This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
The event is organized as part of the 100-day campaign ‘Racism Free Ontario’, launched by the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians in order to raise awareness of racism in Ontario.
Toronto (17 March 2011) – The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) in collaboration with the Rainbow Health Network (RHN) are sponsoring a panel discussion to explore the impacts of racism on LGBThealth.
Members of the panel are:
- Devan Nambiar is a South Asian gay man who has worked in the HIV/AIDS sector for over 16 years, working regionally and internationally. Devan specializes in allopathic and complementary and alternative health care use.
- Nik Redman is an artist, activist, and community worker who was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in both Barbados and Canada. He is a member of a number of social justice organizations in Toronto including the GBQ Trans Men’s Working Group, the Ontario Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance Committee and the Fathers 2B Parenting Course Project Team. He currently works as a Grievance Officer with University of Toronto’s Local 1998 United Steelworkers Union.
- Luka Sidaravicius is a community social justice activist and artist. Currently he is the Pride Toronto Trans March Co-cordinator
- Nancy Nicol is a professor in the Visual Arts Department at York University and an award-winning video artist and documentary filmmaker whose work is grounded in the tradition of the artist as activist, probing issues of human rights, social justice and struggles for social change
The panelists will focus particularly on the following two questions.
- How do racism, transphobia and homophobia affect racialised LGBT people when they seek healthcare and other public services?
- What initiatives would make public services safer and more inclusive?
The forum will take place Monday, March 21 from 7.00 to 8.30 pm at the OPSEU Regional Office, 31, Wellesley Street East, Toronto (wheelchair accessible, ASL interpretation will be provided)
The event is organized as part of the 100-day campaign ‘Racism Free Ontario’, launched by the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) in order to raise awareness of racism in Ontario and to stress the need to take determined action to eliminate racial discrimination.
March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE