- 11 hours ago
I brought my megaphone and conveyed some messages of my own, not on video, along with what the rest of the group also said. I handed my megaphone to a few since they were short one, however once somebody brought another, I didn't need to lend mine out.
One of the speakers had the microphone volume a little too loud, so it caused a bit of distortion, nonetheless, things went smoothly. Police did do some pushing, however there wasn't any arrests made.
The delusional fringe tried to harass the group a few times, however the police ensured they didn't at all succeed in doing so. They got severely mocked and cowardly retreated quickly back to their own group.
Music composed for the timelapsed march (following the fringe too) and the police pushing back the group, is my own.
One of the speakers had the microphone volume a little too loud, so it caused a bit of distortion, nonetheless, things went smoothly. Police did do some pushing, however there wasn't any arrests made.
The delusional fringe tried to harass the group a few times, however the police ensured they didn't at all succeed in doing so. They got severely mocked and cowardly retreated quickly back to their own group.
Music composed for the timelapsed march (following the fringe too) and the police pushing back the group, is my own.
Category
đź“š
LearningTranscript
00:00Hello, hello, welcome to the new eingrapec.
00:01I begin you.
00:02I forgot to keep you up, my life is the best.
00:04Hi.
00:05It's basically a few questions.
00:06I thought you were supposed to get a version to me that you can go and speak to my dad.
00:09One of the keys here is that you can stay out the lane lane.
00:11Just remain on the ground as you are, until you're tripped into a pool.
00:14I'm different from yellow last year.
00:15.
00:16Whoo.
00:17Hey, everybody, they're both in charge of me.
00:19.
00:21A little love about my heart.
00:22.
00:23.
00:23.
00:24.
00:25I'm .
00:26.
00:27.
00:28.
00:28.
00:29What are you doing?
00:31What are you doing?
00:33What are you doing?
00:35I'm doing it!
00:37What are you doing?
00:39Change rights are human rights!
00:57Change rights are human rights!
01:09Hey, sir, I guess I'll help myself.
01:11I'm a scary girl.
01:13Back here with me.
01:15My name is friends, friends, comrades, and allies.
01:25Across from us stand a French minority fraction
01:29of a French minority opinion
01:31whose hateful rhetoric
01:33we are here to drown out.
01:35They are not here in good faith.
01:45They are lobbying to lock in their control over children's bodies and choices.
01:51They demonstrate through their actions
01:53that they would rather have a dead child via suicide
01:56than a happy trans child living their authentic experience.
02:01Our governments deny young people the right of bodily autonomy.
02:09Rather, they grant parental rights...
02:11They grant parental figures the authority to choose for them,
02:17where they live, what they eat, their friends, their religion, and hobbies.
02:23These policies treat children like parental property.
02:27It is so unquestioned that you never wonder
02:31why you cannot make those choices for yourself.
02:33You'll regret those choices that you're making,
02:37so we won't let you make them, they say.
02:39Shame!
02:41Shame!
02:45Who can build a sense of self under these conditions?
02:49Who can learn to exercise their autonomy and political will,
02:53shackled like this?
02:55No one!
02:57Shame!
02:58We want our young people to be informed, compassionate, and responsible,
03:02yet we never give them the space to build these capacities for themselves.
03:06Shame!
03:07Shame!
03:08Shame!
03:09Shame!
03:10Shame!
03:11Shame indeed.
03:12To truly support trans youth,
03:14we must prioritize their liberation from this misplaced authority.
03:18Shame!
03:20And sometimes, this authority figure is harmful.
03:27I'm going to tell you guys a personal story, but don't worry, it has a happy ending.
03:31Yeah.
03:32Years ago, I socially transitioned among my friends and comrades,
03:37but I hid my identity from my family,
03:39fearing far-right views and American extremism.
03:43My unsafe environment, combined with unemployment and disability, forced my silence.
03:49Moving into rent, goods, income, affordable housing,
03:53something our governments must assure us a human right,
03:56changed my life.
03:58Woo!
03:59Yeah!
04:00Because that made me feel safe.
04:03So this August, I came out at our family reunion.
04:06Woo!
04:07Yeah!
04:08Yeah!
04:09Yeah!
04:10Thanks!
04:11Thank you!
04:13I handed small cards to everyone, which read,
04:16I'm trans.
04:18My name is Lenny.
04:19I use they, he pronouns.
04:21My cousin shouted an exuberant,
04:23Hi, Lenny!
04:24Hi, Lenny!
04:25Hi, Lenny!
04:26Woo!
04:27Woo!
04:28There were tears.
04:29Much like you did.
04:32And...
04:33Let's hear the tears!
04:35Hugs, questions about my name,
04:37and much to my surprise, my dad, who is here today,
04:41came up to me and gave me an awkward silent hug.
04:53About six weeks later, he called me, crying and afraid.
04:57He had a change of heart and was asking to be heard.
05:00After so many years of self-repression and defensiveness,
05:05I was shocked to hear this.
05:07And we talked for hours.
05:09Woo!
05:10Our family is not perfect.
05:12Is that your natural hair for life?
05:13But hateful views are not immutable characteristics.
05:16Did you use gender-affirming care for that blonde hair?
05:19Extremist believers...
05:23Extremist believers see a real problem.
05:28They just blame the wrong people for it.
05:31Well, health care wait times?
05:33Must be all the trans people taking HRT and having surgeries,
05:36not the government's chronic underfunding
05:38and privatization of our healthcare system, right?
05:41Yeah!
05:44No affordable housing?
05:46Must be all the immigrants taking it.
05:48It couldn't be the abysmal government regulation
05:51on landlords or real estate investment trusts.
05:53Woo!
05:56These angry outbursts that scapegoat a minority group
06:00and minority populations certainly make for great headlines,
06:03don't they?
06:04And great news distracts people from our government's major failures,
06:09economic and political.
06:10Woo!
06:11Woo!
06:12Woo!
06:13Woo!
06:14Mark Carney wants to capitulate to Trump
06:16and increase military spending to 5% of our GDP.
06:19That is about $150 billion with a B dollars!
06:23Yay!
06:25Yay!
06:26That money has countless better uses than the war machine destroying our planet.
06:31Woo!
06:32Woo!
06:33Woo!
06:34We could increase social spending,
06:37providing improvements to food security,
06:39better transit infrastructure, affordable housing,
06:42hundreds of hospitals, better education, and effective climate action.
06:47Woo!
06:48Instead, it's going to go to probably more of 30 fucking fives.
06:51Yay!
06:52Yay!
06:53Yay!
06:54Woo!
06:55Yay!
06:56Oh, yeah, look.
06:57That's Tamar and Litch.
06:58Every one of these issues is connected.
06:59That's true.
07:00That's the regional.
07:01If everyone had their basic needs met,
07:03their range could not be weaponized against vulnerable populations.
07:06Yay!
07:07Yay!
07:08Woo!
07:09Yay!
07:10Therefore, supporting all trans people, including youth,
07:14means meeting their basic needs.
07:15And it'll be positive.
07:16They must have the rights to make informed choices for their bodies.
07:21And they must have the safety to be who they are.
07:28We are the TRCT, the Toronto Trans Rights Commission of Toronto.
07:36And our vision is to be the conduit for trans voices across Canada.
07:43It's a violence to government policy that supports us all.
07:48Thank you for being here.
07:53What do you want to show?
07:55Thank you so much to Lainey from TRCT for sharing their experience.
08:03Now, we do recognize...
08:06Oops!
08:08Are you guys able to hear me fine?
08:11Yeah, what I wanted to say is that we did have four scheduled speakers.
08:16But we do know that, especially with the fact that trans people have been marginalized historically and currently,
08:24not everyone has the opportunity to be in a position where they might be reached out to for a scheduled speech.
08:32And our role is to uplift the voices of trans folks.
08:36And so, if you want to come up and if you want to share something, if you want to share a story,
08:42I already see a hand over there.
08:44Please do come up.
08:45And we'd love to have you to see.
08:48Thank you so much.
08:54Trans rights are under attack.
08:56What do we do?
08:57Stand up, fight back.
08:58Trans rights are under attack.
09:00What do we do?
09:01Stand up, fight back.
09:03Whose streets are streets.
09:05Whose streets...
09:06Beautiful people come out to defend trans youth and defend trans rights.
09:10And big shout out to my mom who came out to stick up for my trans siblings.
09:20Alright.
09:21So, this is amazing to see, but we need to be honest because trans rights are under attack around the world,
09:30especially in the Anglosphere, in the US.
09:34I'm sure everyone knows what's been going on with the Donald Trump agenda,
09:38with so many Republican governors across the US.
09:42Ooh!
09:43Shame on them!
09:45Shame!
09:46Shame!
09:47Shame!
09:48And even Democrats aren't showing any sign of standing up for trans people.
09:52It's absolutely shameful.
09:54Shame!
09:55In the UK, or what some people have called Turf Island, trans rights are under attack.
10:01The Supreme Court declared that the definition of a woman is based on the body you're assigned at birth.
10:08Shame!
10:09Shame!
10:10And in Canada, things aren't quite as bad.
10:14But do we trust Doug Ford?
10:16Do we trust Mark Carney to stand up for trans rights?
10:20No!
10:21Of course not!
10:22That's what happened in Alberta.
10:24Exactly!
10:25Exactly!
10:26Happening in Alberta, in Saskatchewan, in New Brunswick.
10:30And Carney, he might not be attacking trans rights right now,
10:34but when he was being questioned by a far right wing so-called journalist,
10:41asked if there should be spaces exclusive to quote-unquote biological women,
10:47he said, in principle, yes.
10:50He couldn't stand up to the far right.
10:52It's shameful!
10:54So who are going to protect trans rights?
10:58We are!
10:59That's right!
11:00The government isn't going to do it.
11:02I was just, just two weeks ago, I was laid off from my public sector workplace.
11:08And now, with Cup W on strike, the government is attacking them too.
11:15I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my beautiful trans siblings,
11:19who was fired from Canada Post.
11:23She stood up for trans rights in her position.
11:26She demanded that Canada Post bring in a gender-neutral washroom.
11:30They disciplined her, they subjected her to transphobic sexual harassment,
11:35and then they fired her.
11:36Shame!
11:37Shame!
11:38Shame!
11:39Shame!
11:40At the end of the day, as my sign says,
11:43trans rights are workers' rights,
11:45and an injury to one is an injury to all!
11:48Shame!
11:51The Liberals won't stick up for trans rights.
11:55The government won't stick up for trans rights.
11:57Will the police stick up for trans rights and defend trans people?
12:01No!
12:02We saw at the rally, there was a big anti-fascist rally two weeks ago,
12:06where fascists, white supremacists, trans folks came out,
12:10and a lot of us came out to oppose them.
12:12But the police, did they defend the anti-fascists?
12:16No!
12:17They defended the fascists and allowed them to spread hate in our streets!
12:22Shame!
12:23Shame on the police!
12:24We fight for trans rights!
12:27And we in the workers' movement, in the labor movement,
12:31have the potential to be the greatest fighters for trans liberation possible!
12:36I remember last year, when there was another one of these anti-trans rallies,
12:41it was not just a bunch of trans and LGBT community members who came out,
12:46but OBSU, the public sector union and other unions,
12:50came out in force to make a rally, probably about 20 times the size of this one!
12:55We stand the fascists and the trans folks away!
12:58The labor movement has the potential to fight for trans rights,
13:02because ultimately, an attack on trans rights is an attack on all of us!
13:07A lot of the fear-mongering they're doing about how teachers are transing the kids,
13:12about how teachers are grooming children, is shame!
13:16Shame on it!
13:17Shame on you!
13:18It's an attack on trans people, and it's also an attack on all teachers,
13:22as they fear-monger against teachers, and they feel that when bargaining comes around,
13:28if people fear teachers, then the public will be okay with cuts to teachers and education.
13:35So an injury to one is truly an injury to all!
13:39And we're going to fight back!
13:44We need to organize workers, oppressed people, LGBT people,
13:49everyone against the government, against the police, against the trans folks,
13:53and we will win!
13:56Thank you so much! I'd love to talk to folks after, we'll do it together!
14:00Thank you! And thanks for putting this on! Thank you!
14:05All right! Thank you so much! That was a really good speech!
14:10And for something that wasn't scripted, something they probably didn't even know was going to happen before coming here,
14:19it was an amazing speech! Thank you!
14:21It raised a lot of important points, and it also told us some of the techniques we need to use
14:28in order to organize against this hatred, which we are going to be speaking about in more detail as well.
14:33But the labor movement is a crucial ally, and thank you to all of the union members here for supporting the rights of every single person here.
14:45which is, uh, the Trans Rights Commission of Toronto.
14:50Uh, so I have a couple of points here to know.
14:53Uh, but the first point here is, it's going to make you quite happy!
14:58But, just look around you guys! Look at how many of us there are here! Look at those people!
15:04The vast majority of them are very aware and reflective risks!
15:09These are not people who decided, I'm going to come in, I'm going to support this cause!
15:13These are people who are most likely getting paid, people who have most likely been bussed in,
15:18people with, uh, far-right convoy connections, people with, uh, people with, uh, affiliated with the People's Party of Canada,
15:27and, uh, people in other, um, extreme far-right organizing spaces! Look at us!
15:33You know who I'm here is getting paid to be here!
15:38We're here because we care about trans people, and we care about trans kids, and we're going to stand up for them!
15:46Yes, we will!
15:49And trans kids here, I want you guys to know, you're cherished, you're protected here!
15:54We're here to stand up for you, and for your rights!
15:59Mark Carney, like, uh, when, like, I think a couple of our speakers said, is not going to stand up for you!
16:05Um, unfortunately, we're going to have to make him stand up!
16:10Doc Ford isn't going to stand up!
16:12His education minister a while ago, um, when, uh, when the stuff in Alberta, uh, sorry Saskatchewan-New Bridgewick was going on,
16:20and I'll speak to that in more detail soon, but when that was going on, many people don't know this,
16:25but the education minister in Ontario also made, uh, comments, um, in support of that, saying that, uh,
16:32it's been quite a while, so I don't remember his exact words, but he did indeed support, uh, the movement for so-called parental rights,
16:40uh, this dangerous movement that seeks to strip kids and youth of their autonomy.
16:45Uh, so, we have to remember that we have to, uh, not just content politicians to do the right thing.
16:53We have to, uh, we have to do the right thing. We have to, we have to do the right thing!
17:02Um, we're just, uh, trying to go through my points here. Um, and so, in the interest of building up a sense of community,
17:14Let's try a group activity here. So obviously if you don't feel comfortable participating, you don't have to, but it's nice if you do.
17:23So here's a pair of questions. So the way you do this is you can pair up or maybe form a group of three or four people.
17:30Ideally people you haven't already met and here's a pair of questions for you.
17:35What was something you did, witnessed or heard about that led to love and inclusion winning over anti-trans hate?
17:44It could be minor and once the third session is complete, I'm going to invite one of you to come over and share what the people they paired up with said.
17:54A couple of minutes you're not going to be able to share. There's only so much we could share, but I hope that we were able to share some really happy stories.
18:05And I would like to invite someone up to share a story that they just learned about, if anyone's interested.
18:14Let's all make some queer noise for showing up here today!
18:18I've been a resident of this area for quite a few years now.
18:26And the change that I've seen in this community hasn't happened because we show up every year and it's amazing!
18:34So please thank you guys for that!
18:39I'm somebody who on many occasions gets to work with trans youth speaking at different things like this.
18:46And I have to speak on the most powerful experience that I had while I was in the United States earlier this year.
18:54I had a conversation with a trans person at an event that really shook me really deep inside.
19:03And it was, I asked them, I jokingly said, you know, with the stuff going on in the States, and this is before the election,
19:09If you ever need somewhere to move to, if you ever need to come to Canada, please don't be afraid to talk to me and hit me up.
19:17In that moment they looked at me and they couldn't hold back the tears and they were genuinely saying like,
19:23I actually might have to take you up on that offer because I fear what's going to happen here is so much worse.
19:29And I live in a red state, I don't have anyone who I can reach out to.
19:34And after that moment, you know, we talk about community, we talk about looking out for each other.
19:41But it has to be more than that.
19:43If one of us goes down, all of us have to be there to pick us back up.
19:47So I want to take a moment for everyone here to look around at the people here with you.
19:56These are the people that you reach out to when some shit goes down like what's happening over here, right?
20:05These are the people we look out to if somebody is getting evicted, if somebody can't afford to feed their family this week.
20:12You know, we need to look out into our communities and support each other.
20:16So that was the important thing I wanted to say and I just, I love everyone here and thank you for coming out.
20:25Also, I'd like to call up Anzia once again.
20:29I wanted to make a couple of points about the situation in Hamilton.
20:35Hi.
20:39I'm sure like someone from Hamilton actually can speak about this better,
20:44but now there's something going on in Hamilton that is funded by McMaster University.
20:49There is an anti-trans pseudoscientific group whose work has been cited by U.S. courts to ban transgender-affirming care and HRT.
21:03They're basically, it's called SEGM, I forgot what they stand for.
21:12And there's an advocacy in Hamilton now against them.
21:16Let's also kind of make ourselves aware of that and then let's send support to Hamilton people and Hamilton trans allies and people and our friends.
21:27Thank you so much.
21:35If there's nobody else that would like to call up and speak, let's do some chants.
21:41Yes!
21:42Yes!
21:43Misha.
21:44We are the...
21:45We are the...
21:46We are the...
21:47We are the...
21:49Yes!
21:50Yes!
21:51We are the...
21:52Misha.
21:53Hi.
21:54I don't care what.
21:55Hold on.
21:56Hi!
21:57I'm Misha.
21:58My pronouns are they or they.
22:00I'm a childcare worker.
22:02I work with little, little kids.
22:05They don't give a shit about gender.
22:08They are like...
22:10They don't give a fuck!
22:12They know me as the person that's safe to come to when they have a boo-boo.
22:19They don't care what my pronouns are.
22:23They don't care what anyone's gender is.
22:29I've had kids call me miss or mister or mix or hey you or someone else's name.
22:42I'm not teaching them about gender.
22:46You know who teaches them about gender?
22:49They're fucking parents complaining when they come home with a pink painting.
22:54These kids are open to everyone.
23:07And it is these assholes who teach them how to hate.
23:17They are projecting because they know that they have to teach their kids to hate.
23:23And so they think that we have to teach our kids to love.
23:27The kids know how to love people.
23:31And all we have to do is protect their right to do it.
23:35She, her pronouns, but since you're all cool you can use she, bae.
23:45Obviously, I'm a trans woman.
23:47And like many trans people, I wish I'd transitioned sooner.
23:53I wish I'd transitioned when I was like 12 and I got to grow up as a girl.
23:59These fuckers, see, kids nowadays, they have that opportunity more than we did.
24:05But these fucking assholes want to take that from them.
24:09All right?
24:11All right?
24:12Shame!
24:13Shame!
24:14Shame!
24:15Look, there's nothing wrong with being trans.
24:17Being trans is one of the most beautiful things in my life.
24:20It's so fucking beautiful even that I can't help but make some art about it.
24:26All right?
24:27See, in the face of this hate, what we need to do is we need to make art.
24:32We need to make things.
24:33We need to show the world how frickin' beautiful being trans is.
24:38How frickin' wonderful we can be.
24:45Now, I really need to pee, so I'm probably gonna go find a bathroom.
24:51We all doing beautiful people!
24:55It is amazing to see all of you here today.
24:57I cannot tell you how much hope I feel.
24:59My name is Anne Pham.
25:01I'm a bisexual man in the city of Toronto.
25:03I have grown up here.
25:04I have known queer and trans people here all my life.
25:07I have not known fascists like this.
25:11I have known gay teachers.
25:13I have known gay friends.
25:17I cannot stress enough that the way the far right thinks about queerness is as a contagion.
25:22They talk about empathy as a vector of transmission.
25:25They talk about education as a way of making people sick.
25:28As if a trans person needs to be told that they are trans.
25:31And not as something that they innately know and fight for all their lives.
25:35I think the beautiful thing about us being here today is we make that fight easier.
25:39And it's not just in government.
25:41It's at every step of the way.
25:42It's at every day that we need to feel firm.
25:44I felt that when I came out as bisexual to my family, to my friends, right?
25:49Toronto is a queer fucking city!
25:51And I think we're demonstrating that today.
25:54I think one of the most important things we can emphasize is that no matter where they draw the lines for gender or sexuality, queer people exist in every time, in every nation, in every goddamn city!
26:10There is nothing they fear more than an unloved queer child growing into a beloved queer adult.
26:20And I see a lot of us here today!
26:25So I cannot emphasize this enough.
26:27Queer people have always existed, and we will outlive them!
26:31I do not mean this as in a broad history is on our side.
26:38History has not necessarily always been on the side of people with numbers.
26:41Numbers are not enough to do this.
26:43But creativity, love, empathy, the shit that we do, the type of people who we train up when we teach each other to be queer, to be in community, to be allies, I think that wins.
26:54I love you all!
27:00Stay strong!
27:01I'll see you at the next one, and at the next one, and at the next one!
27:06Let's do a chant that was suggested to us by a member of the community right here.
27:17Okay, let's chant.
27:19Let kids be who they are!
27:22Let kids be who they are!
27:27Let kids be who they are!
27:41They're all proactive!
27:42And we need to also organize on our own terms!
27:46And at TRCT, we absolutely do hope to do that, and we will share what our next action is going to be!
27:56And there are important lessons to be learned and people have pointed these out.
28:02Alberta and Saskatchewan and the United Kingdom.
28:05But for those who don't know, I will speak a little bit as to what is going on in those provinces.
28:11And so it actually starts with a province that is not one of those provinces.
28:17It's near Brunswick in Atlanta, Canada out east.
28:21And in 2023, the progressive conservative government in New Brunswick decided that it's going to change a policy in schools.
28:33A policy that was designed to keep trans kids and all of it really safe and protected.
28:40It allowed them to define their own identities, choose the name they want to go by,
28:46and express what their actual pronouns are to teachers and be called that officially by the schools.
28:55They changed that in 2023, something that was unheard of in the entirety of Canada.
29:02And they made it so that trans kids under the age of 16 had to get parental consent in order to do that.
29:10Who led that thinking?
29:12They had to get permission from someone else to be who they are.
29:16Shame!
29:19Shame!
29:20Shame!
29:21Shame!
29:22Shame!
29:23Shame!
29:24Shame!
29:25You should be ashamed of yourselves!
29:27Exactly.
29:28And besides the adverse impact it has on their dignity to force them to do this, it also makes things dangerous.
29:35Because for so many queer youth, unfortunately, acceptance is not this story at all.
29:43A lot of the times when you hear youth come out to their families, to their parents, what they face is abuse and hate and it's horrible.
29:54And just to speak to that a little bit, what studies have found is that the two-sided rate in trans youth significantly decreases when they have affirming, supported families.
30:08So that's how this policy was laundered into Canada and imparted from the United States.
30:18And then, uh, Saskatchewan decided to adopt the same policy wholesale, uh, shortly afterwards.
30:25And, uh, organizations, uh, queer organizations in Canada, like CGL Canada, um, decided to, uh, launch a lawsuit.
30:38I think the CCLE was also involved as an intervener, which if you don't know is the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
30:44And they got that policy, uh, third down, they got an injection to all the enforcement of that policy.
30:51And so what did, um, at that point this policy was implemented in both New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.
30:58So what did, uh, what did Saskatchewan do?
31:02The Saskatchewan was either on through Saskatchewan or New Brunswick.
31:05I think you're on which one is one of those.
31:08They called their legislature for an emergency session.
31:13They could not wait just a couple of months to spread their hatred.
31:16They had to bring back all of the, their MPPs, which I believe they call MLAs,
31:22to their equivalent of this building over here.
31:25When they were out in their communities trying to take care of their constituents,
31:30they called them back into their legislature for an emergency session with the sole and explicit purpose of attacking trans youth
31:39by invoking a little-known section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
31:44Section 33, the notwithstanding clause that allows governments to accept their laws from the Charter.
31:51This is how horrific their policy was. It was declared unconstitutional or it had an injunction made out against them in a court of law,
32:04not months after it was announced and implemented.
32:08But they could not stand that. They did not want anyone coming in the way of them and their agenda.
32:15And they had to invoke Section 33. And then a little while later, Alberta decided to take things even more to the extreme
32:24under the United Conservative Party of Alberta. As we speak, there is a court injunction in place in Alberta
32:32to ban healthcare from trans youth under the age of 16.
32:41And they're having talks to invoke Section 33, the notwithstanding clause once again,
32:49in order to force them to push through that policy despite the courts, despite the fact that it's unconstitutional.
32:57On the middle of that, they've started doing what I like to call genital inspection forms in schools,
33:05which has already changed, yes.
33:10According to statistics, this has led to a decline in enrollment in girls sports.
33:16And if you don't know, the situation already, the gender balance in youth sports is not very good.
33:23It's heavily skewed in favor of boys. And this is one additional barrier that girls have to face to police sports in Alberta.
33:30And on top of that, that's in addition to the direct and intended victims and targets of this policy,
33:37which is trans girls. Save!
33:40Save! Save! Save!
33:43Save!
34:10So there's a little bit of good news.
34:16In New Brunswick, there was an election due soon afterwards, and because the community
34:22organized and made this into an issue, and the Progressive Conservatives lost, and the
34:28Liberal Party of New Brunswick won the provincial election, this policy was dropped by New Brunswick,
34:36but right now, this same policy is still in effect in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and we
34:43must never forget about our friends, our siblings, our cherished youth who are in there and who
34:50are suffering at the hands of these politicians.
34:53And so we need to recognize the threat that the trans community faces in Canada.
34:58I know sometimes we might think that this is Canada, this is something that happens in
35:05the United States, this is something that happens in the United Kingdom, it can't happen
35:10here.
35:11Here's the thing.
35:12It won't happen here if we stop it from happening here.
35:16It's not going to stop happening here by itself.
35:19And you know what?
35:21So the good news is, we are going to be here, and we are going to stop it from happening here.
35:32It's not just limited to lobbying sympathetic politicians, because while that is important,
35:45we can't become dependent on sympathetic politicians.
35:48They could get removed from office due to an election.
35:52They could get shuffled into comfortable positions where they're not in contact with the policies
35:57we're trying to uphold.
36:00And instead, we have to base our protection of trans people and trans kids on community power
36:07and on solidarity.
36:08And so I have seen an email list sign-up sheet going around.
36:21And the purpose of that sheet is so that we can reach you guys to show up for trans people,
36:28for trans kids, without having to go through intermediary platforms that are owned by people
36:35who certainly do not have the interests of trans people at heart.
36:40In fact, at our organization, you might have noticed, we don't actually have an Instagram account.
36:46We don't have a Facebook account.
36:48And the reason for that is, Meta has some of the most abhorrent anti-trans policies.
36:54Yeah.
36:55So, just to give you an example, it is perfectly alright, according to the rules of Meta on Instagram
37:07and on Facebook, to claim that trans people and queer people are mentally ill.
37:12It is perfectly alright to call for violence against the trans community by forcibly withholding their healthcare.
37:21Whereas people who are spreading this extremist agenda, people who are spreading hate,
37:28they get protected by these platforms, by these systems.
37:32I was reading just the other day about abortion-related treaties that were getting shut down by Meta, by Facebook,
37:44for no explicable reason.
37:46And we cannot become reliant on these platforms.
37:50We are on Blue Sky, it's a little bit better.
37:52But, once again, it's not necessarily a platform that has trans people's best interests at heart.
37:58It has shaped the trans community over and over again as well, only less so than other platforms.
38:05So, if we have your email address, that allows us to reach you directly without having to rely on any of these people,
38:12without having to rely on an algorithm.
38:15So, if you haven't put your name in the email list, and if you want to come up and put your name, please do.
38:21And, uh, in fact, uh, quick show of hands, is there anyone who hasn't and would like to?
38:27Hey, wonderful.
38:30You're, uh, speaking of the list, speaking of the list.
38:36Kind of form, uh, which you could use.
38:39And we also have a registration, uh, uh, sorry, a membership form, but it's under construction,
38:44so just send us an email if you want to be a member or sign up, or sign up on the...
38:49All right, we can come back later, uh, but let's follow their march and drum them out.
39:05Yay!
39:06Woo!
39:07Woo!
39:08Woo!
39:09Woo!
39:10Woo!
39:11Woo!
39:12Woo!
39:13Woo!
39:14Woo!
39:15Woo!
39:16Woo!
39:17Woo!
39:18Woo!
39:19Woo!
39:20Woo!
39:21Woo!
39:22Woo!
39:23Woo!
39:24Woo!
39:25Woo!
39:26Woo!
39:27Woo!
39:28Woo!
39:29Woo!
39:30Woo!
39:31Woo!
39:32Woo!
39:33Woo!
39:34Woo!
39:35Woo!
39:36Woo!
39:37Woo!
39:38Woo!
39:39Woo!
41:40We'll be right back sometimes.
41:41There's safety in numbers and we're all here.
41:44Let's celebrate that.
41:47There's a seafoam colored clipboard right over there on my bike by the pole.
41:59Go for it.
42:01It's important for each other.
42:04Everybody who brought their unique, authentic self, thank you so much for coming out today.
42:09It means so much to everybody here and to everybody who sees their home.
42:13Thank you all for being here.
42:15We love you all.
42:16Love not hate.
42:23Love not hate.
42:25Love not hate.
42:26Love not hate.
42:27Love not hate.
42:28Love not hate.
42:29Love not hate.
42:30Love not hate.
42:31Love not hate.
42:32Love not hate.
42:33Love not hate.
42:34Love not hate.
42:35Love not hate.
42:36So it seems like the only people who are still here are just like their takedown crew.
42:48That's all they are.
42:49Yeah, I don't think their supporters are still here.
42:52So this is the last call to sign up on our newsletter.
42:58If you haven't already, if you'd like to be informed of when we are holding more events like this,
43:03we hope to hold town halls in the future.
43:05And educationals and just hearing public opinion, get trans voices in,
43:11because the Trans Rights Commission of Toronto is looking to inform government policy
43:17that supports all trans people, including trans youth, especially trans youth, why we're here today.
43:23So we'll be holding these events to hear from trans people and our allies what policies we need,
43:31what policies we need to reinforce, where we need to go further,
43:35what we need to expose as harm in our current government policies.
43:40Like today, many of our speakers highlighted is liberation.
43:43So keep on the lookout for those events.
43:48You'll find out more if you're on our newsletter, on our mailing list.
43:52You can set up an email filter if you don't want it clogging up your inbox.
43:55I understand.
43:56Everyone who's in any org gets a billion emails, so I understand.
44:01But yeah, sign up for our mailing list.
44:03We've got a nice purple pen.
44:04It's pretty cool.
44:05And join us next time.
44:08Trans Rights!
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