The Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity
440 Albert St, Suite C304 K1R 5B5 Ottawa, ON, Canada

We’re pleased to announce that our website has undergone quite an update. Here, you’ll find information about our programming, as well as a variety of new resources and learning materials, as well as updates on our work! Check us out: www.ccgsd-ccdgs.org

This month is 2SLGBTQ+ History Month! We encourage folks to take this month to integrate 2SLGBTQ+ narratives into your teachings of Canadian History. Check out our Queer History program: https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/commemorate-canada/... Check out our resources page, filled with 2SLGBTQ+ Canadian History materials! https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/resources/

On #orangeshirtday, and everyday following, we honour the indigenous children and families who were victims of residential schools. To honour them, don’t just wear an orange shirt; continue to challenge colonialism and white supremacy, and work to centre indigenous history and voices in your learning. Click the link below for further learning and events. About Orange Shirt Day: https://www.orangeshirtday.org Virtual Events: https://fb.me/e/eILAcOid7... #everychildmatters

Sher Vancouver would like to invite 2SLGBTQ+ youth to apply for the January Marie Lupaz Youth Scholarship Award. This annual award is given to exceptional youth 16 to 30 who have shown commitment and leadership within the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Cash prizes of $1000, $600, $400, plus additional prizes are funded by our exclusive sponsor for the second year in a row -DIVERSEcity. Sher Vancouver would like to recognize all those youth who work tirelessly for the 2SLGBTQ+ communit...y and we would appreciate your help to spread the word about this award. If you have any questions about the award, feel free to contact Sher Vancouver Founder Alex Sangha at [email protected] Click the link below for full details about the award and to learn more about Sher Vancouver. The deadline to receive applications is December 31, 2020. https://www.shervancouver.com/youth-award.html

Happy #bivisibilityday! Did you know that bisexual erasure can be just as subtle as it is overt? Here are some phrases you might have heard before. We encourage you to challenge them in your daily life. #bisexual #bisexualvisibility #2slgbtq

Canadian Virtual Hospice (virtualhospice.ca) is the world's most comprehensive online platform on palliative care, loss and grief. They are a registered charity committed to working with groups to design practical, accessible and free resources for those we serve. CVH is partnering with Health Canada and are working with the Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ community to address a gap in resources regarding advanced illness, end of life and grief. At a tough time of life, family dynamics..., discrimination, disrespectful or inadequate access to care, financial concerns, and fear of having to "return to the closet" if admitted to a health facility can add to the challenges. They're hoping to reach Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ folks in the community with experiences to share. Either positive or negative, stories about navigating the health system, seeking care for themselves or someone they know, providing care for someone, preparing for end-of-life, or living with grief: Your experiences will help shape and inform the resources. Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected] to learn more.

August 2020 marked the 30-year anniversary since the 1990 Gay Games III and Cultural Festival. The Gay Games are a quadrennial sporting competition and space of inclusion, connection, challenge, and fun for 2SLGBTQIA+ athletes and community members. Read more in the mini booklet we’ve put together about the 1990 Gay Games through the link below. https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/the-1990-gay-games/

Our education coordinator, Eliot Newton, is live now! They're chatting about Transgender Identities as a part of Ottawa Transfest 2020.

We're hiring an Ontario Forums Coordinator! The CCGSD runs youth and educator conferences across Ontario. Are you interested in coordinating a multi-disciplinary, collaborative, youth-focussed program? The application deadline is August 16th, 2020. Apply today! https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/were-hiring-an-ontario-forums-coor/

We've been hard at work to expand our resources, and we're happy to announce a new collection! Created by our research assistant, Emma Awe, we're proud to release a collection of learning materials on Historic Black 2SLGBTQ+ Community and Activism in Toronto. Learn about the 101 Dewson Street Collective, Black Women's Collective, and Sister Vision Press for FREE by clicking the link below and downloading the materials! Happy reading. :) https://ccgsd-ccdgs.org/historic-blackactivism/

We are happy to be sharing an opportunity from The Gay Men's Sexual Health Alliance, for Trans folks living in Ontario. Trans people have always been part of 2SLGBTQ communities and gay men’s sexual spaces and cultures, but are often invisible in sexual health conversations and HIV work. This affects trans people’s health and wellbeing. The Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance (GMSH) and many other HIV-focused organizations are now looking towards intentional trans inclusion an...d integration in their work. Group conversations and one-to-one interviews with trans community members will occur from mid July to late August. Perspectives from diverse trans and non-binary communities, as well as staff and management in the HIV sector, will shape an actionable plan and a public report. The GMSH are especially interested in hearing from people who often have a lot to say and who often aren’t directly invited to speak: Indigenous and / or racialized trans people, trans people living in smaller cities, towns, and rural and remote communities, who are older (50+) or younger (ages 16+), who are living with disabilities, HIV, or other chronic health conditions, and francophones. They are also interested in hearing from people who are new to Canada, whether documented or undocumented, or are here temporarily (including international students). And, they'd also like to hear from people who may be marginalized for other reasons, like due to being poor, for doing sex work, or for using drugs. The GMSH will be providing compensation for the time of participants. See the link below for further information and to sign up: http://www.gmsh.ca/aids-service-organizations/TIP/TIP

Love your label. Today we celebrate the lovely non-binary individuals in our lives. Tag a non-binary friend or family member to whom you're sending some extra love today. . #nonbinarypeoplesday #nonbinary #enby

We at the CCGSD have chosen 12 remarkable individuals from the hundreds of Canadians that have acted as a voice for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and advocated for equal rights and freedoms. Our goal is to showcase these struggles, protests and injustice that have happened within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Canada and add these missing chapters into our history. This month we would like to highlight Kael McKenzie, noted as the first transgender person to be appointed as a judge ...to the Provincial Court of Manitoba in Canada. Kael was also the co-chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference from 2012 to 2014. He has served as vice president of the Manitoba Bar Association, as Manitoba chair of the Canadian Bar Association, and president of the provincial Rainbow Resource Centre for Manitoba’s LGBT and Two-Spirit communities. Kael is a proud member of the Manitoba Métis Nation and also served as a proud transgender man in the Canadian Forces. Check out our Linktree to find out more about Our History Initiative!