Status of Women committee  When it was launched, it was billed as being evergreen. It was promised to the queer and trans communities as a vehicle to deliver complete equality. It did not have much on economic development. It did not have much on the role of Canada on the international stage. These anti-gender movements are not just a local issue; they're often funded by America, but they're pushing out around the world.

Status of Women committee  In rural communities in particular, it's a whole different conversation, and in smaller towns the rights and freedoms and the space for yourself are much more constrained. I think that is why we need more public education. We need more initiatives to help folks talk about gender and sexuality.

Status of Women committee  In May 2023, we at the Society of Queer Momentum, a non-profit that I work with part time as well because I don't have enough things on my plate, we launched a call to action that urged the federal government to act for queer safety. We identified recommendations that this government could take to support queer and trans communities in the face of this surge in hateful rhetoric and policies targeting us.

Status of Women committee  In Canada right now, we have what I would describe as partial decriminalization. There's a little bit of wiggle room, but almost every aspect around sex work continues to be criminalized. What that means is that folks are not able to screen their johns, their clients. If you have somebody who's....

Status of Women committee  I think, first and foremost, that there's a rising push all around the world to repoliticize the rights of queer and trans people. That's what exists. It's on the superstructure here, and they use great rhetoric to do it. It's brilliant communication: It's the language of parental rights, and no one opposes parental rights.

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much for the question. Last year I was included in a Hershey Canada campaign for International Women's Day. I had the honour of having my face on a chocolate bar that you can still find in your local convenience store. In response, Canada's dear friend Tucker Carlson did a segment on me on Fox News, and it ran across the Fox News syndicate.

Status of Women committee  I think we need to see an intergovernmental approach in part to help address this. I'd like to give a shout-out to Minister Ien and the incredible work of Women and Gender Equality Canada in particular in supporting queer and trans communities through the action plan, but I worry that within government, lot of these innovations are siloed.

Status of Women committee  Thank you for the question. I will answer in English. I understood your question, but I don’t have all the right words to give you an answer in French. You know, when I look to the federal government's 2SLGBTQ action plan, I see that it doesn't have significant carve-outs when it comes to supporting queer and trans business owners or entrepreneurs.

Status of Women committee  Maybe I should put this into translation. I'm trying to work on my French. I think the question was, why are people still stepping into this space, or...?

Status of Women committee  Thank you for the question. I'm from a military family and I'm from a middle-class family, so I am coming to this from a lot of privilege. That sets me apart from many in my community. When I think about my community, I think about folks who are homeless, who are street-involved or who didn't have access to a post-secondary, graduate-level education.

Status of Women committee  Thank you. It's an honour and a pleasure to be here today. As was mentioned, my name is Fae Johnstone. I'm a 28-year-old trans woman, and I live here in Ottawa on unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin Anishinabe territory. In my day job, I'm the executive director of Wisdom2Action.