Local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) activists will be speaking at a rally being held by the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project (NSRAP) and partner organizations in recognition of International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHT).
The rally will take place on Wednesday, May 14 at 6:00pm in Victoria Park on Spring Garden Road, Halifax.
Speakers at this year’s rally will highlight issues of local and national importance.
Scott Jones will address the rally on behalf of the Don’t Be Afraid Campaign, an anti-homophobia organization that started up last October while Jones was in hospital after the stabbing that left him paralyzed.
Pedram Niakan and Keith MacMillan will speak about LGBTQ refugees. Niakan is a newcomer to Canada sponsored by the Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia, a community group focused on LGBTQ asylum seekers and international rights. MacMillan works at the Halifax Refugee Clinic.
Activists Kate Shewan and Jessica Durling will speak about transgender rights. NSRAP vice-chair Shewan will address the NS government’s recent introduction of MSI coverage for gender confirming surgeries. Durling is petitioning the provincial government to amend the regulations around changing sex designation on identification.
The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project is a not-for-profit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community in Nova Scotia. NSRAP advocates for full equality and acceptance for the LGBTQ community and is active throughout the province.
In 2005, Montreal-based Fondation Émergence established the annual campaign dedicated to the fight against homophobia that has become the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. Events will take place in over 120 countries on and around May 17 — the date the World Health Organization declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1990.
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