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Call for transgender rights

November 18th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Call for transgender rights)

Vancouver throws its support behind a federal bill that would protect transgendered Canadians

Vancouver city councillor Ellen Woodsworth introduced a motion at the Tuesday November 16th Vancouver city council meeting, asking that the City of Vancouver support Bill C-389 [opens to PDF], a private members bill making its way through the Canadian parliament. The motion passed unanimously.

Bill C-389 proposes amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code to include protections for gender identity and gender expression. It was originally introduced by Bill Siksay, the NDP member of parliament for Burnaby-Douglas, and on November 3rd, 2010 the Bill was returned without amendment by the House Committee on Justice and Human Rights for report and third reading in Parliament. (more…)

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It takes a province

November 18th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on It takes a province)

Why calls for British Columbia to take action to help its own kids are growing stronger

BC has had the worst child poverty record of any province for seven consecutive years from 2002 through 2008—and advocates have been pushing the BC government to enact legislation with targets and timelines for reducing child poverty. Those calls were recently amplified by an extensive 12-part series called “Our Growing Challenge” in The Province newspaper, which ended with a focus on six ideas that could make a difference. And next Wednesday November 24th, First Call B.C. Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition will release its 2010 Child Poverty Report Card. (more…)

A dream come true

November 18th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on A dream come true)

Donna Lynch visited 50 countries in 50 weeks, asking 50-something women about their lives

Victoria author Donna Lynch has just written an account of her recent extensive travels in 50ish: A Journey to 50 Countries in 50 Weeks Interviewing Women in Their Fifties. The journey—and the resulting book—helped Donna with the grief of losing her mother to cancer. 50ish is the story of Donna’s journey and interviews with the women she met. She found women in 39 of the countries who were willing to answer questions about marriage, religion, education, menopause, and more. Donna wanted to know: Are 50ish women around the world happy? (more…)

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Canadian traveller takes long road

November 11th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Canadian traveller takes long road)

Reconnecting with Simon Walls—now in Montreal—about his walk across Canada

Singer-songwriter Simon Walls’ travels began shortly after the loss of a friend to suicide. He spent seven months in the Katimavik program and then walked across Spain, accompanied by the book “The Pilgrimage”, by Paulo Coelho. In April 2010 he left Victoria on what will be a cross-Canada walk—to share his music and experiences. He stopped by Nanaimo on April 22nd, and joined the People First Radio broadcast. Simon also spoke with us from Saskatchewan on Canada Day. He has been written up in Canadian Geographic and in an article called Breaking down Simon’s walls in Toronto-based Sticky Magazine. (more…)

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Fear and othering

November 4th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Fear and othering)

Is a ‘tea party’ brewing against Nanaimo’s progressive homelessness solution?

A group of residents living in the Townsite Road area of Nanaimo are reportedly still fuming about plans to build units of housing to house homeless people in their neighbourhood. The hospital-area facility is one of five that will be built in Nanaimo [opens to PDF] after funding was received from the provincial government.

The Hospital Area Neighbourhood Association (HANA) hosted an information meeting October 21st and then appeared at a city council meeting on Monday October 25th to present a petition against the low-barrier facility planned for the area. (more…)

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Anne Frank’s tree grows in Montreal

October 14th, 2010 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Anne Frank’s tree grows in Montreal)

A sapling from Amsterdam embodies symbol of nature, continuity, hope in times of hate

While Anne Frank, her family, and others hid from Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam, the view of a giant chestnut tree near the building gave her not only an experience of hope but also a connection to a world beyond their hiding place. “Our chestnut tree is in full blossom. It is covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year,” she wrote in May 1944, not long before the group was arrested and eventually deported to concentration camps. (more…)