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Book celebrates Vancouver chorus

Vancouver Men's ChorusVANCOUVER–The Vancouver Men’s Chorus (VMC) has produced a 50-page book marking its 30th anniversary. The souvenir book chronicles the history and personalities of Canada’s first gay chorus. Out of Silence: The First 30 Years of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus was written by long-time member Guy Cribdon to celebrate the group’s achievements and document its history.

“So far nobody had really tried to write down a history of the chorus,” he says. “There had been articles in newspapers and so forth, but we had not written our story down. That’s where it started, so I launched forth in the research.” Willi Zwozdesky has been conducting the chorus almost since its inception. He moved to Vancouver on Sept 2, 1981, began singing in the chorus 14 days later, and was hired as conductor that December, when the original conductor wouldn’t take the podium at the group’s first public performance. Zwozdesky has held the position ever since.

Quebec university to study homophobia

MONTREAL–The Université du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM) will soon be home to North America’s first university-based research chair dedicated to the study of homophobia. The University’s sexology department will study how homophobia affects queer health in an attempt to help create more effective policy and social justice programs. The position is part of a partnership with the Quebec Ministry of Justice. The Government of Quebec will give $475 000 to the program. "The most recent statistics paint an alarming portrait," provincial Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier told the Canadian Press. “Homosexual people are almost three times as likely to become victims of a violent crime as heterosexuals.” Over the next five years, the province plans to invest $7.1 million for social programming to fight homophobia.

Gay group honoured

TORONTO–One of the first Canadian gay groups has been commemorated with a plaque at the University of Toronto’s University College. The University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA) was born in 1969 and was Canada’s first official gay university organization. “The plaque we’re unveiling today is ground breaking. It will stand as a testament to those who started the group and to those who still advocate,” said Maria Topalovich, from the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT). Officials from the university, the OHT and all three levels of government gathered to honour the group’s historical contribution and unveil the plaque, which is on the east side of University College.

Ontario to force schools to accept gay-straight alliances

TORONTO– Ontario’s Liberal government plans to launch an anti-bullying campaign that mandates that schools can establish gay-straight alliances, but already the Ontario Catholic School Board is meddling with the government’s intentions. Nancy Kirby, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association (OCSTA) says the law makes boards legally required to approve student-led support groups that promote gender equity, anti-racism, respect for people with disabilities and people of all sexual orientations and genders, with groups called gay-straight alliance "or another name." Kirby says “or another name” gives them leeway to avoid using the words gay-straight alliance. Education Minister Laurel Broten says students can definitely use the words gay-straight alliance, so she will be having words with Kirby.

Kirby spoke passionately about the need to address youth bullying and suicide but says she doesn't understand the importance of using the word "gay." She claims that if a student asked for a GSA, "we would give it another name." It remains to be seen if the Catholic Church or the government is the supreme power in Ontario schools.

Lesbian book wins prize

Gabriella GoligerOTTAWA–Lesbian fiction writer Gabriella Goliger has won top prize for her novel Girl Unwrapped at the Ottawa Book Awards, held at the Library and Archives Canada. The awards honour the best English and French books written in 2010 by people living in Ottawa. "I am thrilled, bowled over, pinching myself still. It's such an honour," said Goliger. "I'm also delighted that a book with a lesbian theme won this prestigious award. I hope that in its own small way Girl Unwrapped helps promote understanding about GLBT youth issues. The novel is about a lesbian growing up in the 1960s: a different world, and yet some of the struggles endure." The book awards come with cash prizes of $7,500 for each of the winners and $1,000 for each finalist.