The Harper government's 'commitment' to gay rights

I have a new analysis piece on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which responds to the articles and op-eds that have shown up in recent days about the Harper government's commitment to gay rights, and the dichotomy between his promoting rights abroad while tinkering with same-sex divorce at home, and the left-right debate on whether or not there is a homophobic hidden agenda. I tried to play it as down-the-middle as possible, and to be fair to both sides, dismissing the talk of hidden agendas while at the same time taking a harder look at the real record rather than the appearances that have been put forward. It's generated some debate so far, so I'm hoping it will continue to stir some more in the days to come.

Government changes will hurt gay refugees

I have a new story on the main page of Xtra.ca, which looks at proposed regulatory changes to refugee policies that could have an impact on queer refugee claimants. This came up when I was writing about the government's pledge to increase the number of government-sponsored refugees they're accepting next year, so I was eager to take a look. Add to that, it was nice to get a chance to catch up with some of the groups I've dealt with before on this file.

Choosing a Liberal Party president

I have a piece on the national page of Xtra.ca today, in which I ask the five candidates for Liberal Party president how each of them thinks the party should be reaching out to the queer community. Some of the answers were surprising, some of them spawned off another discussion entirely in addition to what was said, and in all, we'll see who it is that wins the leadership at the convention this weekend.

Starting a Liberal gay caucus

I have a story today on the national page of Xtra.ca, in which I talk to the person behind the new Liberal "queer caucus" that is starting up in Toronto. This is one of two pieces that I've done in advance of the party's convention January 13 to 15, and the next piece will build off of this one in a way that wasn't expected when I started these pieces.

MP champions human rights in Colombia

I have a new story up on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which talks about Liberal MP Scott Brison and his involvement in the human rights treaty that became part of Canada's free trade agreement with Colombia, and his continuing engagement with that country. I had originally written this story for Outlooks back in the summer, but with the ownership change and the rebranding of that magazine, it never made it off the editor's desk. When it was released back to me, it made its way over to Xtra.ca, where it was published today.

Decriminalizing homosexuality

I have a new story up on the main page of Xtra.ca, which looks at the failure of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to come to an agreement about the issue of decriminalising homosexuality among member nations, and broadens out to a look at the efficacy of using foreign aid as a possible means for achieving these goals. I really enjoy being able to do these longer, more analytical pieces, and I think I managed to find a pretty good group of experts to talk to on the issues presented here, which always makes these kinds of stories even more enjoyable.

Canada and the Commonwealth

I have a new story up on the national page of Xtra.ca today, which is my interview with Senator Hugh Segal about his role in drafting the Commonwealth Eminent Person's Report. With the other Commonwealth stories I've been working on (another is due up on the site shortly), it was nice to get a chance to talk to Segal about his role and to get a better glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes of the report drafting process. Shortly after writing the story, it was announced that Segal would be leading Canada's effort for Commonwealth renewal, which I think will suit him well.