Be open for democracy's sake

I have a new editorial up on the Xtra.ca national page today which picks up on the whole issue around the outing of cabinet minister John Baird on CBC radio a couple of weeks ago. Having done a number of interviews with Senator Nancy Ruth over the past couple of years, and really getting to know the political machinery in Ottawa better, I felt it was a good opportunity to have more of a dialogue with the readership about partisan politics versus queer community politics. I'm hoping it'll generate discussion (and I'm sure I'll be accused of being a Conservative/Tory shill now as well as a Liberal shill), but there are marginalised political voices in the queer media, and maybe this will be a reminder that it is a broader canvas than some people think of it as.

Is this fiscal austerity?

Just a quick note to say that an edited version of my story on the unspoken costs of the Conservatives' tough-on-crime bills is in the current print edition of Capital Xtra under a new title, which has a link to the full piece on the website at the bottom. It's nice to see it get a print appearance a few weeks later.

Thoughts From the Hill - February Edition + Why Parliament Matters

The February issue of Outlooks is finally online and on the streets, and I have two pieces in it this month. The first is the monthly Thoughts From the Hill panel, and this month the question is on GLBT seniors' issues. This was supposed to have been part of a larger theme of seniors issues for the February issue, but the cross-promotion aspect fell though, and other pieces didn't come together in time, and well, things happen. But it was still a relevant panel question.

My second piece, Why Parliament Matters, is a rare editorial for me in Outlooks, and it was a pretty last-minute assignment, made timely by the current prorogation situation in Parliament. I returned to one of my overarching themes in my writing of making the business of government matter to Canadians, which is something that I believe we need to be reminded of, given our increasing rates of voter apathy and political disengagement - and a minority community like the GLBT community should be especially sensitive to that particular apathy. I think the piece acquitted itself well, and I'm especially chuffed by the layout - it got a beautiful two-page spread with a gorgeous shot of a fog-shrouded Parliament Hill in behind. Good job, layout department!

(I also very nearly ended up doing the Matt Dusk interview, but that plan fell through at the last minute, though given my schedule lately, I didn't mind all that much.)

Thoughts from the Hill is on page 10, and Why Parliament Matters is on pages 22 and 23. You can download the full issue in .pdf form here.