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There's No Place Like Home

Unless there's no home

YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T.–The Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission began hearings on June 23 on a complaint from a male couple refused an apartment because they're gay. N.W.T. added both sexual orientation and gender identity to its Human Rights Act in 2002.

Scott Robertson and Richard Anthony signed a lease with Will Goertzen in May 2009 for an apartment in the same building where Anthony's sister lives. The couple had just sold their house and were on a tight timeline to find another property.

Three weeks before the couple were to take occupancy, Anthony's sister mentioned to Goertzen that Anthony and Robertson are a couple. After cleaning the crap out of his pants, the landlord tore up the lease and re-advertised the property.

The couple saw the ad and questioned Goertzen. They claim he replied by telling them gay people are "an abomination and one of the reasons the world is going to hell in a hand basket."

And all this time we thought the reason was old farts who stopped reading the newspaper 50 years ago.

While Goertzen held on to his sanctimony – and to the $1,150 damage deposit which the couple later reclaimed from Goertzen in court – Robertson and Anthony spent 10 days  staying with friends and storing their belongings at several locations. Later, they filed the NTHRC complaint requesting $47,930 in damages.

Here's where it gets good.

At the hearing, Goertzen represented himself with the help of his Bible. He stated: Homosexuality "isn't natural and it's a crime against nature," and "We all die and after that is the judgment."

Goertzen then told the adjudicator and the complainants, "Do you think this has been easy for me? I love you, Mr. Robertson, but I hate the sin you're in."

Some punchlines just write themselves.

Oh My God!

They killed Kenney

VANCOUVER, B.C.–Just when you thought Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney couldn't tick off any more people, a grassroots organization has formed to deport Kenney back to whatever white, gated community he came from.

The group No One Is Illegal (NOII) shouted Kenney off the stage at a speech on Filipino Independence Day on June 12. On July 24, they held the National Day of Action Against Jason Kenney with marches and actions in several cities.

Among the many charges NOII lobs at Kenney is the fact that the number of approved refugee asylum claims has dropped by 56 per cent since the Conservatives took power.

There was also Kenney's reforms to the refugee process, which were to include the creation of a magical "safe" list where Kenney the Magnificent would wave his wand and turn formerly repressive countries into places incapable of producing refugees. We're guessing it's the same wand he used to make all those nasty gays disappear from the Citizenship and Immigration Study Guide for new Canadians.

With many claims for asylum based on sexual orientation, Egale and the Rainbow Refugee Committee were asked to consult with the MPs who reviewed the bill in committee. The result: Kenney's proposal of a "safe" list all but disappeared. A modified version went on to pass Senate on July 28.

The Queen Is Dead

Long live the queen

TORONTO, ONT.–Now that big ol' queen Kyle Rae is retiring after 19 years as member of Toronto city council, his seat is, uh, wide open.

Ward 27, Toronto Centre–Rosedale, is very diverse, home to both the old money of Rosedale and Canada's first and largest social housing development, Regent Park. It's also bursting with gays. The ward includes Church and Wellesley and the Village Green apartments, a.k.a. "Vaseline Towers." (Yes, every city has one.)

Rae's endorsement of Ken Chan, a former aide to Toronto mayoral candidate George Smitherman (it's a homo trifecta), hasn't deterred 12 other candidates from running, making this the most highly contested seat in the city. The collection of bright, shiny, activist candidates make The Banana Splits look like they're strung out on Diprivan.

Enza Anderson is a transgender political activist, media personality, and self-proclaimed "supermodel." Her stellar contribution to the LGBT community is offset by her failed attempt to run as leader of the Canadian Alliance Party in 2002. The convention ultimately went with the no-personality option, Stephen Harper.

Ron SalernoThen there's writer/theatre artist Ron Salerno, who appeared at this year's Winnipeg Fringe Festival in Fucking Stephen Harper: How I Sexually Assaulted the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada and Saved Democracy. The title of his show pretty much sums up the platform of all the candidates.

Others include Kristyn Wong-Tam, who came out to her parents at 16 before putting in years of work as a community activist, and Susan Gapka, who has worked tirelessly as an activist for the disadvantaged in Toronto Centre. As a trans-woman activist, she was also instrumental in getting OHIP funding re-instated for sex reassignment surgery.

Sunshine Coast Darkens

grim stats rile NDP

VANCOUVER, B.C.–The 2008 Statistics Canada report listed Metro Vancouver as having the highest rate of hate crimes in Canada, with 34 of those crimes based on a victim's sexual orientation. And the trend isn't going away. In the first two months of this summer there have been two more reported gay bashings.

At a July 26 news conference that coincided with the start of Vancouver Pride, NDP MLA for Vancouver-West End Spencer Chandra Herbert and NDP Public Safety Critic Mike Farnworth demanded that the B.C. Liberal government enact a five-point call to action to stop homophobia.

The first step would clear anti-homophobia policies in all school districts. As reported by the Vancouver Sun, Herbert called out Minister of Children and Family Development, Mary Polak, for keeping pro-sexual diversity books and students' clubs out of public schools.

Other steps include a tip-line to report gay-bashings, increased resources to aid victims of hate crimes, a stronger commitment to use hate crime legislation to prosecute gay bashers, and an increased  police presence in Davie Village, Vancouver's gay district.

Classy Degrassi

The kids are alright

TORONTO, ONT.–Fans of Degrassi: The Next Generation are used to seeing bold, topical issues dramatized on the program. Gay and lesbian characters are already old news and, in the 2003 season, the show aired an abortion episode that had to be edited for an ambiguous, non-baby-killing ending for sensitive American audiences.

Photo: Stephen ScottSavvy fans tuning in to the 10th season were probably more shocked by the new shortened title, "Degrassi, " then they were by the introduction of a trans character, making Degrassi one of the few TV shows to do so, and probably the first to feature a teen trans-male.

Jordan Todosey plays the part of Adam, the personable, intelligent, but also cautious and secretive 15-year-old Grade 10 student. The conflicts in the story arise with both Adam's homophobic stepbrother and bullies at school.

Producers consulted with LGBT groups for accuracy and sensitivity. According to the pre-air press release, "Adam tries not to care what other people think. He knows who he is and isn't afraid to show it."

Without irony, we use those words from a teen soap opera to end this column on an inspiring note.

–Charles Melvin is a Toronto-based freelance writer, a Winnipeg ex-pat and a former editor of Outwords magazine. His website is quink.ca. To comment on this or any other article in Outwords, write to letters@outwords.ca