Latest news with #LGBTQ2S
CTV News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
North Grenville, Ont. holds annual Pride parade
The month of June is Pride Month in Canada, held as a national observance for the rights of the LGBTQ2S+ community and as a reflection about its history. On Sunday in Kemptville, Ont., North Grenville held its annual Pride parade. 'We have an amazing community here, a community that is more and more and more openly committing to inclusion and integration and safety for everyone,' says Diane Dewing, administrator of NG Pride, who organized the parade. The parade featured a handful of representatives from local schools, companies, members of the Ontario Provincial Police, Family and Children's Services, the Kemptville Legion, and more. The parade lasted roughly one hour Sunday morning, leading into an after-party at the Kemptville Campus community centre where over two-dozen food vendors are selling food and drinks until 5:00 p.m. 'It's so much fun. We have an amazing lineup of entertainment. We have music, we have singers, we have drag artists,' said Dewing. More details to come.
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Gender identity committee: LGBTQ2S+ community slams Quebec for leaving them out of report
A handful of protesters tried to enter a news conference by Quebec's committee on gender identity. (Jean-François Poudrier / Noovo Info) Quebec is coming under fire from the LGBTQ2S+ community, which says it was not able to review a report on gender identity before its public release – against government promises. The Conseil québécois LGBT (CQ-LGBT), which represents around 80 community organizations in the province, says it was told it would be able to review the report and reassure its members, but that never happened. The CQ-LGBT says it has been wary of the committee since it was first announced in December 2023, as it did not represent the community. The committee was mandated to identify public policies, practices and guidelines in Quebec and elsewhere, to analyze their potential effects on Quebec society, and 'help ease social tension' at a time when groups opposed to teaching gender identity in schools and pro-LGBTQ2S+ groups clashed in hostile demonstrations. The three-member committee, led by Family Minister Suzanne Roy, also includes Diane Lavallée, former president of the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) and the Conseil du statut de la femme, Dr. Jean-Bernard Trudeau and human rights lawyer Patrick Taillon. Although none are experts on LGBTQ2S+ issues, the government stated that the committee would work closely with the community. Despite its opposition, the CQ-LGBT agreed to contribute 'in a constructive spirit.' 'We hope that no other vulnerable group will have to go through what our communities have been experiencing,' said Executive Director Magali Boudon in a news release. 'It is unthinkable to have a committee of men ruling on abortion. At a time when LGBTQ+ people are seeing their rights rolled back across the globe, the government has prolonged the anxiety and violence of this process until the very last minute.' At first glance, the report relies 'more on persistent stereotypes than on scientific data and the expertise of community groups, which are clear and consistent' on issues like the inclusion of trans women in sports, prisons, toilets, changing rooms and emergency shelters, said the CQ-LGBT. Protest at National Assembly A handful of protesters gathered in Quebec City Friday morning to denounce the government for excluding them from discussions on their rights, dignity and living conditions. They said they wanted to be allowed into the news conference, reserved for journalists. 'Women's rights groups can't meet the government either. Civil society groups are completely cut off from decision-making processes at the government level. We know who has access to the government … we're in a plutocracy,' activist Judith Lefebvre told Noovo Info. 'We have no choice but to keep showing up to make ourselves heard because we don't have access to our elected officials.' Lefebvre said the community wants a public audience on the issue rather than discussions held behind closed doors. The protesters were removed, and the news events were pushed back. With files from Noovo Info.
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
One of northern Ont.'s first gay bars to hold fundraiser for local hospice
Hundreds of people took part in a session Wednesday called 'Dying Well … Let's Talk,' hosted by the Maison McCulloch Hospice. Sudbury's premiere 'gay bar' and well-known safe space of the city's LGBTQ2S+ is set to host a major fundraiser for Maison McCulloch Hospice next weekend in honour of the care it showed a beloved patron at the end of his battle with cancer. Brady Levola's photo at Zigs Bar Described as a beloved patron and dedicated performer but officials with Zigs Bar, the late Brady Levola's photo now hang prominently in LGBTQ2S+ safe space to honour a life well-lived. (Dan Bertrand/CTV News Northern Ontario) Brady Levola passed away on Oct. 28, 2023, at the age of 22 after a three-year battle with cancer and Zigs Bar on Elgin Street plans to honour his memory on what would have been his 23rd birthday on April 6. Brady often referred to Zigs as his home away from home and his photo is now prominently displayed at the LGBTQ2S+ bar. 'Our friends the Levola family lost their son Brady to cancer and the level of care and compassion they received from the folks at the Maison McCulloch Hospice is beyond what you could ever imagine,' said Evie Brisebois, co-owner of Zigs Bar, in a message to CTV News. 'We want to honour Brady and the hospice and all of our other loved ones who have had to use the hospice by coming together as a community to raise as much awareness and money as we can.' Hospices across Ontario – including those in Greater Sudbury – continue to call on the province for more funding as demand rises and costs increase. Last year, Maison McCulloch Hospice acknowledged it had been turning to the Sudbury Food Bank for assistance for years and was not raising enough money to operate. The 20-bed palliative care facility in Sudbury is a non-profit, charitable organization that only receives government funding for paying wages to personal support workers and nurses. In 2022, the cost to operate the facility was $1.4 million and demand for their services and the cost of providing them has only increased according to officials with Maison McCulloch Hospice. The support of a community 'We are celebrating an amazing person, for an amazing cause,' said Zigs in a statement early this month. 'Brady had a love and passion for life and we want to celebrate his 23rd birthday by supporting Maison McCulloch Hospice.' Brady Levola Staff at Zigs Bar said Brady Levola had a love and passion for life -- even during his battle with cancer Brady had become a regular drag performer at the bar. (Supplied/Zigs Bar) The statement goes on to explain that the hospice was there for Brady and our (Zigs) family at the end of his three-year battle with brain cancer. 'As difficult as it was during his end-of-life journey, we could not imagine being anywhere else,' said Zigs. 'Our family will be forever grateful to the hospice and the love they gave Brady.' The fundraiser on Saturday will serve as a celebration of life for Brady said staff. Family forever grateful Brady's mother, Anita, echoed the bar's sentiments. 'Hospice care can sometimes carry a stigma due to misunderstandings or fear of discussing end-of-life issues,' Anita said in a letter she shared with CTV News. 'However, it's important to recognize the valuable support hospice provides to patients and their families during a challenging time.' Anita said all efforts to educate and promote understanding of end-of-life care can help reduce this stigma. 'I was one of those people who had this thought,' she said. 'I was so mad that Brady was going to be here – until we were there.' Anita said given the situation it was actually the best place for Brady to be. Brady Levola Brady Levola passed away on Oct. 28, 2023, at the age of 22 after a three-year battle with cancer. (Supplied/Lougheed's Funeral Home) 'They made those final days mean so much and we are forever grateful,' she said. Brady's family gave special thanks to Zigs and Maison McCulloch Hospice in his obituary. 'The family would like to give special thanks to… Zigs for their unwavering and continual support to the Levola family during Brady's entire journey,' the obituary read. 'The family would also like to give special thanks to the nurses and staff at the Maison McCulloch Hospice for their support, compassion and quality care.' The fundraiser The admission fees collected on April 6 will be donated directly to Maison McCulloch Hospice and the event will feature door prizes, raffles, games and more with proceeds also going to the hospice. Doors will open at 8 p.m. Zigs staff told CTV News that the Sudbury community stepped up with donations for the event. 'On behalf of Brady, we thank you for your support,' said Zigs. 'You are providing loved ones at the end of their journey to go with dignity and support to the loved ones they leave behind.' Brady Levola's 23rd birthday poster The 'Save the Date' post for Brady Levola's 23rd birthday celebration and fundraiser on April 6, 2024. (Facebook/Zigs Bar) – With files from journalists Ian Campbell and Alana Everson
Montreal Gazette
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Quebec urges students to help in racism investigation
Warning: This story contains offensive language and imagery. Quebec's Higher Education Minister, Pascale Déry, is denouncing a virulent stream of racist and other hateful messages on a popular social media platform for medical school applicants after The Gazette broke the story over the weekend. 'The calls for violence and expressions of hatred in these exchanges are totally unacceptable in Quebec,' Simon Savignac, Déry's press attaché, said in a statement on Monday. 'It is all the more worrying to note that the authors of these comments are aspiring doctors, who could be entrusted with the health of Quebecers. We applaud the fact that Dawson College's management is taking the situation seriously; launching an investigation was the right thing to do to ensure a healthy and safe climate for all students. However, since it is difficult to identify the vast majority of perpetrators at this stage, we invite anyone with information to report them to their school's management.' The Gazette reported that Dawson College has launched an investigation into the origin of antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous slurs on a channel of the Discord online chat forum for students to discuss the applications process involving Quebec's four medical schools. At least one of the perpetrators of the hateful content on Discord is alleged to be a Dawson student enrolled in the enriched health science program, and until recently, a medical school applicant. The offending posts on the Discord Med serveur channel also included threats of violence against Jews and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, with one anonymous troll displaying an image of a firearms locker stocked with shotguns under a gay pride flag. Meanwhile, the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) would neither confirm nor deny whether it has launched a criminal investigation despite the fact that it has received at least two complaints — one from a medical student and the other from an ad-hoc group representing Jewish physicians. 'For reasons of confidentiality, the ... SPVM never confirms, with rare exceptions, that an individual or legal entity has filed a complaint or is the subject of a complaint,' spokesperson Mélanie Bergeron said in an email. 'The same applies to any investigation, so as not to hinder its progress.' In contrast, the internal investigation at Dawson is making headway, the CEGEP's director of communications and corporate affairs confirmed on Monday. 'The investigation is advancing,' Donna Varrica said. 'We are awaiting clarity on a couple of important points before considering any action or calling it closed. As for any changes to webpages on our website that reference specific students in order to identify them in another context, ... I can't comment on that.' Varrica was alluding to Gazette queries concerning the disappearance of references to a student on its website. Déry's appeal for assistance from students and members of the public in identifying the perpetrators of the hateful online epithets comes as an atmosphere of fear and secrecy has descended on the the Med serveur Discord channel and within the halls of Quebec CEGEPs. In December, Déry opened an investigation into complaints of racist bullying from students at Dawson and Vanier colleges arising from tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, some academic union leaders have accused Déry of political interference after she demanded that Dawson justify the content of a French course with most of the material focusing on the Palestinian cause. Although most of the offensive posts have since been taken down from the Discord channel, B'nai Brith Canada captured some of them, including the degrading comment: 'Imagine a woman under antidepressant(s) and f---ing Ritalin who (performs) surgery on you. She'll vomit mid-surgery because it's too stressful and she needs a mental health break.' A screenshot of another remark alluded to the Jewish skullcap: 'Don't worry, you can trust me as long as you don't have a kippah under your wig.' B'nai Brith Canada has exposed a public Discord server used by Quebec medical school applicants and attendees that became a cesspool of antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and hate. For months, a number ofaspiring doctors openly posted Holocaust denial, praise for the 'Final… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) May 8, 2025 Discord, the San Francisco-based app popular among teens and university students, has also launched its own investigation into the Med serveur channel. The racist posts have rekindled feelings of anxiety in Montreal's Jewish community that have persisted since Oct. 7, 2023 — the date when Hamas invaded Israel and committed the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, entrances to Montreal synagogues have been firebombed, among other acts of antisemitic violence. This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 5:49 PM.
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Montreal Gazette
10-05-2025
- Health
- Montreal Gazette
Racist, sexist posts flood group chat for Quebec med student applicants
By Warning: This story contains offensive language and imagery. A group chat for Quebec medical school applicants on the popular social media platform Discord has been overrun by misogynistic, racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs, provoking widespread condemnation by Jewish doctors' groups across the country. One of the groups, Jewish Clinicians Against Antisemitism, has filed a criminal complaint with Montreal police against at least one Discord user, alleging he is a student at Dawson College. On Friday, a Dawson spokesperson confirmed the CEGEP has launched an investigation into the origin of some of the racist trolling on the Discord channel, Med serveur. 'The matter you refer to is being investigated,' Donna Varrica, director of communications and corporate affairs at Dawson, said in an email. 'But of course, as you know, due to Law 25 (the provincial legislation protecting personal information), if the matter pertains to a Dawson student or employee, we can't reveal the person's status at Dawson, if any, (as well as) their name, and what has come of the investigation.' The anonymous epithets on Med serveur — which has more than 1,400 members — date to at least February and also include threats against Jews and the LGBTQ2S+ community. Since Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith Canada posted images of some of the slurs on X on Thursday, most of have been taken down from the Discord channel. But a reporter was able on Friday to view several antisemitic and misogynistic posts on the channel that is used by students to discuss the applications process in Quebec's four medical schools. B'nai Brith cited several degrading remarks on Med serveur, including: 'Imagine a woman under antidepressant(s) and f---ing Ritalin who (performs) surgery on you. She'll vomit mid-surgery because it's too stressful and she needs a mental health break.' A screenshot of another comment alluded to the Jewish skullcap: 'Don't worry, you can trust me as long as you don't have a kippa under your wig.' B'nai Brith Canada has exposed a public Discord server used by Quebec medical school applicants and attendees that became a cesspool of antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and hate. For months, a number ofaspiring doctors openly posted Holocaust denial, praise for the 'Final… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) May 8, 2025 'There are hundreds of these posts, and we couldn't find a single objection by anybody' in the group chat, lamented retired family physician Philip Berger, of the Toronto-based Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism (DARA). 'I thought I'd seen everything. I've seen many vile posts all over the place since Oct. 7 (the massacre of Jews in Israel by Hamas in 2023), but this is beyond my imagination. I mean, slurs against people who are Black or Indigenous, transgender, women, Jews. I despise platitudes, but this one rings true: It starts with the Jews but it doesn't end with the Jews, and this is evidence of that.' Dr. Lior Bibas, president of the Association des médecins Juifs du Québec, called on authorities to investigate. 'If these accounts are really from future physicians, we need an immediate investigation to identify those responsible and ensure they are not admitted to our medical schools or allowed to practice medicine,' Bibas told The Gazette. 'It is essential that the institutions involved act swiftly, transparently, and decisively to restore public trust. Hate has no place in medicine. These reported comments are not only unacceptable — they are dangerous. Admitting individuals who hold such views into the medical profession poses a real risk to Quebec patients, especially those from vulnerable communities. Medicine must be grounded in ethics, respect, and inclusion. Those who do not uphold these values should not be entrusted with the care of our population.' Officials with the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) were not immediately available for comment. Jillian Susi, a Discord spokersperson, vowed that the San-Franciso-based app will take swift action against the offending posters. 'Discord has a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech, which does not have a place on our platform or anywhere in society,' Susi said in a statement. 'Our dedicated teams work hard to identify and remove content that violates our policies and to prevent the misuse of our platform. Once we become aware of such content, we immediately take appropriate enforcement actions, which can include banning users and shutting down servers. Our safety team is investigating the referenced content and they will take appropriate enforcement action.' A McGill University medical student estimated there are up to 30 offensive Discord accounts on Med serveur. 'I was shocked by the individuals, the 20 to 30 people who were posting this antisemitic stuff. They were so blatant about it,' said the student, who agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. 'What they were talking about had nothing to do with medicine, except where they were saying that Jews are controlling the applications process at McGill and you get bonus points if you're Black or Indigenous or you should dress up like a Jew for the interview.' In fact, McGill does not award so-called bonus points to applicants who are Jewish, female, Black or Indigenous. McGill does have a 'Black Candidate Pathway' and 'Indigenous Health Professions Program' to admit students from those under-represented communities, using stringent criteria for acceptance. The student also expressed dismay no one in the group chat denounced the offensive posts, given that they could have done so anonymously as well. 'Nobody was standing up against all of this on the forum, and it's a problem because 1,500 is basically the number of people in the applicant pool for medicine in Quebec. So the (Med serveur membership) is like 99 per cent of the students that are going to be applying to Quebec medical schools.' The student, who also intends to lodge a complaint with Montreal police, noted that about three-quarters of the offensive posts were against Jews, Black people and women in roughly equal proportions and the rest were targeted against the Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ communities. The racist posts come amid heightened anxiety in Montreal's Jewish community since Oct. 7, 2023, with the entrances to synagogues firebombed, among other acts of antisemitic violence. In December, Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry launched an investigation into complaints of racist bullying from students at Dawson and Vanier colleges arising from tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war. This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 9:32 PM.
