Written by: Ty Lagace, BA, BSW Candidate
May 11th to 17th is Momentum Canada’s Rainbow Week of Action. Centered around resistance of violence and hate towards 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians, the national week of action includes rallies in 12 Canadian cities, letter-writing campaigns, and educational events.
In a press release on Momentum Canada’s website, Executive Director, Fae Johnson describes the origin of Rainbow Week of Action;
“Three Canadian Premiers have begun rolling back the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people. Anti- 2SLGBTQIA+ hate, stigmatizing rhetoric and regressive policies are resurgent. In response, Momentum is calling the biggest national 2SLGBTQIA+ action since Marriage Equality.”
The statement goes on to summarize that this week of action is to give Canadians the opportunity to strengthen community ties and call for equality, freedom, and social justice for all;
“For a long time, it looked like Canada was moving towards real equality for queer and trans people. Today, things have started sliding backward,” says Lisa Lachance, President of Momentum,“Our Rainbow Week of Action is an opportunity for people across the country to come together and say clearly with one voice that we want freedom and equality for all.”
Chroma NB has joined dozens of local and national organizations across Canada, including the Enchante Network, Fierte Canada Pride, and Imprint Youth by bringing the Rainbow Week of Action to the Saint John region.
Alex Ash, Executive Director at Chroma NB, highlights the importance of allyship in building strong communities and affecting change;
“For Rainbow Action week, I urge allies to speak up and advocate for Queer and Trans people across Turtle Island – We need you now more than ever. Let us reject tactics that aim to divide humanity and focus instead on true equity and inclusion where we can all live authentically and thrive,” says Ash.
Rainbow Week of Action could not be timelier. In a recent press release on May 2nd, Chroma NB announced that they, alongside Egale Canada, have been granted leave to intervene as added parties in the litigation challenging the Government of New Brunswick’s changes to Policy 713.
The Policy was modified back in 2023 to prevent New Brunswick educators and school personnel from using a student’s preferred pronouns without parental consent if the student is under the age of 16.
New Brunswick’s decision to uphold the changes to Policy 713 coincided with the Government of Alberta’s policies which restrict access to all gender-affirming healthcare services to folks under the age of 16, in addition to restrictions on pronoun use in schools for students under the age of 15. Further restrictions have been introduced in the education sector to include parental consultation to ‘opt-in’ or ‘opt-out’ their child from courses in which gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality are part of the subject matter. Transgender women have also been banned from participating in women’s sports leagues within Alberta.
Alberta health care providers, educators, and activists have urged the Government of Alberta to reconsider these policy restrictions. To date, no changes to these policies have been released.
Chroma will be running a series of events for all ages to show solidarity and support for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities Canada-wide. Events include a Pride Flag Raising at Saint John City Hall at 12:30pm on May 17th, a letter-writing campaign and pizza party following the flag-raising on May 17th, a Queer Solidarity Session on May 15th at Uncorked Tours, and a virtual Beyond Acceptance group for parents and guardians of 2SLGBTQIA+ youth on May 16th.
Collaboratively Chroma and Saint John Pride will be hosting a Pride Flag Raising at the Sussex Town Hall on May 17th at 2:30pm.
You can find out more about these events on Chroma NB’s socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChromaPrideInclusionEquality
Instagram: @chroma_nb
Website: https://chromanb.ca/events/