Year: 2023

TW: transphobia, violence

March 1st marks the beginning of Women’s History Month, a time to remember all the women who fought for their rights in the past, as well as those who continue to fight against the systems of oppression put in place. The world has become an increasingly dangerous place for trans women and with all of the new laws and regulations put on women’s bodies, the rights and safety of women around the world is still an incredibly important issue which isn’t getting enough attention. 

On February 11th, 2023, Brianna Ghey was murdered at only 16-years-old after facing extreme bullying by peers for being transgender. Unfortunately, her case is not rare as trans women and girls continue to be the targets of assault and harassment. Two 15-year-olds were charged for her murder, however, the tragedy has yet to be declared a hate crime. Given the circumstances, it is clear that Brianna was murdered simply because she was a trans woman.

While Brianna may have lived in the UK, Canada is not free from transphobia as many anti-trans views have started to become increasingly popular over the years. While the population has never been completely accepting of trans identities, it seems as though we are starting to regress on the progress that has been made. Trans suicide is at an all-time high as their existance becomes a battle they must constantly fight. Anna Murphy, a Canadian trans woman, states, “we’re exhausted from constantly having to debate our existence. We’re exhausted by constantly trying to self-advocate in the face of ignorance.” 

The fight for allowing gender-affirming care for youths is forever ongoing with seemingly no end in sight as misinformation causes many to believe it is dangerous or ‘mutilation’ to someone’s body, rather than seeing it as genuine health care as any other procedure would be. In 2021, over 100 anti-trans legislations were proposed in the United States, many targeting minors. Among these include removing gender identity as a protected class, banning the education of LGBTQ+ topics in schools, and banning gender-affirming care to youths, even after it has been proven on multiple occasions to help prevent suicidal ideation. In 2022, almost 300 anti-trans bills were proposed, and so far in 2023, 124 bills have been proposed in the U.S. against the LGBTQ+ community, many of which target the transgender population. It is clear the United States has nothing but hatred towards its trans youth as it is becoming increasingly dangerous to live there as a trans person. 

Many transphobes will hide under the label of being a feminist, claiming to care about all women, while really only caring about cis women. These Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists are not really feminists, as it is impossible to be considered a feminist while only caring about some women, rather than all women. Many TERFs have very public platforms, such as J.K. Rowling, and use their influence to push this narrative and promote these harmful ideals, all under the name of feminism. Many TERFs will harbor the idea that trans women are dangerous, and will often exclude them from women-only spaces, even though they are women themselves who deserve to be a part of these communities. 

My heart goes out to Brianna and everyone impacted by her death, as well as to all trans women who should be celebrated this month. It is important to remember the work that trans women of colour have done for the rights and protection of the LGBTQ+ community. Trans women are women, trans men are men, non-binary people are valid, and TERFs can never be considered real feminists.

Around 3% of the general Canadian population will deal with seasonal affective disorder, also known as seasonal depression. Another 20% will deal with some form of mental illness in their lifetime, however, everyone deals with mental health in one way or another. Needless to say, the winter months can be a tough time for Canadians. As a result, all can benefit from counseling and talking to someone no matter how minor an issue may seem.

Even though everyone struggles with their mental health from time to time, many don’t have access to the aid and resources that they need, which may cause many issues to become much more serious than they would otherwise have been. While the monopoly on healthcare and the increasing price of therapy and medication is a topic for another day, a new pilot program which started February 22, 2023 called “Access Wellness” aims to provide Nova Scotians with one-time free access to counseling services. This session can be used for any concern, ranging from drug abuse to general issues and advice. 

Access Wellness is a part of a larger organization to aid in making mental health services more available for all, working alongside the provincial Peer Support Phone Service and other online mental health services. 

Access Wellness is available to all Nova Scotians above the age of 18, regardless of if they have private healthcare insurance or not. Sessions are available online, over the phone, or in person in Sydney, Halifax, Kentville, and New Glascow. They’re available for private, couples, or family counseling. The sessions can be held during the day, evening, or on weekends, however, specific times may vary by location. While not meant to replace ongoing therapy, these sessions can be incredibly beneficial to all who may need it. To quote Dana Pulsiver, the senior director for the Mental Health and Addictions Program, “This new service will give people a way to get the right care when they need it.”

For more information and to book a session, visit the Access Wellness website here or call 1-833-691-2282. While it is not a perfect solution to the lack of available mental health resources in Nova Scotia, it is a step in the right direction and a very helpful tool for those who may need it, so don’t hesitate to reach out.

You’re never alone in your struggles and there will always be people to help you with whatever you’re dealing with. Take advantage of this program and whatever resources are available to you. 

In the most recent elections, the number of women nominated by parties has increased. After the 2021 election, women now hold 30 percent of seats in our House of Commons. In the world rankings of gender parity, we sit at the 52nd position (DASKO 2021). In the eyes of many, this would be considered a win, but these results are still inadequate. These numbers are a clear indication that our journey to gender parity is far from over. Without gender parity in the Canadian government, those who represent our country will not be representative of our population, demonstrating inequity and potential bias.

​Many factors contribute to the low amount of female representation in Canadian politics. One of the key contributors is the nomination of women. Women are more likely to be nominated in a riding that is harder to win (Vecchio 2019).

A stronghold is defined as a riding which has been represented by the same party for two consecutive years and won the election by a ten percent vote margin (Vecchio 2019). In the 2019 election, only 23 percent of candidates running in strongholds were women. There were only 14 women placed in strongholds in total, while there were 48 men as candidates in their party’s strongholds (Ouellet and News 2019). During this election period, it was found that men were three times more likely to hold a party’s stronghold and were elected more often (Ouellet and Nael 2019). It was also found that both men and women who are elected in party strongholds have around the same chances of being elected (Thomas 2019). It is not the voters who are reluctant to vote for women, it is the parties who put women in more challenging positions to win. We must have an equal number of women in power compared to men because as leaders women prioritize different topics and can offer contemporary points of view on certain issues.

​There are many ways in which the issue of women’s underrepresentation in Canadian politics can be ameliorated. When trying to identify where the root of the issue stems from, the numbers confirm that it is not voters, but the political parties that are reluctant to increase female representation. To reduce the gap, political parties could nominate an equal number of both male and female candidates. This would disrupt the previous structure and make it challenging for political parties to have a disproportionate number of women in ridings they will not win. It would also help if the government were to adopt a definition of “stronghold riding” and report the results post-election by gender/sex. Political parties are the ones who need to commit. Studies have shown that women are more likely to run when their local party leadership has a woman in power (Thomas 2019). It has also been shown that women take longer to decide whether they want to run or not and often need more convincing (Thomas 2019). This finding suggests that parties should recruit women on an ongoing basis rather than directly before an election.

Gender quotas and party incentives are other proven methods of increasing women’s representation in Canada. Sweden, New Zealand, Mexico and Rwanda are all countries that have adopted a gender quota and are ranked within the top ten countries globally for women’s representation in their Parliament systems (Vecchio 2019). Financial incentives are another way to entice political parties to increase female representation (Vecchio 2019). Parties, or even women elected to office, could receive a subsidy. New Brunswick attempted to do this provincially, where a party would receive a subsidy based on the most votes, but any votes that were for a female candidate weighed 1.5 greater than those of males (Poitras 2017). This would encourage parties not only to nominate more women candidates but to also put them in ridings they are more likely to win.

​ Many of these ideas to increase women’s representation in Canadian politics have been scrutinized. People have expressed that a quota forces women to be nominated for their gender and not because of their political ability. Others may argue that if there is a gender quota there should also be quotas for other underrepresented groups as diversity expands further than just gender. Thirdly, it has been stated that quotas go against the true meaning of democracy and voters should elect who they want to be representing them (Vecchio 2019). Some believe that the gender gap stems from ambition differences between men and women. (CBC News 2015).

​The current research draws the conclusion that change needs to occur in Canada’s Parliament, specifically the nomination process. It is time to emphasize the issue of gender parity in our politics. Women deserve to be treated fairly and given equal chances to win. Political parties must adopt some of the suggested methods to increase women’s representation amongst themselves and create a proportional representation system.

The issue of homelessness is one that is far too common, and too often misunderstood. I’ve heard time and time again that homeless people are “just lazy” or that they choose to live like this. It’s the idea that a homeless person would rather live on the streets, be subject to mistreatment from police, the disrespect from citizens, and even the very architecture which is inherently hostile towards their very existence, than to simply “put in the work and get a job.” I’m sure I’m not the only one who was told growing up that you shouldn’t give money to those on the streets because they will “spend it on drugs” or otherwise misuse it. This mindset is suggesting that their homelessness is not because of the disadvantages they face or the way this country’s capitalistic system is orchestrated, but rather because of their misuse of money, hence why we are told it is wrong to donate and help where you can and why homelessness is always at the fault of the one suffering. 

As a child, I lacked the awareness to think critically about the ideas and opinions I was told to believe, however, it is now very clear how incorrect statements like the ones above are and how harmful they are towards the homeless population. In order to be able to deconstruct these narratives and generalizations and tackle this ignorance and disrespect as a whole, we must first look at individual statements and ideas. 

First, I will discuss the idea that homeless people are lazy and don’t want to put in the work to get out of poverty. Aside from this narrative being incredibly rude and disrespectful towards anyone currently homeless or living in poverty, it is also just simply incorrect. The term “lazy” is so often misused or used to mask blatant disrespect towards a person or certain group of people. For example, those suffering from depression are often labeled as “lazy” in order to downplay and belittle their illness and add another layer of shame on top of everything they are already struggling with. They’re not depressed, some will say, they’re just lazy.

Now to put this false concept of what it is to be “lazy” in the context of the homeless population. It is similarly being used here to dismiss and belittle the struggles of others. To be lazy implies a choice. Laziness has an easy fix: simply doing something instead of nothing. Homelessness, however, does not have this easy fix. Someone doesn’t choose to be homeless just as someone doesn’t choose to be depressed, and therefore they aren’t just ignorant to the solution or not bothered to do anything regarding their current situation. 

The idea that homeless people are lazy is often followed with the line “if they don’t want to live on the streets, they should just get a job.” This rhetoric is more harmful than the idea that a homeless person is lazy, as not only can they not be bothered to do something about their situation, but the solution is easy and effortless. Those who believe that this is true expose an inherent privilege and bias in believing that a job is all it takes to get off the streets, not even taking a second to consider that getting a well-paying job as a homeless person is far more difficult than a housed person. It is almost impossible to get a job without a home address, not to mention one that is sustainable enough to cover the cost of living. 

The cost of living has been consistently rising over the past few years, but minimum wage has all but stayed the same. Currently, minimum wage in Nova Scotia is $13.60 an hour, while a minimum livable wage is closer to $24 an hour. Therefore, even if someone were able to secure a job without a home address, which is again unlikely, they wouldn’t be making near enough to sustain themselves, let alone get out of homelessness. If the solution to homelessness really was as simple as people say it is, it wouldn’t be nearly as big of a problem as it is now. 

Another very disrespectful idea is the idea that you should never give a homeless person money, under the impression that they will irresponsibly spend it on drugs. It’s not like those who spread this message don’t themselves use their money to buy drugs. The only difference is that one is legal and without stigma, and the other isn’t. Other than being incredibly hypocritical, the idea that you are automatically better at managing your money than someone else simply because they’re on the streets and you aren’t is so rude and disrespectful. Just because you have the money to be housed doesn’t make you automatically more responsible, or having the moral superiority to decide what is the right or wrong way to spend your money. 

Instead of worrying about homeless people spending their money on drugs, it is far more productive to instead focus this energy towards harm reduction. Halifax specifically has a large problem with laced street drugs. Buying drugs is much more dangerous now than it ever has been. We shouldn’t be shaming homeless people for being addicts but should instead make sure that the drugs they are consuming are safe. You can learn more about harm reduction here. The more awareness that is spread, the safer street drugs and users will be, and it will help shake the stigma around it. 

Homelessness is never at the fault of the homeless. Rather, it is often due to a lack of affordable housing, mental illness, and a lack of available resources. Before you judge the person suffering, take the time to consider their situation and the reason they’re on the streets in the first place. Treat everyone with basic respect, regardless of income or socioeconomic status. Donate where you can, but there’s no shame in not being able to afford to donate. At the end of the day, everyone needs to learn to just be kinder to each other. We’re all human, and you aren’t any better or superior to someone with lower income and less available resources.