatives decided it would fall under a freedom of expression issue for all Canadians. But is it? Should one be allowed to express hate towards other people? Threaten them with death because they are who they are? This is what these politicians are protecting. However, we can all agree finding the balance is difficult, especially because no one wants to stifle freedom of expression, but no one should be subjected to hate of any kind. What do we do?

One thing is clear, that Pride events are vital to the survival and change of society to stop hate everywhere. However, sometimes I believe that these events have lost their way some what. It is great to celebrate accomplishments by having a Pride parade and other great events, but where are these organizations when it comes to standing shoulder to shoulder against hate? Where are they when it comes to speaking out and holding politicians accountable for their actions on lack of support to equity seeking groups? Where are they when it comes to changing policy or the law that would benefit everyone?

There is a balance for Pride organizations and equity seeking groups, but it just seems many have forgotten this over the years. Pride’s work is not done until we are all equal and all free from hate, every city, every province, every country.  That is when Pride triumphs.

Until then, we stand together, we support each other, and we are there when we are needed. Let’s get all Prides in Canada to find their balance again, and let’s change the world to where no hate exists anymore, because that is a true Canadian and that is what we are about. In the end, love (and support) wins!

Stay Safe Pigeon.

Love Geri!

The post Hate Has No Home in North Bay appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

If this is not a wake-up call to every Political Party in Canada, I do not know what is. Even the last federal election had a similar turn out of eligible voters.

Right now, we have the Ontario NDP and Ontario Liberals sitting in their offices licking their wounds, saying, “What did we do so wrong? Boo Hoo, poor me. I know what to do, we will send out a survey to all our members who support us and ask them what we did wrong because they will tell us the truth and not just tell us what we want to hear.” Yes, that is right. You guessed it, that is the answer by them, send out a survey to their members. Not try to reach out to people that did not support them to ask why they did not support them. Or God forbid, reach out to the thousands of union members who supported Doug Ford, and ask them why?

Federal Parties did the same thing too.

We are living with COVID, we have seen that our systems are not people focused, they are big corporate focused. We learned people need full time living wage jobs, not three part time minimum wage jobs, yet here we are with companies screaming there is a labour shortage, when in fact it’s a living wage job shortage.

Let us talk about the Leaders Debate that Prides across Ontario tried to put together. Ontario Prides, which included Toronto, North Bay, Hamilton, Sudbury, etc. They all came together and said to the leaders of all the Political Parties, we want to hold a Leader’s debate. This is not the first time a request has come from Prides either, North Bay Pride has been asking both the federal and provincial leaders since 2018. QueerVote took the lead and let me tell you, it’s a great organization that will make some major changes one day in the political systems.

Anyway, other then Green Party’s Mike Schrenier, the leaders and their parties basically ignored us. Maybe that is why the Ontario Greens had one of the biggest increases in votes this year even though we had the lowest voter turnout in history of Ontario. And they came very close to winning their second seat in Muskoka. Mike seemed to know; they needed to be there.

After a lot of pressure, the parties decided they would send a representative to the debate which was streamed live from Toronto. Which you can see here.

But again, although the 2SLGBTQ+ were part of the discussion, the discussion was suppose to include all equity seeking voices and communities and the reps lost that point some where.

All I know is that Prides tried to change the discussion in politics, and so many of you missed it. Prides took a political stance, like they are supposed to, because that is the grassroots of Pride and you missed it. Political parties did hear the call for change, and you missed that too.

Political Parties, well most of them are usually good at getting candidates that come from communities like ours, but they just seemed to not want to hear from us this time.

To make matters worse, media outlets like BellMedia, CBC and Corus Entertainment, would not work with the Ontario Prides to help them or cover the political debates. They are great at trying to get community representation in their shows that are comedy, drama etc. But it seems when marginalized voices need to be heard, you get ignored or told to just sit down and be quiet because you had your month.

We wrote a report on the experience of Pride and Politics, but not one media outlet, not one political party, not one leader has reached out to us to say “Hey, let’s talk because you have raised some very important issues.” It really makes us question what political leaders are truly about if they are not listening to communities.

The Federal Government created the Federal Debate Commission which was supposed to support getting voter engagement back into politics. But their report says the same old thing about the same old political system and debates and keeps pushing the same format of debates, so what was the point of them? I looked at the committee and advisors, and its funny to see a bunch of wealthy people sitting on a committee getting paid trying to say they know what marginalized communities want as they have never been part of the community they are talking about. Big media treats Federal Debate Commission like they are the be all end all in politics. We sent Federal Debate Commissioner a copy of the report too, but they have ignored us too.

Do not get me wrong, there was some great coverage by rural local papers and independent media, but the major ones had no time of day for any of us, which is disturbing, because they all received Federal Funding at some point especially during COVID.

Having said all this. We have no choice but to vote because we need people in politics that listen to us, the communities, the people. Because once we get the right person in office, the system can be changed, and the change will be good for us all.

I am not writing this article / blog just to bitch about politics, I want politics to change and want leaders to hear the call for change, because so far, they cannot hear anything except from the people around them that block you from being heard. That is why I wrote this, but again, I am guessing this will be ignored, and by many of you too. Because you are part of the problem too. Stop playing your role in this problem and be the solution, because if you do not step up, it will only get worse from here and we all deserve better.

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The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) brought the debate together and asked the leaders to participate only a few months ago. The leaders of the four parties agreed quickly. However, there was a price tag of $125 per person if the public wanted to attend the debate in person and try to ask a question. As far as I am concerned that is just not acceptable. How can the voters ask their questions? How can everyday folks afford this price tag to access the leaders? How do you run for government without talking to the people? Why do the same people get access to the leaders that always have it?

There was a rally outside the theatre that I was the host for. It just allowed folks to ask their questions outside The Capitol Centre. Of course, no one answered them and all the leaders except Mike Schrenier from the Green Party, came out of their vehicles and buses to talk to the people at the rally. Many were supporters of the NDP, but Andrea waved her thanks and went straight into the theatre which was still better then Doug Ford who just ignored everyone until he got to his supporters that were at the door of the theatre for the Leaders to enter. Strange thing though, no other party supporters were allowed to show their support at the door, just Doug Ford supporters.

However, watching the debate was like watching paint dry. It was the same old questions, the same old answers with the same prepared speeches and answers. I love politics and debates, but nowadays it seems that voters are looking for something new. However, the politicians and leaders seem to have missed the memo.

For example, when asked about mental health in Ontario, they all said they would invest in it, however, not one leader addressed the 18 month waiting list to see a mental health professional. No one challenged Doug Ford about him claiming to create over 500,000 new jobs in Ontario, because it raised the question are you including the people that returned to work after restrictions were lifted due to COVID. There was no representation of Indigenous folks, marginalized folks, or any other underrepresented voices, and that is a BIG problem.

The other thing that really stood out, was how Doug Ford claimed to be making the biggest investments in healthcare, which stumped me for a second or two, because he was the first one to make cuts to healthcare and Long Term Care homes right after he was elected. So, to claim you are investing is far from the truth, because you are just replacing all the previous cuts made by all governments from the past thirty years. Doug Ford was not the only Premier to make cuts. But no one questioned it to get clarification, not even one of the other leaders, which of course, is just the same old debates we have seen for so many elections.

The question does come up, when will political leaders see the benefits in new type of debates? Because they can be much better. North Bay Pride has asked the leaders for a provincial debate led by the queer community. Making a real community debate that includes all communities that we live in. Ensuring all voices get the chance to ask their questions. They have been told many times its a great idea, or I am in by some leaders. Mike Schrenier has always been the first to accept the invite to any debate. Yet, when the time comes, the other leaders and their campaign teams go for the same old debates. I get it though, it’s safe. Like the FONOM, they kind of know the questions before they are asked, so they can prepare, and they can make themselves sound great. New is scary and no one especially leaders want to look bad in anyway.

However, they would definitely look more human if they made a mistake or did not know the answer, because let us be real, they are human too, they just forget to show it. With the debate Pride was offering, there is no prep they can do, because the questions come right from the communities we live in. We were also going to take some questions that were live while streaming the debate.

I am not saying the leaders knew the exact questions they were going to be asked, however, I can pretty much guess what the questions will be and certainly can give the answer the leader will before they speak. But that is the problem, isn’t it? The parties want people to vote for them. They get out there to door knock, take out ads, raise millions of dollars, run around the province trying to promote their campaigns to get your vote. But, we already know the leaders and the platforms for each party, so why do they keep talking about it?

If they wants votes they need to explain how they will implement something. What does it do for you and me? How does it help you or me? I mean really, who watches the announcements when the leaders want to make an announcement? I think its just the media basically, which raises a question too. Why are the media companies are also not asking the questions that we need answers too? They keep asking the same questions. Why do the big media not ask the leaders why they won’t participate in such a debate as North Bay pride offered? I guess this would be a good time for conspiracy theorists to jump in…lol. Even when there is a marginalized voice at a debate, its tokenism at best.

What has happened though over the last few weeks, is that a meeting took place through Zoom with Ontario Pride organizations, talking about representation in debates. We learned about Queer Vote Ontario who are taking the lead to create an all-party candidate debate in Toronto on May 26, 2022, being held at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto (115 Simpson Street) starting at 7:30pm. Queer Vote Ontario is a non-partisan campaign to put 2SLGBTQI+ issues on the agenda in the 2022 Ontario Election.

You can watch it FREE as debates should be. It is FREE to ask your question. You just need to watch it online on Pride Toronto’s Twitch channel. No leaders have confirmed attendance as yet, however representatives from three parties have, with the exception being the Conservatives. If a party does not show up, that should speak volumes to any voter.

The exciting part is that I, Geri Atrick, have been invited to moderate this debate. For the first time ever in Canadian History, a drag queen will be the moderator of a provincial party debate. Not only myself, but I will also be joined by the amazing comedian Martha Chaves who you may have seen on TV and on comedy tours. What could be better than this?

This debate is a step in the right direction. This is the change politics needs. This is the start of a change we need. We can be the change; we just need to start the change.

Love Geri Atrick

The post Queer Vote Ontario – it’s time for the LGBTQ+ community to have their political voices heard – May 26, 2022 appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

There were no real fireworks this time around, but there were good questions with interesting answers. We had lots of questions through online and few from within the theatre. However, the place had only maybe 50 people inside, and around 500 viewers online. Yet most people demanding to be heard were not there. Politics affects everything you do every day, yet you do not want to be heard or make things better.

Many people in our community complain about access to policy makers like the Premier. Many have felt that our voices, including other marginalized groups, are never heard in a debate. Many of you demand to be heard by political leaders. When hearing these voices demanding to be heard, some people get inspired and create the opportunity to share your voice and your questions with political parties and their leaders, then you do not show up. Why? You made a demand, got what you demanded, then stayed home instead of following through. I am so baffled by this.

There is no doubt that the 2SLGBTQ+ community has its own challenges within. We can be dramatic, we discriminate against age, HIV, and so forth. Sometimes, we are a hard community to live within, let alone the outside world. However, when one of us gets hurt or insulted by someone outside our community, the majority of us get our nails out.

Sigh…. I totally get it. Politics often seem like an impossible task, because it seems like Political Leaders do not want to have a direct conversation with us, that is both federally and provincially. Often, we feel left out in the cold while a str8 cis white man tries to mans-plain what the 2SLGBTQ+ needs or wants. That is what you allow to happen, because when you get the chance to create the voice to be heard, you worry about Pride celebrations and forget how much more work needs to be done so we are equal and heard when we want to be heard, not when someone feels like listening. This is not change. This does not help us.

We have questions, and they have answers, but you do not ask them? millennial voters have similar issues that seniors do. They cannot afford to buy a house, while seniors are struggling to stay in their house. You may think your voice is only about you, but just look at the similarities between a millennial and a senior.

Just vote. Stop saying you do not matter when it comes to voting. If we stop juts thinking about “me” and go vote, there is a chance you will change the outcome of an election to someone you want to see.

See you at the polls Pigeon!

Love Geri Atrick, The Queen of Politics

Photo Credit to Silly Goose News

The post North Bay Pride holds local Provincial candidate debate – you asked to be heard, now show up appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

Let us break down even more. It is hard to believe that in 2022, the 2SLGBTQ+ community can still face discrimination in the workplace. This is especially evident for trans folks who are just trying to be their true authentic selves. The community has long faced acts of violence and hate.

Living with HIV is still a struggle, and many folks do not get assessed or disclose their HIV status, because of ongoing discrimination today, especially for many in the workplace. People living with HIV are often referred to as being “Dirty” and what exactly does that mean? They do not shower? Like come on, its 2022 and we know with proper medications, a HIV positive person cannot pass on HIV to their sexual partners. Yet, here we are, folks living with HIV still losing their jobs, losing their homes, no access to doctors and medications. We are not talking about people in a third world country either, we are talking right here at home in Canada where we get people protesting because they are asked to wear a mask. Let us also not forget, the harassment folks feel in the workplace, for just being who they are.

“In 1889, May Day (May 1) was chosen as the date for International Workers’ Day, labour activists in general around the world, to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago and the struggle for an eight-hour working day.”

To be honest, yes things are better because of the unions and the labour movement. For example, because of them, we have 8-hour workdays, 40-hour work weeks, parental Leave, EI benefits, CPP, and OAP. Let us not forget they fought for universal healthcare, minimum wage increases, and continue to fight for equality for everyone even when you are not part of the labour movement. But sadly, we still have things to change. Life / work balance comes to mind, livable wages. and of cours, just to be who you are and treated with dignity and equality. The Labour movement will hold governments accountable when they try to take away your rights and they fight against legislation that is bad for everyday workers.

If you are still asking, “What does this still have to do with me?” Then that is the problem, because its not necessarily about you as an individual, its about your community, its about your neighbour, your mother, your father, your kids, your siblings, and yes the homeless. You can affect change, or you can continue to sit there and say, “Me” over and over again. But eventually, you must realize its not about you, its about all of us which does include you.

Everyone has the right to be who they are and live their life and find work that gives a good life work balance no matter your race, background, sexual orientation,  HIV status, or whether you are 2SLGBTTIQQ+. Its about freedom, real freedoms that are protected under the Charter of Rights of Freedom in Canada and Human Rights Codes which suggests that some employers / folks missed that memo.

Welcome to MAY DAY folks! Stand together, make a change, give everyone the right to be who they are wherever they go, and also be treated with dignity and respect. Seems simple, doesn’t it? Then why is it that we still struggle is what you should be asking. If you are asking that question, then its not about “you” anymore, it is about all of us and that is May 1.

Love Geri Atrick

The post May Day. What does this have to do with me? appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

Many people do not even understand the difference between socialists, dictators, communists, fascists, liberals, and conservatives. We see the comments posted all the time that are wrong and with misinformation, and the majority of people just follow along, like it was in the bible.

We all have different needs and desires in life. We all just want to live a life that is full, with our families or chosen families, with a spouse, or just live a single person life. We want a work / life balance, and some of us want to create communities where everyone is equal, inclusive, and can be heard when they want to be heard by our employers, our partners, our families and yes, you got it, our elected officials. But that is the problem, isn’t it? We do not get heard by many folks and sometimes that can include our own families, but definitely includes elected officials.

If we are living in a truly equal and inclusive society, everyone would have their chance to be heard by elected officials. We can’t even get heard by many big media news outlets when we want actual change.

North Bay Pride has tried hard to create a debate where everyone is heard. Many debates we see are put together by big corporations like FONOM, or CBC or CTV, and when a community member is heard, it is usually rather tokenism at best. There is no real discussion on how political decisions affect you or me, and there is certainly no follow up so we can get clarification or hold a politician accountable when they do not actually answer the question. We just move on to big corporate questions, foreign relations, or programs we already know that each party is going to do long before a debate takes place. We do not need to know their promises during a debate, because unless you lived under a rock, we already know when we are going into an election. Let us be honest here, the platforms are pretty much the same every election.

During the last federal election North Bay Pride again tried to get a federal leader’s debate, but sadly none would respond to the request from the federal leaders or their teams. Maybe that also explains the lower turn out of actual voters, because we have all seen the same speeches, the same platforms, the same promises, and certainly the exact same debates. It shows that many of our politicians are not listening to most of us, as people are just trying to survive. Not to mention all the misinformation that is circling around elections, and the appearance of hate groups like we have never seen since early 1900s.

Only 66% cast their votes in the 2021 federal election. Imagine what could have happened if 80% of the voters voted. The outcome could have been very different. During the last Provincial election, the voter turn out was 58%, which according to HuffPost was one of the highest turn outs in the history of Provincial Elections. That is sad, because it means almost half of the voters felt the need not to vote. I do not know the reasons for not voting, but I do know from many in the LGBTQ+ community that we never feel heard by politicians, so many have made the statement of, “why bother.”

Leading into the last provincial election in 2018, North Bay Pride again, stepped up and tried to bring the Provincial Leaders together in a debate that was led by people, and yet again many requests went unanswered. Over the next three years, North Bay Pride reached out again and finally got some commitments from the leaders. What strikes me as odd is that it’s one Pride organization, instead of being supported by all Pride Organizations. I always thought Pride as political and we are supposed to fight for change, but it seems many are more worried about grants and funding than doing what is right for communities. The power of Prides is untapped and maybe that is what politicians want at the end of the day.

Mike Schreiner, the Leader of the Ontario Green Party, has always been the first to respond.  Many comments have been made, like Mike has nothing to lose by participating in a debate. However, what if it’s the case he wants to hear from people opposed to big corporations, and the rich? Society spends far too much time looking for the negative than the positive in everything we see or do. Mike did say this when asked about participating in North Bay Pride Debate, “I want to emphasize that Ontario Greens believe in an inclusive Ontario. Like previous years, I accept your invitation to attend a debate or meet and greet session for North Bay Pride. It is important to be accessible to voters and to participate in events that provide an opportunity for voters from diverse backgrounds to ask questions of party leaders and candidates. I do wish my fellow leaders from other parties would agree with me. “

Andrea Horwath, the Leader of the Opposition, Ontario NDP, was more challenging to get committed, but eventually she did, because she also realized there is a real lack of representation when it comes to people at debates. Andrea had this to say, ““This campaign is all about connecting with people and families as we all work together to form a government that will finally fix the things that matter to us all. From local candidates holding town halls and community debates, to knocking on doors to hear directly from you, we’re going to be in constant communication with everyday folks.”

Steven Deluca, the Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, originally said in a personal email prior to the campaigns beginning that he would be happy to attend the debate. However, since then we have not had any response from Steven nor his team. I feel like he would not want to miss the opportunity, but you just never know at the end of the day what will happen.

The current Premier Doug Ford is another kettle of fish altogether. The Premier often talks about the “People” of Ontario. We tried almost weekly for over three years to have the Premier participate in events with Pride because we have done it with all the leaders. Pride does not get to pick and choose which parties we worked with, as we work with who is in power and formed government. Yes, some governments have been easier, however we have experienced many, many, many unanswered emails, phone calls, and visits with Premiers office and their teams. No one expects the Premier to answer the call, but certainly anyone on their team could talk to us. Even the current campaign manager, Kory Teneycke, does not even take a few minutes to make a call, to even see if it is possible, and we have had his personal cell phone to call, which he never answers.

How does a leader of any party run a campaign without hearing directly from the voters who are never truly represented at community town halls, or debates, even majority of local candidates have trouble with this concept?

When the local FONOM asked a short time ago for provincial leaders to join their debate, all leaders jumped on board and answered right away.  Although on their website they claim to advocate for the people in Northern Ontario, it’s hard to decipher whether that includes marginalized voices such as Indigenous Communities. I am in no way saying that the debate should not happen, or FONOM should not have such a debate, but I find it odd that a group of rich, white str8 men who get access to politicians on a regular basis, get participation in a proposed debate while you or me, are left looking through the window one more time.

No one is saying that one group deserves to be heard over another or demanding time. What we are saying is that people who are affected the most by decisions made by politicians, do deserve to be heard by more then just someone running in the election locally. The trend of elections is that the leaders are surrounded by people who control what they will do or where they will attend, however  its clear that the average person is not in the cards for these teams. We need to be asking why? Reality is, the actual “People” control the elections, we just do not seem to know it for some reason.

We have been looking for new elections, but we seem to be stuck with the same old politics, same old speeches, same platforms, and same old debates. That is why we have low turn outs to vote. We have many not engaged in change, which is why we have no accountability regarding politics and clearly most leaders are truly not listening, because otherwise something would have changed in these current elections especially during COVID.

It does raise the question, “Who truly cares about the people?” if you can answer that my friends, you are doing much better then myself. I know the platforms, I know the promises, and most likely I can do their speeches for them. That is the problem, isn’t it?

What are you going to do now? Lay down and accept it, or demand a change? It is up to you, and I am counting on you to change politics for the better finally.

Love

Geri Atrick

The post With politics, it’s often the same old, but change can happen…with you! appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

As the trucker convoy rolls across Canada, whether it be one hundred or fifty thousand trucks as no one seems to truly know, it raises the question if people really understand our political structure in Canada.

First off, the concern for me, is that MPs and their staff are receiving death threats from people within this convoy, which the leaders have not condemned. Some folks have suggested the organizers are not truckers and are tied to White Nationalists and Yellow Vesters which we have all seen before. I would certainly be concerned to support them hearing this because that is not what the real Canada is about.

Let us be honest with ourselves. Has every level of government done things right during this pandemic? We can say no. Did they learn anything? Not sure at this time, but if the last federal election told us anything,  not so far. The thing is Pigeon, what level of government has lived through a pandemic that kills millions of people? None of them, because none of us are old enough. We cannot blame government for everything that is wrong, we cannot blame government for the price of gas, because the oil companies reduced production when the pandemic started to drive the price up because people were driving less. This might lead us to believe our governments did it, when in fact it was just corporate greed.

Let us get back to the “Freedom Convoy.” When crossing an international border, this does fall under the federal government. However, public health within Canada falls under the provincial government. A federal government can and does set rules to enter their country, just like the USA has done the same. I am unsure how this “freedom convoy” will change a position that over 85% of Canadians agree with, plus its provincial mandates they keep talking about that is a violation of their “freedom”, with a sprinkle of border crossing. It’s estimated that only 26,000 of the 160,000 of truckers in Canada are not vaccinated. My question would be to those that are not vaccinated, why not just get a route within Canada so you no longer need to cross an international border like the USA, who is denying you anyway, because their rule is you must be vaccinated?

When I ask the question to anyone who supports this, “What freedoms have you lost?” I never seem to really get an answer that jives with their freedom violation claim. The responses are usually, “The government is forcing me to get a vaccine.” Usually, I scratch my head, because I do not see the military running around Canada, holding people down to jab them in the arm with a vaccine. Or we get “I cannot go and get groceries anymore.”. Really, where? Because you have a right to food and even if you cannot go in for whatever reason, you get it through the internet and you never have to leave your house if you don’t want to. The fact is, all governments are trying to protect all Canadians and for anyone to suggest that COVID is a simple flu, is clearly reading the wrong book, if they are reading at all.

The claim that its less the 1% death rates by some is not the issue, the issue is the healthcare systems across Canada (which are provincial) are so under funded and stressed that they are on the verge of being over run to the point that medical professionals would have to be able to choose who they can help and who they will send home to die. I do not know about anyone else, but that is a decision I would never want to have to make.

As a result of the years of funding cuts to healthcare, we ended up in lock downs to prevent hospitals over run. This is not a new problem either, healthcare staff have been screaming this for years at the top of their lungs, but governments are not listening. Why does the convoy not fight for their right to properly funded healthcare? I believe many have missed this memo.

Now, if the “Freedom Convoy” really wanted their “freedoms” back that they claim they lost, wouldn’t it make more sense to fight for healthcare funding, end poverty, and restore public services that so many people are currently without? If we had a healthcare system that was properly funded, wouldn’t that have ended the pandemic quicker and restore life to normal again?

The fact is Pigeon, they have totally missed the mark, and now according to a post on social media by MP Charlie Angus, shared that MPs and their staff are being threatened with violence by some of those within the “Freedom Convoy”, yet the organizers have not denounced such behaviour. Also, the fact that PPC Maxime Bernier appears to be supporting this should be a very big concern for all Canadians.

If you have not denounced this behaviour either, then you have also become part of the problem. Or if you say, there are good people there, and still support it, because you believe in the cause but not the actions, Pigeon, a hate comment, or violent comment is condoned by you if you say nothing.

The numbers do not lie Pigeon, it appears that most of the almost 39 million Canadians support vaccine as the solution to end COVID. It was also stated by Dr T. Tam that we should be moving into a new era of this pandemic by spring, because of the work Canadians have done. It will hopefully become a flu shot once per year like many have already been getting, thereby ending all these lock downs, etc. There are good things coming, and that my friends are what we should focus on.

The other thing we need to truly start doing, is to fix our public services like healthcare, because it is clear that we can manage things much quicker and easier if we just do the right thing moving forward. Pigeon, I just know we can no longer do things the way we have. Too many lives were lost during COVID, that we should never have lost, and all it takes is for us and our governments to put people and their needs first. My fingers are crossed Pigeon, that we have all seen the changes we need. Now, its time for all Canadians to take that to all levels of government, because as Canadians, we deserve nothing less.

Stay Safe Pigeon, and remember, be careful what you support, because it may not be what you think it is.

Love Geri

The post Freedom Facts and Figures appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

Times are changing, and I must wonder if big media keeping up with the changing times? You are sitting there saying to yourself, “What do you mean Geri?” We have companies hiring Diversity and Inclusion Managers, we have slogans like “ALL IN EQUITY,” we have demands on companies to be more inclusive, with more community representation, yet are we truly going in the right direction?

We get to see these amazing pictures from behind-the-scenes of shows, pictures of radio stations with amazing staff, yet it seems that when it comes to in front of the camera, or on-the-air, we hear and see the same faces or hear the same voices. Do I have this correct Pigeon?

I am in no way saying that companies are not trying to change, but what I am saying, when it comes to things like in front of the camera or on the air at a radio station, we seem to be missing the same diversity that is behind the shows.

As you know, we do a show called “Not So Str8 talk” on Hunters Bay Radio in Huntsville Ontario. It plays every four weeks on a Saturday morning. We do special shows for things like World AIDS Day, and Hunter’s Bay Radio has welcomed us with open arms and encourages us to share as mush as possible about the community.

They were willing to take a chance on something different with an old bird like me and it is paying off. Not only did they take a chance, but they also ask questions to learn more about the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and that speaks volumes about them as a business. They even have another show now called, “Lesbi-Honest” which is a hoot to hear. Hunter’s Bay Radio is a great not-for-profit station that goes out of there way to share voices.

Of course there are magazines like PinkPlayMag and theBUZZ that provide writers like me a lot of room to just write, which many other publications don’t. I am sure I give folks a heart attack occasionally, but they accept writers for who they are.

Big media TV shows have had changes, but we still see the same old faces and styles even though marginalized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities are fighting for their place. We see changes in the movies; however, we are not there in many cases. You have never seen a BIPOC Trans man playing a lead role in a Christmas Hallmark movie, do we?

If we talk politics, sigh, it is just the same old speeches and campaigns, but lets not go down this rabbit hole for now.

Even when we approach big radio companies with an idea, they immediately hesitate, or you won’t hear back from them. When we point out the growth in rural Pride events and the opportunity that exists, you would think they would lead the way to be inclusive, yet they do not. They try new things, or say, they are a new station after some changes, but are they truly new? Not usually. Do not get me wrong pigeon, there are openly queer show hosts like  Will Nash and Drive with Jaret, but there could be more.

Imagine a step forward in a way that really starts to show diversity, what about Drag Performers on the Radio? When we approached other radio stations, they could not see it and we are unsure why. We even pitched as a host for The Shopping Channel, but again, nothing. Pigeon. I am not saying it must be me either, I just wanted to see our community there, hear our voices and see our faces, yet we still struggle for reason. One day, I guess. What is good for the queer community is good for everyone.

Here is to the ones who do take that step forward, I am raising my glass of wine to say thank you for being real about diversity!

The post Is diversity missing on air and in front of the camera? appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

With recent changes to minimum wage here in Ontario, there has been lots of discussion about what a living wage is.

During a recent press conference, Premier Doug Ford, claimed there is a labour shortage in Ontario, after announcing the minimum wage will go up to $15 per hour, even though he and his party were strongly against this when first elected. They had rolled back this increase that was supposed to take place in January 2019. During the announcement, both President of OPSEU Smokey Thomas and UNIFOR President Jerry Dias stood next to the Premier, what appears to be praising the Premier about this raise in minimum wage.

It is quite disturbing that two Union Presidents were standing next to the Premier, even though he has not been very supportive to workers or small businesses in Ontario. If Premier Ford was, he would have raised the minimum wage when it was supposed to be raised, gave paid sick days, signed onto the national childcare / pharmacare, and the list goes on. This does set the labour movement back because Premier Ford made it look like they were working together. I hope Pigeon, that the members of the unions hold their leaders accountable for this betrayal. I am a union supporter and have always been one Pigeon, but this action by these two union Presidents, leave something in my mouth I just cannot swallow.

According to Living Wage Ontario website, the livable wage in the GTA is $22.08 per hour, based on full time employment. This is just a livable wage; this is not living your life kind of wage. Currently, the min wage is $15 per hour, but many places are offering only part time employment. It raises the question, what good is 75 cents going to do for you as a worker? Really Pigeon, this does nothing especially if you can only find part-time work. You are better off staying on EI because at the end of the day, your health is not worth the risk and certainly, you need a work/life balance for your mental health.

This should be a major wake up call to any business that does not offer a living wage job to do better. To suggest the prices will go up based on this information is indeed false, because if this were the case, wouldn’t prices have gone down when self check-outs started, or self serve gas stations started? If you want employees and good ones, then you need to treat them fairly and a living wage is part of the respect that you should be showing. If you cannot do that, then I am sorry, you do not deserve employees.

Here is the challenge to Premier Doug Ford, we want you to live on $15 per hour for a three-month period, no additional income, no additional help, no benefits and must pay all your own expenses like getting to and from work. Doug Ford, how about it? Are you up for the challenge?

Let’s be real Pigeon, its not a labour shortage, it is clearly a full-time living wage job shortage. No one should rely on food banks to survive if they are working. Why should anyone have to work three part time minimum wage jobs to pay their rent? It is not good for your mental health, and quite frankly Pigeon, we all deserve better because COVID has taught us many things, and living your life instead of working yourself to death, is the only option. If other countries can do it, like some European countries, surely, we can in Ontario too!

How about Premier Doug Ford, are you going to take us up on our challenge Pigeon? You can contact Premier Ford here.

Stay safe and live your life Pigeon.

Love

Geri

The post Doug Ford, please take our minimum wage challenge appeared first on PinkPlayMags.

We were hit with a federal election on top of everything else many of us are going through. Was it the right thing to do you may be asking? I have no idea Pigeon. But, COVID has taught us many things and personally as old as I am, I have never lived through anything even close to what COVID is. Although it seems the election has told us a few things, as it was one of the lowest turn outs in the history of Canadian Federal Elections.

Here is my question Pigeon. Where did the grassroots of Pride being political go? I’ve noticed that the majority of Prides across Canada seem to stay silent when it comes to politics. Is it just me and my glass of wine noticing this, or do you see it too Pigeon? Pride’s very foundation is political because we are talking equality, and until everyone is equal and treated equal, Pride must be political.

Let me tell you about a little Pride festival out of North Bay, Ontario, Canada that has developed a no prisoner attitude when it comes to human rights, that includes telling our federal leaders enough is enough. They get a fraction of funding compared to large Prides, but they have done more in the pandemic than many large Prides across Canada did. They hold politicians accountable and speak up when they should, and they will always put community first before worrying about funding or sponsors.

Let us talk a little history here Pigeon. In 2018, during Pride Toronto, myself and our team met with different federal parties trying to put together a federal leaders debate outside of an election. We spoke with the Chief of Staffs of all parties, we even got to talk to Prime Minister Trudeau briefly before the parade started in June 2018 in Toronto. Everyone said, this was a great idea and would be interested. Afterwards we were ghosted by the federal parties, so we made our way to Ottawa to follow up in person, and once again we met with everyone by just showing up at their offices. Yes you can do that Pigeon.

We even met with the Federal Debate Commission. Yes, Pigeon there is a such a thing.  The concept behind this commission was to improve debates and focus so that voter engagement was better moving forward in a way that would encourage more people to vote and trust big media and politics. We discussed community representation in the debates was always missing. The questions never truly address what you or I need, or answer questions that apply to every Canadian.

The questions are always on a national stage, with national stage answers, and you never truly see any community representation from 2SLGBTQ+, or people with disabilities, etc. We were told by Commissioner Michel Cormier that we brought forward many issues that they want to address and will include in their upcoming report. They did publish a report in 2019, however it seems to be more of a report to further their existence, than actually change debates for the betterment of all communities. It seems once again, that politicians have missed the mark when it comes to Canadians.

We were also promised by Commissioner Michel Cormier, that the commission would send out a support letter to all the federal leaders supporting our concept, but of course that never happened either. Maybe they sent the letter by actual snail for snail mail.

We were going into an election, and before the election was even announced, North Bay Pride reached out to all Federal Party Leaders and the Federal Debate Commission, asking them to participate in a community led debate on Sept 16, 2021. We advised they they could attend virtually or in person and North Bay Pride was just adding it into their schedule. The basics of all this was, all parties said it was a great idea, so we said now, let’s do it and what could be a better time to try this than during an actual federal election? You would think so wouldn’t you Pigeon?

Acknowledgement came from them, but no action took place. They ghosted everyone harder than our last Grindr hook up. Debate Commission, said we applaud you for your efforts and support you, with just nice pretty words in an email, but no follow through on anything they said previously.

Here is the thing Pigeon, COVID has taught many of us that the old ways of doing things, just do not work for anyone other than being rich. Big companies made billions of profits, but you and I did our best with the little we had. You would think that federal leaders would welcome the opportunity to talk about issues you or I face daily, but it turns out I was very wrong. They would rather talk about big companies, big climate change, big deals they will make and how they will recover from COVID, but they forget the main element in all this talk which is us.

How are you going to help Fran find one full-time good paying job, instead of her having to work three part-time min wage jobs with no benefits, and working about 70 hours week? How are you going to help Lynn, who wants to help with climate change but knows her older home contributes to the problem? She wants to change her home to more green energy, but she cannot afford 20K in upgrades to help. Where were those answers Pigeons? Nowhere is where Pigeon. Federal Party Leaders were sharing the same old speeches, same old debates, and same old campaigns. And big media was feeding directly into your mouth.

When Prides should be standing, they seem to be sitting or curled up in the fetal position in a corner because they are more worried about funding then human rights. But there is hope Pigeon.

North Bay Pride said “screw it, if we lose funding so be it. Communities are more important especially as we live through COVID, and politics must change.” So, they chased the federal party leaders every day and followed up to be met with silence except Annimae Paul, Leader of Canada’s Green Party who said she would be there. Pigeon that was it. No other leaders believe they should attend a community led debate that you or I want to have. They thought only big media, journalists, and people they thought were important deserve answers. It just felt in this recent election, you or I did not matter and all the work we did about changing leaders’ debates was a waste of time. But was it? Voter turn out speaks volumes and verifies what we think.

As a result, North Bay Pride asked the local candidates to step up and they did. You can watch how the questions were about people. North Bay Pride had more viewers than any other local debate, they had more questions than any other debate, and they had more positive reviews then any federal leaders debate during this past election. That speaks volumes about the concept and what needs to change. The comments of North Bay Pride debate were moderated by yours truly, and were described as engaging, informative, answers that apply to you and I, and just the best debate some had ever seen.

That small pride caused a stir in the local election, that many underestimate, including all the leaders and the Debate Commission. Prides across Canada can make a difference. As a result of North Bay Pride finally standing up and being heard, and being political, they had more sponsors this past year than ever before. They had the highest views for their virtual events compared to any other Pride in Canada. They are making a difference by speaking up and standing tall.

Time for Prides to come together, support each other and change the landscape of politics for ever. Are you with North Bay Pride, or going to stay with the status quo? Change is on the horizon, do not get run over Pigeon, because its your chance to do what you want and change the landscape for all.

The post Where did politics go when it comes to Pride organizations? appeared first on PinkPlayMags.