Get involved: join a political party - Online

I have an editorial up on Xtra.ca today, which talks about how getting involved in a political party at a grassroots level is one of the ways in which we can help get people engaged in the political process once again. The more I've been involved in covering the political beat, and the more I study about politics as a result, the more I'm convinced that it's not our system of democracy that's actually broken, the way most of the chattering classes insist, but rather, we've simply forgotten how the system works. Party membership is one of those ways in which we've forgotten. In fact, during the last election, during the one "all-candidates debate" that I attended (where one of the candidates declined to attend), Liberal candidate Penny Collenette suggested to one of the more vocal members of the community that she join a party - not necessarily Collenette's - but any party in order to see that her issue was being addressed.  And that sparked part of my idea for this column.

This editorial ties in nicely with my new political blog, and is in fact designed to be that, from the header picture, to the "Hill Queeries" subtitle, to the nice big graphic advert for the blog in the middle of the piece. I'm hoping it's a message that my readers will take to heart.

California marriage ban spurs Ottawa DJ

My third piece in the current edition of Capital Xtra was a last-minute one, in which I covered the Proposition 8 protest that was held in Ottawa last Saturday. It was raining, but not too cold, while I covered the two dozen that gathered at the Human Rights monument and marched to the American Embassy on Sussex Drive.

For me, the more interesting aspect of the article which needs to be explored further is the way in which the internet has been playing a large part in the way that these protests have been organised in the United States, to fairly dramatic effect.

I've also included a couple of photos I took at the protest as they arrived at the Embassy. By that point, the official photographer that Capital Xtra assigned had left, so I snapped a couple in case they wanted them for the website. I've posted them here for you.

(That's organiser Charles Cooper to the left)

Is Canada's top court addicted to compromise? + What kind of Justice will Thomas Cromwell be?

I have three pieces in this edition of Capital Xtra, and these two constitute a major opus that I have been working on for the past couple of months. The first and largest piece is a feature-length look at the way in which the Supreme Court has been changing under the leadership of Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin, as opposed to how it was under Antonio Lamer. The piece took a great deal of research and there was a couple of hours' worth of interviews and at the same time, I feel as though I've barely scratched the surface of the topic. It's something I would certainly like to revisit in the future.

The second piece, which was a sidebar to this feature, looks at Justice Thomas Cromwell, who the Prime Minister nominated to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court of Canada. I interviewed one of his former colleagues at Dalhousie University, and got an insight into who he is.

Hill Queeries - Launching Today Online

As of today, my new Parliament Hill blog launches over at Xtra.ca.  Titled Hill Queeries, it's a GLBT-centred look at the goings-on of Parliament Hill, from legislation that is relevant to the GLBT community, to paying special attention to the seven out gay and lesbian parliamentarians and what they're up to.  The plan as it stands is to update said blog several times a week, depending on how busy the Hill is.

I'm going to attempt to put up a link on the right-hand toolbar on this page so that you'll be able to find it and keep an eye on my reporting there, while I continue to update this blog with my current projects, which have been picking up of late.  Suffice to say, I'm going to be up on the Hill a lot more in the coming weeks, which I am really looking forward to.

Marcil assault hearing - Online

My write-up of yesterday's preliminary hearing into the matter of Andrew Lefebvre is now posted on the xtra.ca site, as an update to the previous piece (meaning both are on the same page).

It's interesting and frustrating writing a piece like this under a publication ban because there was a  lot said that is very interesting. However, since they have asked for a jury trial, they don't wish to prejudice any potential jurors with the evidence presented. This will be interesting to write about once the actual trial is over with, but that's all I can say until then.

Updated: Marcil assault trial set to begin - Online

Tomorrow and Friday I'll be covering an assault trial here in Ottawa, related to the GLBT community.  Posted today was my backgrounder on the trial, and I'll be updating at the end of the day both tomorrow and Friday.

I've never covered a trial before, so this will be a new experience for me.  Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to it, and expect updates posted as they happen.

Update: It turns out this is just a preliminary hearing, and not the actual trial.  This also means the evidence is under a publication ban. I'll still file briefs, but under the restrictions of the ban.

OUTtv's Banner Year + Equal Rights in a Donor Drought

I have two stories in this month's Outlooks Magazine.  The first is an interview with OUTtv's Chief Operating Officer, Brad Danks, and about how the channel has performed in the past two years since it changed ownership.

The second piece is a look at the current state of EGALE Canada (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere), and how the end of the same-sex marriage debate has meant that their fundraising has virtually dried up.  In this piece, the comments from Senator Nancy Ruth arose after our discussion in last month's issue when we were talking about the kinds of issues facing the GLBT community in Canada today. Some of these issues I am continuing to follow up on in a piece I am currently working on for Capital Xtra, so stay tuned for that.

You can read both articles in Outlooks in print or in the online edition, which you can download in .pdf format here.  (The interview with Brad Danks is on page 8, while the EGALE article is on page 12).