Same-Sex Marriage Hearings - Spring 2003
Spring 03
Same-Sex Marriage Hearings
As Pride in Print goes to press, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has endorsed the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry and the Canadian government is holding cross-country hearings on the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage.
The CAW worked with the Canadian Labour Congress Solidarity & Pride Committee to present a brief to the government hearings.
"The Canadian Labour Congress strongly supports the extension of access to civil marriage to same-sex couples and we urge this Committee to recommend that the Government of Canada act swiftly to amend the legislation."
The full briefing text is available on our website at www.caw.ca/pride.
| Labour must play a significant role in helping to create a context in which gay men and lesbians can achieve equality in society. One cannot be equal in the workplace but unequal outside it. The forces which rob lesbian, gay and bisexual members of their collective agreement entitlements are exactly the same forces which make the world outside the workplace oppressive and often dangerous. CLC Policy Statement, 1994. |
Upcoming CAW Constitutional Convention
Every three years delegates from across the CAW meet together at our Constitutional Convention. The 2003 Convention will take place from August 18 - 22nd in Toronto, Ontario. At this year's Convention a new CAW Pride document will be debated - this policy will set the stage for the next three years of work on Pride issues for the union. If you have ever thought about running as a Convention delegate, now is the time!
Delegates are elected directly by local unions. Anyone can stand. Elections take place every three years. If you want to become a Convention delegate, find out when the next round of elections is taking place and what is involved. Whether or not you decide to run in an election (or if it's already been held), be sure to talk with your local union delegates who have been elected, to gain their support for LGBT positive resolutions which come forward.
Workshops in Oakville and New Westminster
Our one-day Confronting Homophobia course was held in New Westminster, British Columbia and in Oakville, Ontario during March. The course was well attended and discussions were lively. To arrange to bring this course to your community, contact Jack Tubman, CAW Education Department, 1-800-268-5763.
Bill C-250: Hate Crimes Propaganda
Member of Parliament, Svend Robinson, has put forward a Private Member=s Bill, an Act to Amend the Criminal Code, that seeks to add "sexual orientation" to the list of included grounds under hate propaganda legislation in Canada. Currently the grounds include race, religion, colour and ethnic origin, but not sexual orientation. The CAW has sent a letter to the Justice Committee supporting this amendment.
When Fred Phelps wanted to come to Canada to pursue his campaign of hatred against gays and lesbians, the RCMP said there was nothing in the provisions of the Criminal Code to stop him from entering our country, they were unable to do so: "If this was done against a Catholic, a Jew or a black person, charges could be laid. If we had that legislation, we wouldn't have to put up with his nonsense. We could have told him, 'If you show up and start spreading this hate, we'll arrest you.'"
The House of Commons Justice Committee is currently studying Bill C-250, after it received agreement in principle in the House last May with the support of all parties except the Canadian Alliance. Despite strong opposition to Bill C-250 from the religious right and the Canadian Alliance, social activists and the broader LGBT community are making our voices heard in its favour.
"It is time. It is time that the members of The House of Commons Justice Committee, as Government Representatives of all the people of Canada, protect the LGBT community of Canada by supporting and passing Bill C-250. Failure to pass this Bill will be very detrimental to the LGBT community. In fact, the message that will be sent to the public is that our Government does not believe that the LGBT people of Canada deserve protection. Thus, allowing open season to hatred, discrimination, and violence, making us more vulnerable than ever." - an excerpt from the CAW Windsor Pride Caucus letter to MPs supporting Bill C-250.
You can help support Bill C-250, by signing up on-line to:
www.petitiononline.com/billc250/petition.html
Pride Parade: Volunteers and Participants Needed!
Every year across Canada CAW lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists and our allies participate in pride parades during pride season. Our participation in pride events sends a strong message to the broader community that trade unionists stand with the LGBT community against harassment, violence, hate crimes and discrimination. It is a message to our own members that the CAW includes all of us, and that we take pride in representing our LGBT members. To get involved in planning CAW participation in this year=s events, or to find out where to meet on the day of the parade in your area, contact the CAW Pride Caucus nearest you (see Caucus corner for details). Or contact the National Office to find out what=s going on in your area: cawpride@caw.ca / 1-800-268-5763 ext. 477. This year in addition to our pride flags, we will have new picket signs, flyers and stickers to show off our union pride.
CAW London and Area Working With Pride Caucus Movie Night
The CAW London and Area Working with Pride Caucus will be hosting a Movie Social on Saturday September 13th at Local 1520 for LGBT members and allies in the region. Why not organize a carpool and come and join us? Mark your calendars now. The cost will be $5.00 per person and includes some food. For more information please contact Stephanie Johnstone stephj@execulink.com or by phone (519)-536-9023 or Laura Panther lauralpanther@aol.com or by phone (519) 785-3108.
CAW Windsor Area LGBT Caucus Springs into Action
Spring is here and with this theme in mind our caucus has been getting busy. It is a time for new growth, new life, and we too are in a stage of rejuvenating as a caucus.
Part of this process includes reaching out and giving back to our community. And so, we contacted Habitat for Humanity's Executive Director, Karen Haycox.
"Basically, Habitat for Humanity Windsor - Essex seeks to provide housing for people and families in need. Habitat for Humanity is an inclusive, interdenominational organization welcoming 'all' people. We offer a hand UP, not a hand out to Habitat partner families as families repay an interest free mortgage on the property and contribute 500 hours of volunteer labour to the construction of their homes and other projects."
So far our Windsor Pride Caucus has contributed by helping in two salvage operations. We look forward to more projects, including two houses scheduled to be built in September.
Members of our caucus have also gone to Ridgetown. Our participation in pride events sends a strong message to the broader community that trade unionists to lend support to the Chatham - Kent Coalition for Social Justice, who are protesting against a local area church "Bringing Up Boys" video series that promotes "recognizing and preventing pre-homosexual behaviour." Although the church is small, the homophobic message contained in the videos is unfortunately larger than life. The protests have generated some interest from the area media, including interviews with some of the coalition members.
| "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness, in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction of evil must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. |
On Sunday April 13th, CAW Local 444 Human Rights Committee held its annual Cultural Diversity Day. The event attracted 300 to 400 participants, providing our members and our community with great insight into our Union as well as our CAW LGBT Caucus. One visitor to our Pride information table said that her son is gay and that she didn't=t understand how people could be so closed minded with regards to gays and lesbians. She commented that her son is the same person today as he was the day before he told them he was gay. Her hope is that people would learn more about homosexuality so they would be more accepting of gays and lesbians. She was glad to see the CAW LGBT display because it would be a tool she could use to open up discussion with her friends and hopefully change any negative views they may have about homosexuality.
Anti-war Protests
Peace activists have become the "new superpower" according to Jack Layton, the new leader of the federal New Democratic Party. We have raised our voices against an illegal and immoral war against Iraq. And just who are peace activists? Millions of people around the world, including trade unionists and members of the LGBT community.
In the United States, where there is a huge anti-war movement, over 80 LGBT organizations endorsed an Open Letter put out by the Audre Lorde Project and the National LGBT Program of the American Friends Service Committee, denouncing the war. The letter called for active and creative opposition by communities to the U.S. government's "war on terror" and impending war on Iraq.
At a major anti-war demonstration in London, England, keynote speaker Rev. Jesse Jackson included anti-gay violence among the list of problems society must fight against: "Today, we march for healing," Jackson said. "We march to fight the demons of militarism, racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Arab-bashing, gay-bashing, greed. We march to silence the drums of war. Today, I appeal to France and Germany, and Belgium and Brazil, and Russia and China, to keep hope alive. Don't give up -- much of America, and most of the world, is with you -- and our numbers are growing every day."
Here at home CAW LGBT members were active in peace marches across the country, joining with our brothers and sisters from other unions and community groups demanding an end to war.
For information on labour's opposition to the war, check out the following websites: www.nowar.ca; www.apc-cpa.ca; and www.caw.ca (which includes our CAW National Executive Board Statement against the war in Iraq). You can also contact tradeunionistsagainstthewar@yahoo.ca.
Cracker Barrel Ends Discriminatory Policy
Many of us have seen the documentary film "Out at Work" which follows the lives of three workers who are fighting for equal treatment in their workplaces. One of those stories focused on workers at Cracker Barrel restaurants in the states, who were fired for being gay.
Intense lobbying by gay rights and civil rights advocates has finally forced Cracker Barrel to reverse its 10-year campaign of firing workers who "fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values".
| Not everybody agrees that the chicken crossed the road to get to the other side, but Jerry Falwell probably does: "Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the 'other side'. That's why 'they' call it: the 'other side'. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like the 'other side'. That chicken should not be free to cross the road. It's as plain and simple as that." |
A Healthy LGBT Community Needs a Public Health Care System
The Canadian Labour Congress Solidarity and Pride Working Group has issued an open letter to the community calling on LGBT activists to get involved in the fight for public health care in Canada. It is a critical issue for us as lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people.
Why should LGBT people care about Canada=s public health care system?
"Provincial and territorial health care systems differ, but everyone has seen the privatization and de-listing of services from public health care coverage - sex reassignment surgery was one of the first necessary and important services to be off the list. Changes to coverage for drugs, hormone treatment, artificial insemination and supplementary therapies have been devastating for those requiring this care.
Private extended health plans are not the answer. Private health care insurance means meeting the private insurer's requirements and "pre-existing conditions" such as being HIV positive will disqualify you from obtaining coverage. Private insurance also costs us money.
While we don't have statistics about where LGBT people work (and we know we are everywhere), we do know that lesbians as women earn less money; the wage gap does exist. We know that discrimination in employment means that many trans people are un-employed and underemployed. We know lots of GLBT people work in the service sector, at low wage jobs, without unions and where employers don't provide health care plans or pensions - no public health care system means more expense now; no pension plan means less money and more medical expenses as we age. A private, for-profit health care system will cost more, much more, and we can't afford it."
A copy of the complete letter and call to action is available on our CAW homepage: www.caw.ca/pride
National Survey on Sexual Orientation
This year, for the first time, gays and lesbians will be officially counted by Statistics Canada in a new confidential survey which asks Canadians to declare their sexual orientation. Discrimination based on sexual orientation can be the basis for human rights complaints, but unlike other areas of non-discrimination, no data exists to identify how many Canadians are impacted. Last year the federal government included 'same-sex partnership status' as part of the census, but that is less accurate in part because one person reports on behalf of other members of their family, and in part because the census didn't include single gay men or lesbians in their survey.
In the mid 1990's a massive survey conducted in the United States found that nine percent of men and four percent of women had, at some time, had a gay or lesbian experience. Recently released figures from the 2001 census indicated that 34,000 people in common-law relationships were of the same gender, composing 0.5 per cent of all couples. John Fisher, former Director of Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE) suspects the numbers are much higher, based on the experience in the U.S., where there was a 300-per-cent increase between the 1990 and 2000 censuses in the number of gays and lesbians who reported living common law. However, Fisher still praises the new survey: "The more we know about our own community and its health needs, the better placed government and other policy makers and community organizations are to understand and develop programs."
NEW Local 199 LGBT Standing Committee
We are proud to announce the formation of CAW Local 199's Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender Standing Committee. The LGBT Committee will provide information to educate the membership on LGBT issues (such as: Same-Sex Marriages, Adoption, Immigration, Benefits, Transgender Issues, LGBT Parents & Children, AIDS, etc.) For more information call Tom at (905)714-7333 or e-mail stickman@iaw.on.ca
Congratulations to Local 199 as it joins locals 27, 1285 and 4000 who have all established local union pride committees.
Paid Education Leave
The CAW Paid Education Leave program is a four-week course for local union activists at our Family Education Centre in Port Elgin, Ontario. Participants focus on Politics, the Workplace, the Economy, the Union, and Social Justice Issues. John is one of our gay members currently enrolled in the program. He writes:
"I didn't know how people were going to perceive me, but I knew if I could change one viewpoint or let them see the real me, that they may see me as the decent human being I believe I am . . . the feedback was more than positive . . . on the last day we all had a chance to say how we felt about the first week of PEL. I myself learned a lot about union structure, our union=s history, as well as Quebec trade unionism. A lot of other people spoke and said they had never experienced having someone who is gay around them. . . they said a lot of kind things, inspirational things about me and what I stood for . . . I was overwhelmed that I had made some difference."
Contact your local union to find out more about the PEL program and other CAW educational programs for activists.
CAUCUS CORNER
OSHAWA & AREA Caucus
We=re looking for CAW members in the Oshawa, Peterborough and
Toronto East area to work with us to challenge homophobia in our
workplaces, communities and governments. For those who are willing
to help in the battle for change please leave a message for the
LGBT Caucus at Local 222, (905)723-1187 ext. 226 or e-mail:
lgbtoshawa@hotmail.com.
WESTERN REGION PRIDE CAUCUS
Our Caucus meets monthly. We include members from the airlines,
telecommunications, service, hotel, and public transit, to name a
few. We're proud to be part of the CAW's coalition working on Human
Rights. You can contact us by leaving a message at the CAW Regional
Office in Vancouver at 1-800-665-3553 or by e-mail:
cawpridebc@hotmail.com.
WINDSOR & AREA LGBT Caucus
The CAW Windsor Area LGBT Caucus consists of over a dozen dynamic
activists who bring energy, humour and ideas to meetings that are
never boring. Together the caucus supports LGBT issues and is
active in not only Windsor=s Pride but in other Prides as well.
Caucus meetings are held every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 8:00pm
at the CAW Regional Office, 2345 Central Ave. We encourage any CAW
LGBT members to attend. CAW Regional Office B 519-944-5866 or
e-mail: lgbtcawwindsor@yahoo.ca Web site:
www.geocities.com/cawlgbtcaucus.
Golden Horseshoe Regional LGBT Caucus
Greetings! We founded our caucus following the 1st CAW Working
with Pride Conference. Strong dedication and backbone has proven to
be our signature mark. Contact us at LGBT@Gay.com, or by calling
(905) 845-2511 ext.2154.
London And Area Working With Pride Caucus (Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender Members)
Our meetings are held on the second Sunday of each month, with an
effort to maintain Confidentiality and Create a Safe Work
Environment. For more information call: Stephanie Johnstone (519)
536?9023 / Laura Panther (519) 785?3108 / Deb Cadman CAW London
Regional Office (519) 433?7211 ext. 227 / or write to us: CAW
London and Area Working With Pride Caucus, c/o CAW Regional Office
310 Wellington Road South, London, Ontario N6C 4P4 / e?mail:
cawpride@yahoo.ca / website: www.geocities.com/cawlgbtcaucus/
Call for Submissions
If you would like to contribute to Pride in Print, contact us by email at cawpride@caw.ca, or by phone, 1-800-268-5763, Human Rights Department.
To receive your copy of Pride in Print by mail, call or e-mail the Human Rights Department at 1-800-268-5763 / cawpride@caw.ca and have your name added to our confidential mailing list.
