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Celebrating Pride This Summer
Summer brings
festivals across the country celebrating the lives of
lesbians, gay men, and bi-sexual and trans (LGBT) people.
For the first time, the Canadian Media Guild, a union
representing over 6,000 media workers across Canada, had a
presence at the country's biggest Pride event, Toronto's Gay
Pride Week, which ran from June 15 to 24. The theme for the
week was "Unstoppable."
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Canadian Media Guild
tent at Toronto's Gay Pride Week |
The CMG was on hand
during the signature Gay Pride Parade, which typically
brings over a million people into the downtown core. The
union had a table at the Community Fair, which took place on
the parade route, to hand out T-shirts, prizes and
information.
This was a chance for LGBT members of the Guild –
Torontonians and members from other cities visiting for the
event – to celebrate together and make connections with each
other outside of work," says Nathalie Bourque, an intern
with the Guild who organized the union's involvement in
Toronto Pride Week. "And making those connections should
make us feel stronger when we're back at work."
Pride began in 1969 with a march in New York City to protest
discrimination against LGBT people, known as Stonewall. As
the event spread to cities around the world, it has also
evolved into massive street parties that attract thousands
of supporters and onlookers.
"Even as we're celebrating, we need to remember that there
is still work to do to stop discrimination – in our
workplaces and our communities – and to guarantee equal
rights for LGBT people," Nathalie says.
Nathalie, who is in the Guild's national office full time
until the first week of September, is working to create a
national Queer Network for Guild members, so that they can
keep in touch and support each other throughout the year.
For more information on the Queer Network or to get help in
organizing a Guild presence at the Pride event in your
community, get in touch with Nathalie (
nathalie.cmg@gmail.com
) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.
Canadian Media Guild PDF flyer
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