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Sudbury poised to show its pride

One of the major events at this year's Sudbury Pride is the Transgender Rights Policy Launch with Ontario Human Rights Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall, which takes place at the Steelworkers Hall starting at 1 p.m. July 15.
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Members of the city's LGBT community are seen here at the 2013 pride parade. This year's pride parade takes place in the downtown core starting at 6 p.m. July 19. File photo.
One of the major events at this year's Sudbury Pride is the Transgender Rights Policy Launch with Ontario Human Rights Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall, which takes place at the Steelworkers Hall starting at 1 p.m. July 15.

Transgendered people's rights — including gender identity and expression — were recently enshrined in the Ontario Human Rights Code.

“They'll be actually legitimately protected on an Ontario level,” Burden said. “It's something they're really, really excited about.”

For the first time this year, Sudbury Pride will hold an awards gala to celebrate businesses, organizations and community leaders that have been trailblazers in the city's LGBT community.

The event takes place starting at 7 p.m. July 14 at the Howard Johnson Hotel. The keynote speaker is Susan Gapka of the World Pride board of directors.

“There are a lot of people who do a whole lot of work for the community, and they rarely get acknowledged for it,” Burden said.

The second annual Sudbury Pride community conference — a day of information about LGBT issues — takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 17 at the Howard Johnson Hotel.

Also on July 17, transgender activist, internationally renowned author and spoken word artist Ivan Coyote will perform starting at 7 p.m. at the Howard Johnson Hotel.

“If you want to learn about transgender people, and about gender itself, and the political impacts, this is a must-see,” Burden said. “That's another one I can't believe we managed to pull in.”

Sudbury Pride will hold a family celebration in Memorial Park from 11-6 p.m. July 19, with events including performers, vendors, artisans, games and food.

Everyone is then invited to take part in the annual pride parade through the downtown core, starting at 6 p.m. July 19.

The festival also includes many smaller events throughout the week — everything from a roller derby match to a movie night to a worship service.

Burden emphasizes Sudbury Pride isn't just for the LGBT community.

“Everyone sees pride, and the straight-identified allies are saying 'Oh, I won't be welcome,'” she said.

“That's definitely not the case. Every single one of our events, allies are encouraged to attend. We need support. If we didn't have allies, we wouldn't have enough numbers to make political changes.”

For a full list of Sudbury Pride events, visit www.sudburypride.com.

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Heidi Ulrichsen

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