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Advocate: Protect LGBT kids' rights to save their lives

It's important to protect the rights of LGBT youth — their lives may depend on it, said an NDP MPP well known for her work in this area.
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NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo is seen here during Barrie's Pride Parade. Photo by Elizabeth Littlejohn.
It's important to protect the rights of LGBT youth — their lives may depend on it, said an NDP MPP well known for her work in this area.

Children exposed to “conversion therapy,” a practice aimed at changing the sexual orientation of youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, are predisposed to suicide, said Cheri DiNovo, the MPP for Parkdale-High Park.

Even without such damaging therapy, the statistics surrounding transgender people are dismal — 50 per cent live below the poverty line, and 50 per cent attempt suicide.

“In Ontario, even with all the work we've done and all the laws we've passed, these children are still in danger,” DiNovo said.

DiNovo, who's had several private member's bills related to LGBT issues passed over the past few years, is the guest speaker at an event today taking place as part of Fierté Sudbury Pride Week.

In 2012, six years after it was first introduced, Toby's Act was passed. It amends the Ontario Human Rights Code to add the terms gender identity and gender expression to prevent discrimination against transgender people.

The act was named for Toby Dancer, the music director at Emmanuel Howard Park United Church in Toronto, where DiNovo was the pastor. Dancer died of a drug overdose a decade ago.

This past spring, DiNovo was successful in her drive to have the province ban conversion therapy for LGBT youth under the age of 18, and to delist the service from OHIP.

She said Sudbury's transgender rights group, TG Innerselves, was one of the groups that brought the issue to her attention.

“Conversion therapy doesn't convert anybody,” said DiNovo. “It just predisposes children to suicide. (The bill's passage is) a huge victory for parents who love their children, and for children who are not straight and find themselves navigating a very dangerous world.”

This past winter, after the province passed its new sex ed curriculum, there were large protests against the bill by parents.

DiNovo said she thinks these protests were motivated by homophobia, because the curriculum teaches that it's OK to be gay. She said she approached some of the protesters with a simple question.

“All of those parents that showed up didn't have a lot to say when they were asked 'Well, what if your child is gay or lesbian or trans?'” she said. “This truly is the issue. These are our children, and it is our job to protect them.”

So what's next for DiNovo? She said she's currently working on a bill to protect the parental rights of LGBT couples where one or more partner may not be their child's biological parent.

“We're looking at the whole protection of the family,” she said.

DiNovo said she's honoured to have been invited to speak at Fierté Sudbury Pride Week.

“I think it's really exciting to go to communities where there's not a million people turning up, but where it really is still grassroots in part, and it really is a sign of bravery for many who show their faces,” she said.

“That gives me strength too, and gives us strength in our work.”

DiNovo speaks today at 1 p.m. at the Steelworkers Hall. Learn more about the festival at the Fierté Sudbury Pride website, or visit the Pride page on Facebook.

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Heidi Ulrichsen

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