LGBTQ

Ra, of Vancouver, was one of the MCs for the 2022 Surrey Pride Festival at Central City Plaza on June 25, 2022. (File photo: Lauren Collins)

‘Seeing it bleed across the border’: B.C. MLA looks to protect drag performers from violence

Spencer Chandra Herbert brought forward motion following several incidents across the province

Ra, of Vancouver, was one of the MCs for the 2022 Surrey Pride Festival at Central City Plaza on June 25, 2022. (File photo: Lauren Collins)
The Vancouver Police Department has released photos of two suspects believed to have been involved in assaults during a trans-rights rally in Vancouver on Friday (March 31). (Photos courtesy of VPD)

Vancouver police investigating ‘violent confrontations’ at trans-rights rally

At least 2 people believed to have been assaulted during rally and counter protest Friday

The Vancouver Police Department has released photos of two suspects believed to have been involved in assaults during a trans-rights rally in Vancouver on Friday (March 31). (Photos courtesy of VPD)
Vancouver Canucks’ Andrei Kuzmenko celebrates after scoring during third period NHL hockey action against the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in St. Louis. Coach Rick Tocchet says Canucks forward Kuzmenko won’t wear a themed warm-up jersey when Vancouver hosts its annual Pride night on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jeff Roberson

Vancouver Canucks winger Andrei Kuzmenko won’t wear Pride warm-up jersey: coach

NHLPA: Whether a player wears the themed jersey comes down to individual rights,

Vancouver Canucks’ Andrei Kuzmenko celebrates after scoring during third period NHL hockey action against the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in St. Louis. Coach Rick Tocchet says Canucks forward Kuzmenko won’t wear a themed warm-up jersey when Vancouver hosts its annual Pride night on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jeff Roberson
Zac Jones of the New York Rangers skates with a stick decorated for “Pride Night” in warm-ups prior to the game against the Washington Capitals, in New York City, Monday, May 3, 2021.NHL players refusing to participate in Pride nights around the league shows hockey still isn’t safe for a number of LGBTQ people, says one of the first male professional players to publicly come out as gay. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bruce Bennett, POOL

More work needed to make hockey safe for LGBTQ people: former pro player

NHL Pride nights to promote inclusivity have seen players refusing to take part.

Zac Jones of the New York Rangers skates with a stick decorated for “Pride Night” in warm-ups prior to the game against the Washington Capitals, in New York City, Monday, May 3, 2021.NHL players refusing to participate in Pride nights around the league shows hockey still isn’t safe for a number of LGBTQ people, says one of the first male professional players to publicly come out as gay. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Bruce Bennett, POOL
FILE - Dolly Parton, left, and Miley Cyrus perform “Jolene” at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2019. Administrators at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wis., aren’t letting a first-grade class perform “Rainbowland,” a Cyrus and Parton duet from Cyrus’ 2017 album “Younger Now,” promoting LGBTQ acceptance, because they say the song could be seen as controversial. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

American elementary school bans Miley, Dolly duet from class concert

Performance of the song Rainbowland ‘could be perceived as controversial’

FILE - Dolly Parton, left, and Miley Cyrus perform “Jolene” at the 61st annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2019. Administrators at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha, Wis., aren’t letting a first-grade class perform “Rainbowland,” a Cyrus and Parton duet from Cyrus’ 2017 album “Younger Now,” promoting LGBTQ acceptance, because they say the song could be seen as controversial. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)
Frederick Lea Hardy’s name carved into the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, April 2022 is shown in a handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sarah Worthman

Punishment of First World War soldiers for sexual orientation detailed in new study

Those caught were often issued sentences of hard labour in prison

Frederick Lea Hardy’s name carved into the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, April 2022 is shown in a handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sarah Worthman
Kenyan gays and lesbians and others supporting their cause wear masks to preserve their anonymity as they stage a rare protest against Uganda's tough stance against homosexuality and in solidarity with their counterparts there, outside the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya on Feb. 10, 2014. Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday, March 21, 2023 prescribing jail terms of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African country's LGBTQ community. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Uganda’s legislature passes harsh new anti-LGBT bill

Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill prescribing jail terms of up to 10…

Kenyan gays and lesbians and others supporting their cause wear masks to preserve their anonymity as they stage a rare protest against Uganda's tough stance against homosexuality and in solidarity with their counterparts there, outside the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya on Feb. 10, 2014. Ugandan lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday, March 21, 2023 prescribing jail terms of up to 10 years for offenses related to same-sex relations, responding to popular sentiment but piling more pressure on the East African country's LGBTQ community. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
FILE - The ice is lit in rainbow light for Pride Night before an NHL hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Los Angeles. The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s Pride Night game against Vancouver because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQ rights in the country. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

NHL’s Blackhawks won’t wear Pride jerseys, cite Russian law

Chicago coach Luke Richardson he and his players were disappointed in the decision

FILE - The ice is lit in rainbow light for Pride Night before an NHL hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, Monday, April 26, 2021, in Los Angeles. The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s Pride Night game against Vancouver because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQ rights in the country. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
Books are displayed at the Banned Book Library at American Stage in St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 18, 2023. In Florida, some schools have covered or removed books under a new law that requires an evaluation of reading materials and for districts to publish a searchable list of books where individuals can then challenge specific titles. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content

Teri Patrick bristles at the idea she wants to ban books about…

Books are displayed at the Banned Book Library at American Stage in St. Petersburg, Fla., Feb. 18, 2023. In Florida, some schools have covered or removed books under a new law that requires an evaluation of reading materials and for districts to publish a searchable list of books where individuals can then challenge specific titles. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Billboard in Westbank First Nations. (Wilbur Turner/Submitted)

Controversial anti-‘woke’ education billboard in Westbank First Nations removed

The billboard stood for 10 days before being taken down

Billboard in Westbank First Nations. (Wilbur Turner/Submitted)
(Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)

Rainbow flags, motorcycle club and unicorns attend Kelowna Drag Story Time

Protestors of the Drag Story Time event were outnumbered by supporters

(Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)
Grade 10 student Maeci Parsonage, left, and Grade 12 student Anna Hill are frustrated with Nanaimo Christian School’s stance on what is an appropriate club name for LGBTQ students. (Mandy Moraes/News Bulletin)

Nanaimo Christian School won’t allow ‘Queer-Straight Alliance’ as club name

Independent school superintendent says ‘Space for Belonging’ name is less polarizing

Grade 10 student Maeci Parsonage, left, and Grade 12 student Anna Hill are frustrated with Nanaimo Christian School’s stance on what is an appropriate club name for LGBTQ students. (Mandy Moraes/News Bulletin)
Rainbow House or by the Kwak’wala word Gukwas sa Wagalus, and is the first of its kind in the country. Photo by Ali Roddam

Vancouver Island 2SLGBTQ+ youth housing project will be the first of its kind in Canada

Gukwas sa Wagalus or Rainbow House first of its kind in Canada

  • Jan 25, 2023
Rainbow House or by the Kwak’wala word Gukwas sa Wagalus, and is the first of its kind in the country. Photo by Ali Roddam
(Okanagan Regional Library/Submitted)
(Okanagan Regional Library/Submitted)
Renee Merrifield, MLA for the Kelowna-Mission riding and gender equity critic for the BC Liberal Party, is under fire for transphobic Twitter activity. (Black Press Media file photo)

BC Liberals’ gender equity critic called out for promoting transphobic content on Twitter

Renee Merrifield liked a post about transgender bathroom bans, retweeted a post from Jordan Peterson

Renee Merrifield, MLA for the Kelowna-Mission riding and gender equity critic for the BC Liberal Party, is under fire for transphobic Twitter activity. (Black Press Media file photo)
Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. A Taliban official says that a roadside bomb went off near a government bus in northern Afghanistan, killing several people. (AP Photo)

Refugee group says Ottawa will help bring 600 LGBTQ Afghans to Canada

Immigration department would not confirm the move, citing security risks

Taliban security personnel carry a damaged bus after a roadside bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. A Taliban official says that a roadside bomb went off near a government bus in northern Afghanistan, killing several people. (AP Photo)
St. Paul's United Church will host new group aimed at helping LGBTQ2+ connect. (Courtesy of St. Paul's United Church)

Sidney church to host support group for LGBTQ+ seniors

St. Paul’s United Church aims to fill gap in providing LGBTQ+ seniors with resources and information

St. Paul's United Church will host new group aimed at helping LGBTQ2+ connect. (Courtesy of St. Paul's United Church)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks during a news conference to announce Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, in Vancouver, on Sunday, November 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Joly seeks reprimand of Russian ambassador as embassy tweets against LGBTQ community

Embassy posted images of a crossed-out rainbow flag and Orthodox icons of Adam and Eve

Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly speaks during a news conference to announce Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy, in Vancouver, on Sunday, November 27, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Host Brooke Lynn Hytes is pictured with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who made an appearance on the Friday, Nov. 25 episode of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Bell Media/Crave
Host Brooke Lynn Hytes is pictured with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who made an appearance on the Friday, Nov. 25 episode of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Bell Media/Crave
People take photos with the official FIFA World Cup Countdown Clock on Doha’s corniche, in Qatar, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Carrie Serwetnyk, the first woman inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, is in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup and says the tournament is “still trying to find its joy.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Nariman El-Mofty

LGBTQ and other rights issues at World Cup a ‘huge blemish’ on FIFA: Hall of Famer

‘I also think the Middle East deserves a World Cup’: Serwetnyk

People take photos with the official FIFA World Cup Countdown Clock on Doha’s corniche, in Qatar, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Carrie Serwetnyk, the first woman inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, is in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup and says the tournament is “still trying to find its joy.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Nariman El-Mofty