Celebrating Pride and Standing Together to Push Back Against Oppression
As we celebrate Pride Month 2025, it’s with a sense of sorrow, grief and anger in our hearts at the attacks on people based on who they are, where they’re from, who they love, the colour of their skin. In Canada and around the world, we see long sought after and fought for change, change that affords dignity, human rights and safety from violence for 2SLGBTQ+ and other marginalized people, being threatened. We see the ravages of hate and ignorance of fear taking a toll on people’s lives, their mental health, and the strength of communities. We see corporate and political allies falling by the wayside, at the slightest hint of conflict. In Canada, we see creeping policy changes threatening Trans people’s rights, and the rights of immigrants, asylum seekers, racialized people, people experiencing homelessness, people who use drugs, incarcerated people. Attacks on anyone’s human rights are attacks on everyone’s human rights.
We see a huge need to step up and defend the change that generations of 2SLGBTQ+ activists and their allies have fought for so hard. We must commit to celebrate and strengthen the resilience and the networks that achieved change for 2SLGBTQ+ people and continue to resist hate and oppression. We know thousands of lives are at stake.
It’s worth repeating: PRIDE IS A PROTEST. That’s how it began: rooted in Black trans activism, resistance and rebellion inside and outside the United States. In Canada, Pride was rooted in protests and resistance to systemic violence and oppression. Now, more than ever, we must echo the unyielding and unrelenting spirit of early Prides. We must shout it out again, alongside the evidence, alongside true allies, and alongside the actions we need to take NOW to defend and advance human rights for all people. We must find new and creative ways to resist, to strengthen existing programs, to build networks, to challenge violence and threats through all available channels, including the courts, as the Canadian Medical Association is doing in Alberta. We must defend 2SLGBTQ+ rights on all fronts.
That includes ensuring that gender-affirming care is available across ALL of primary care in Ontario.
All of this is a matter of utmost important to 2SLGBTQ+ health. Safety and respect for 2SLGBTQ+ lives is a prerequisite to health and wellbeing. Human rights, and governments that commit to upholding those rights, without question or exception, are prerequisites to health and wellbeing. These are the foundations of 2SLGBTQ+ human rights and health: governments, systems and people in our society who uphold the strongest legal protections, fund safe health and social services, and show support widely and openly for 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Demonstrating understanding of and celebrating inclusion, diversity in people and identities, and intersectionality are not nice to haves for a healthy and open society – they underpin equitable health outcomes for everyone in Ontario.
What can we do right now? We can encourage our friends, neighbours and especially our health and social care colleagues to ensure they’re trained up, by looking at and engaging with the courses offered by Rainbow Health Ontario, including foundations courses on caring for 2SLGBTQ+ people, care for older Trans adults, 2SLGBTQ+ mental health and trauma care, and more.
We can also write to every single one of our MPPs, no matter their party, and let them know firmly that we support 2SLGBTQ+ people, their health and wellbeing, including Trans health and Trans human rights. Wondering how? Here’s how. While we’re at it, writing to representatives at the federal level makes a lot of sense, too. Let them know what you expect from them as leaders, as parties, and what you’ll be expecting from them, if they’re in power or not. Here’s how to find your MP.
And we can protest. This month, and in the months ahead. We can stand up and say, “That’s NOT OK, and we’re going to push back.”
So as we fly flags, march in parades, sing, dance and celebrate the diversity of human love and experience this Pride Month, let’s remain rooted in the principles of equity, belonging and anti-oppression, and ready to declare our commitment to 2SLGBTQ+ lives, in words and actions, every month of the year.
