Spectrum strongly opposes the 1 Million March for Children who spread anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate under the guise of protecting parental rights.
Parental rights are not under attack. Religious freedoms are not under attack. Queer and trans youth are under attack.
2SLGBTQIA+ children and youth have the right to express their gender identity to whomever they feel safe doing so with. No one has the right to outa 2SLGBTQIA+ person to anyone else without consent.
Queer and trans people have always been here and will always be here. Queer Nation’s 1990 slogan “We’re here! We’re Queer! Get used to it!” was well chosen. 2SLGBTQIA+ people will not be erased or made invisible.
To the 2SLGBTQIA+ people – especially youth – who may feel hurt, or scared because of this coordinated hate movement please know that you are seen and loved. You are not alone.
Spectrum will participate in the Queer Youth Defence rally on September 20th at 9am. There is #NoSpaceForHate in Waterloo Region. We are grateful to GroundUpWR and the University of Waterloo Solidarity Network for their work in organizing this event.
Find GroundUpWR’s Queer Youth Defence Safety Guide here. If you plan to attend the rally, please be careful and protect yourself.
Allies – this is your time. If you want to be an ally to 2SLGBTQIA+ people in your community then it involves more than putting up a rainbow sticker during Pride month. Amplify queer voices, and speak out against hate.
TAKE NOTICE that the Annual and a Special General Meeting of the Members of SPECTRUM Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space (“SPECTRUM”) will be held on October 10, 2023 at 7pm virtually on Zoom for the following purposes:
1. Receiving and approving the Minutes of the 2022 Annual Meeting
2. Receiving the 2022 Annual Statement and Auditors Report
3. Considering and if thought fit, confirming By-law 1 – 2023 passed by the Board of Directors on March 19, 2023 which By-law replaces By-law 2021 as the general by-law relating to the business and affairs of the Corporation.
4. To authorize the Board to file Articles of Amendment to provide that the Corporation may have a minimum and maximum number of directors and to authorize the President to sign the Articles of Amendment.
5. To pass a special resolution of the members to set the number of directors at 10 until otherwise changed.
6. Electing Directors
7. To approve the waiving of the appointment of an auditor by way of extraordinary resolution in accordance with the Act.
Our community engagement project with Black, Indigenous, and racialized (BIR) 2SLGBTQIA+ people has come to an end — though this work will go on.
Spectrum would like to thank the Government of Canada and WAGE for investing in 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations. We would also like to thank Janet Egan (she/her) and Kerry Gervais (she/her) who were extremely helpful as WAGE Program Officers.
Special thanks to all the organizations and community members who engaged with us during this project. We are grateful for your time and trust. Spectrum looks forward to being a more welcoming and safer space for Black, Indigenous, and racialized members of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities because of your engagement with us.
We also acknowledge those community members who were not prepared to engage with us. We understand your position and will work to become an organization that you can trust.
We recognize this project as a first step in a journey towards becoming an organization that better serves all 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
As promised, we’d like to share our final report with the community. This report summarizes what we heard during the community engagement project and includes recommendations for things that Spectrum (and potentially other organizations) can do to better serve BIR 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
We have already begun working on some of the recommendations. You have told us that you would like a BIR 2SLGBTQIA+ program that is run by paid BIR co-facilitators. Our hope is to create a space in which racialized folks can feel safe to discuss and find support regarding all aspects of their identity. We will soon be hiring two co-facilitators who will work with us to create and deliver this program. Stay tuned!
We are not surprised by yesterday’s targeted attack of a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo. It is an escalation of the rise in hate speech targeting trans and non-binary people which 2SLGBTQIA+ people have been ringing warning bells about.
It is past time for our leaders to act for queer safety.
Coming as it does, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, this attack only further galvanizes us. Pride has always been a protest. Queer people have always been here, and will always be here. For decades, we have fought for liberation, rights, and safety. Our visibility is key to our safety and we will not be erased.
To our leaders, how will you now take action to make people in your community safe against this violence? A statement about hate having no place here is not enough. The queer community of Waterloo Region demands that action be taken to keep our community safe.
Retired Lawyer, Author, Speaker, Human Rights Advocate. Practicing law in Toronto led to involvement in many community organizations including establishing Metropolitan Community Church’s Christmas Eve Service at Roy Thompson Hall, and the Church-Wellesley Village Business Improvement Area (and the Alexander Wood statue). Involvement in many community organizations and the fight for human rights continues.
Congratulations on the twentieth anniversary of marriage equality in Canada. Detractors have said gay marriages would not last, but I am happy to say there are plenty of examples to prove them wrong. Life in Canada for sexual minorities was not always how it is today. Once we were hunted and persecuted.
Legislation penalizing homosexuality entered British statute law in 1533 when King Henry VIII brought in The Buggery Act, ousting the Roman Catholic Church in favour of the Church of England. This moved the regulation of sodomy from the ecclesiastical courts and burning at the stake, to the state and death by hanging and forfeiture of property.
This law changed over time. However, the Labouchere Amendment of 1885 brought the crime of gross indecency into British criminal law. Gross indecency could apply to almost anything, including holding hands, and was used to persecute homosexuals. It was brought into British law at the height of the Industrial Revolution ostensibly to curb prostitution. Prostitution meant independence and the industrial revolution needed workers and the British Army needed soldiers.
The laws of Britain were the laws of Canada. Following Confederation in 1867, Canada enacted the Criminal Code in 1892, by importing British criminal law. However, the law was changed in Canada to provide five years in penitentiary and whipping. In addition, conviction of being a “dangerous sexual offender” by having homosexual sex subjected a person to an indefinite prison sentence. This was the fate of Everett George Klippert in 1967.
This remained the criminal law of Canada until the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1969 adopted Britain’s Wolfenden Report of 1957, partially decriminalizing homosexual acts for consenting adults in private who were 21 years of age or over. This is the legislation that former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, while Minister of Justice, famously said “the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.” It was 2019 before the remnants of this law were removed from the Criminal Code of Canada.
I remember the cruel sensationalist media treatment of Mr. Klippert’s appeal of his conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada, which he lost. I also remember the fierce opposition to the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1969. It was horrific, but as minimal as these changes were, they were huge step forward in the fight for equality. It meant homosexuals were able to meet and begin to organize with less danger of being raided by police. Political activism came out of the closet. The We Demand Rally in 1971, is credited with being the first such public rally and Jim Parrott was there in Ottawa. Patriation of the Constitution Act of 1867 and adopting the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which took effect in 1985, was another critical milestone.
More and more activism occurred during these decades. There were also many Charter cases after 1985, as we learned how the Charter impacted daily life in Canada and the dominoes began to fall.
Marriage, which is in the jurisdiction of the federal government in Canada became the battleground for equality because of the Charter.
In Ontario this came to a head on June 9, 1994, with the defeat in Ontario’s Legislature of the infamous Bill 167 the Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act. The defeat of Bill 167 resulted in a very large protest demonstration that evening. The demonstration filled the lawn in front of the Legislature. This was when I first realized just how many of us there were. It was amazing experience, even better than being with millions of people during World Pride in 2014.
From this insulting defeat of Bill 167 came the activism that resulted in our winning same-sex marriage on June 10, 2003. This is not the forum to mention all the activists and organizations and battles.
However, information came to the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto that in Ontario there are two paths to marriage. One is to purchase a marriage license from the Government of Ontario and the second is the older religious practice of Marriage by Banns, still allowed by Ontario’s Marriage Act. There are several criteria to meet, but those who qualify can have their marriages by Banns registered and obtain a Certificate of Marriage in Ontario.
On January 14, 2001, the first legal same-sex marriages were performed in Ontario in the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto by way of Banns of Marriage. Reverend Brent Hawkes married Kevin Bourassa to Joe Varnell, and Elaine Vautour to Anne Vautour.
On June 10, 2003, the Ontario Court of Appeal issued a Charter-based decision immediately recognizing same-sex marriage in Ontario, thereby making Ontario the first province where same-sex marriage was legal.
Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively recognized in several provinces and territories by court decisions before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act by Parliament on July 20, 2005.
So, this has been a very brief synopsis of the fight for equality through same-sex marriage. This fight should have been unnecessary. It was too long, too hard, and too bitter. Following this victory, most of us married our spouses and hoped to settle into a quiet domestic life. However, the forces of hatred continue their opposition. Equality through same-sex marriage was achieved in Canada because of the combined actions of many activists and the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We now have governments in Canada that casually use the Notwithstanding Clause to take away our rights and freedoms. These governments will not stop unless they are voted out of office. Your vote matters. I know politics is messy and difficult, but voting is vital. We see the right to equality eroding in many places throughout the world including the United States of America. It has always been up to us to fight for our lives and our families. The Charter remains vital to protecting us from negative legislation. Don’t stop now. Get involved with a progressive political party that will uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and help to preserve the gains in equality we have made in Canada.
People like myself and Jim Parrott have been life-long activists but we are now twenty years older. Along with many friends and allies, we have managed to achieve great things. The day I married my late spouse was the best day of my life. Love is love. Nobody is going to do it for you. It is now up to you to defend our hard won human rights, including our right to marry, as we continue to build a better life for all Canadians. Happy Pride!
This post is slightly modified from an address given by Bruce Walker at our June 14, 2023 Celebration of Marriage Equality in Ontario event.
Spectrum is grateful to be receiving the proceeds of sales of Kidunified’s Children’s Makers Market Puzzle from May 17, 2023-June 19, 2023!
Kidunified is a local woman-led social enterprise. Their debut puzzle is called Children’s Makers Market and it was created with big hearts, and mindfully for kids — it is diverse, sustainable, bilingual and fun! The goal is for more children to see pieces of themselves and their community while they play.
Ashley Kizis shares, “Kidunified is for every child, including my own. I want my child to continue to learn how good it feels when we include, and treat each other equally. It is important to me that he sees me learning to become a better ally also — to grow myself, alongside him. So much love, research and community input went into the creation of this puzzle, so that more children would hopefully feel represented in the toys they play with.”
This fundraiser is beginning on May 17th, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, a day that draws attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by 2SLGBTQIA+ people in more than 130 countries around the world.
As Spectrum works towards its vision of an inclusive community where all 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are welcomed, celebrated, and supported as their authentic selves we love discovering other organizations that share our values. We’re excited to bring awareness of this wonderful puzzle to the community and grateful to our friends at Kidunified for generously donating the proceeds from the next month’s sales to us.
The Children’s Makers Market Puzzle is available for purchase here for $34.99 +HST. Puzzles can be picked up at Spectrum on June 19th between 12pm-7pm or, select “delivery” and a volunteer will drop-off your puzzle between the purchase date and June 19th.
Spectrum is pleased to share our refreshed 2SLGBTQIA+ Terminology Guide! This was made possible thanks to the work of co-op student, Sarah Amoah.
Below, Sarah shares her thoughts on her co-op placement experience.
My name is Sarah Amoah (she/they). I am a Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, graduate from University of Western Ontario-King’s College and am currently completing a postgraduate certificate in Community and Social Services Management at Conestoga College. I am grateful to Spectrum for hosting me as a co-op student for 10 weeks and to Scott Williams for supporting me as a placement supervisor. As a Black, queer, woman with a non-visible disability, I am grateful for the opportunity to strengthen my knowledge of 2SLGBTQIA+ concepts, forms of discrimination, and community services in the region. I found it easy to become emersed in the content as I have so much passion and interest in the topics.
This placement has expanded my understanding of the variety of leadership and management roles that make up successful community service organizations. I have been relishing in the opportunity to continuously learn about the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, terminology, and relevant concepts. This experience has enhanced my understanding of professional leadership in community service organizations that work with marginalized demographics such as the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Having the opportunity to sit in on board and fundraising meetings and participate in the organization’s Rainbow Diversity Training has strengthened my connection to my identity as a queer person and to the Waterloo 2SLGBTQIA+ community. This experience has expanded my awareness of how important community mobilization and unification is for impactful community service. It is important to recognize how smaller organizations without access to an abundance of funding run with the help of volunteers, board of directors and general community support.
Thank you, Spectrum, you will always have a place in my heart!
Tom Connelly (He/Him) is from the US originally and grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia. He went to a small Liberal Arts university in Pennsylvania and got a BA in English Literature. He’s always been an avid reader and still is! He worked in the service industry for a while after he graduated and then worked in publishing doing marketing.
In 2004 he was able to immigrate to Canada with his now ex-husband whose father was Canadian, though he grew up in the US as well. They lived in Toronto for 12 years where Tom worked at the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario doing event planning and eventually became the Manager of Stakeholder Relations. In 2016 they bought a house in Waterloo and moved out of the city.
Tom received a diploma in Community and Social Service Management and is currently doing Fund Development for the Alzheimer Society for Waterloo Wellington.
What led you to volunteer at SPECTRUM?
When I moved to KW in 2016 I was looking for ways to get involved in the community and meet people; especially 2SLGBTQI+ people. I found SPECTRUM online and was asked to join the board.
Why is SPECTRUM important to you?
SPECTRUM is important in keeping our community’s voice heard. Not only in government, but also in the wider community. Representation is important and, especially now, when the political and social climate has swung to the right we need be ever vigilant that rights remain in place.
How does volunteering help you develop a sense of belonging or community?
Having a common cause with other members of SPECTRUM and being involved in helping to direct SPECTRUM’s growth with the other board members gives me a great sense of belonging and esprit de corps. I’m always learning from other community members which makes me feel that I’m expanding my communities and appreciate being welcomed into them.
What’s on your playlist right now?
I’m pretty old school and don’t have a playlist, per se, and like a wide variety of genres. I usually alternate between jazz vocalists, especially Ella Fitzgerald, 80s and classic rock, and classical. So much depends on my mood.
Anything else you wish to add?
Come and volunteer with us!! Find our volunteer application here.
Hi! My name is Philip (He/Him) and I am Spectrum’s volunteer librarian! Prior to volunteering with Spectrum I was pursuing a career in academics studying Political Science at Laurier, Waterloo and Western Universities. I have worked in many different places in the past including bartending, front desk at a hotel, assembling computer boards, data processing, and teaching. I am married to my wonderful husband of 11 years and together we enjoy rollercoasters, exploring the world, and getting out hiking and biking.
What led you to volunteer at SPECTRUM?
I volunteered at Spectrum to contribute back to the community and meet new people! So far, it’s working out well!
Why is SPECTRUM important to you?
Growing up there were no real safe spaces for queer folk outside of the local gay bars. Meeting members of the community and making new friends was difficult and could be dangerous. Spectrum provides a safe place for queer people to meet, express themselves, and seek support and community. Having been to the opening of Spectrum so many years ago, I cannot express how proud I am of what it has become today, thanks to the many hours put in by volunteers.
How does volunteering help you develop a sense of belonging or community?
Outside of going to the clubs when I was younger, I never really felt a part of the queer community. Not in the true sense of community at least. Volunteering with Spectrum has helped me develop that sense of belong to a true community and the ability to make new connections. Also, I’ve learned a lot while volunteering at Spectrum about my own community which helps me to better understand and interact with the diverse rainbow that are queer people.
What’s on your playlist right now?
Recently I’ve been listening to some old favourites including Röyksopp, Underworld, and Radiohead.
My name is Troy Dettwiler (he/him) and I value community, nature, and wellbeing. I live in Downtown Kitchener with my partner, Neil Moser, and our dog Derby. My formal post-secondary education includes an Advanced Diploma in Film and Television Production from Humber College, along with Undergraduate courses in Environment, Business, and Communications from University of Waterloo and Athabasca University. My full-time career is an IT Support Specialist with the Waterloo Region District School Board. I’ve also run my own freelance Communications business that included representing major American food companies in Canada, editing podcasts for a company based out of Japan, and providing digital media services for several small-medium sized businesses in Waterloo Region.
Recently I was hired as Spectrum’s Sports Coordinator. In my free time, I love being physically active; you’ll often find me at A.R. Kaufman YMCA, Bluevale’s Calisthenics park, on a trail, or just walking around Kitchener with my partner and dog. When I’m not being active, I enjoy playing board games, cooking, and spending time with friends.
What led you to volunteer at SPECTRUM?
After working and volunteering in high schools, I missed the events, connections, and experiences. I also didn’t have many friends connected to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and I thought building some of these connections might help general feelings of loneliness. Usually I am turned off by social or peer support groups, but the idea of Multi-Sport really got me excited to try it out.
Why is SPECTRUM important to you?
SPECTRUM’s Multi-Sport has become a large part of my social life. I don’t really enjoy late nights, drinking, and partying, so it has helped me connect with new people that have similar values and understand my identity. I feel valued and supported by the organization, staff, volunteers, and participants. I’ve also built new leadership skills and confidence interacting with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
How does volunteering help you develop a sense of belonging or community?
Each week I get to meet and interact with at least one new person. While not everyone comes back week after week, slowly we are building a group of people that enjoy spending time together. More importantly, I have made some great new friends. I often used to feel a need to get away from the city on weekends, but now I am counting down the hours until the next event.
What’s on your playlist right now?
Lately I’ve been enjoying THE DRIVER ERA, Purple Disco Machine, and Winnetka Bowling League.
