Getting In On the Ground Floor + Thoughts From the Hill - July/August Edition

The July/August edition of Outlooks Magazine is now out, which has two piece in from me. The first is an editorial geared toward queer Liberals in terms of encouraging them to get involved in their party's rebuilding process, while the second is the monthly Thoughts panel, this time on the issue of catastrophic drug coverage (which sparked me to write a more substantial piece for Xtra on the topic).

These were also my last political pieces for Outlooks for the foreseeable future. The new direction the magazine is taking under the new owners is more lifestyle oriented, and for the time being, nearly all editorial pieces are out, as are my Thoughts panels. I hope to write some politically-themed features in the coming months, but Canadian politics won't have the same prominent place in the magazine that it has in the past few years.

The editorial is on page 46, and the Thoughts panel on page 47.

It Doesn't Have to be a Binary Choice + Thoughts From the Hill - June Edition

I have two pieces in the June issue of Outlooks, the first of which is my editorial on the narrative of "uniting the left" after the last election. My case is largely to look south of the border to see what a polarised political landscape has done to the country, and how partisan devolved into tribalism, and how that is not an idea that we need to import into the Canadian scene. The other piece is my usual Thoughts From the Hill panel, where Libby Davies steps in to fill the role that Bill Siksay played since the inception of the panel. Davies will appear again in the next issue before the spot is taken over by Randall Garrison, who is the party's new GLBT critic (and also fills in my urban and west coast boxes of regional representation).

The editorial is on page 11, and the panel is on page 22 of the issue.

Democracy Lost Out

I have an editorial in the May issue of Outlooks, which is now available online and in print. This was written immediately after the election, and was a bit of a distillation of the mood of the time. While a couple of weeks have passed, it still holds and talks about a number of things that most columnists aren't talking about right now, which is a conversation I hope to continue in the coming weeks and months.

I had also written a profile of Lee Easton, an openly gay candidate for the leadership of the Alberta Party, which was a bit of a foray back into Alberta provincial politics for me (where the bug first bit me during my years as a page in the Alberta legislature), but unfortunately it was cut for space, and Easton lost the leadership this past weekend, so that piece is iced unfortunately.

The editorial is on page 15 of the print edition.

Siksay Says Goodbye to Parliament + Thoughts From the Campaign Trail + What this Election Means to the Queer Community

I have three pieces in the April issue of Outlooks - an interview with Bill Siksay as he retires from his political career, a panel with the party leaders for a change, and an editorial about what is at stake if the Conservatives form another government. The interview was drawn from the same long interview I did with Siksay for Xtra (I went into said interview intending different different questions for each outlet, but there was a bit of bleed between them). The panel was a bit of fun since I don't normally get to talk to the leaders, and true to form, Harper's team didn't respond. Good thing we planned for that in the layout. As for the editorial, it was pretty difficult to write, and I knew I was going to get a lot of pushback from the community (many members of whom have a great deal of loyalty to the NDP), but there were points that needed to be made.

The interview is on page 14 of the print edition, the panel on page 15, and the editorial on page 22 (and as you can see, both the panel and editorial are available online).

What About a Spring Election + Thoughts From the Hill - March Edition

I have two pieces in the March edition of Outlooks Magazine (and apologies for the delay in posting this). The first is the usual Thoughts From the Hill panel, this time with a timely topic about the response to the uprisings in the Middle East. The second piece was an editorial about the possibility of a spring election, and why Canadians shouldn't moan so much about going to the polls - and lo and behold, days after it hit the stands, we went into an election.

The panel is on page 20, and the editorial is on page 22 of the print edition.

Trans rights bill uncertain in Parliamentary landscape + Thoughts From the Hill - February Edition

The February issue of Outlooks is now on newsstands, and I once again have two pieces in it. The first is a look at the issues that Bill C-389 was facing before it went into third reading, and this is one of those instances where writing for a monthly magazine has its downside. C-389 was of course originally supposed to be debated in early March, which the article would have been perfectly timed for, but as things go, it managed to trade spots on the Parliamentary calendar, so that debate and vote happened before the issue went to print, but too late to change it. Alas! The second piece is my usual Thoughts From the Hill panel, this time looking at the upcoming budget (which, it turns out, will be released in late March). This was one of those months where all of my panelists were really concise in their points, so I was trying to actually find a way to pad it out a bit more as opposed to trying to edit down. This is also the first issue where Outlooks is moving to a fully paid magazine rather than one that's largely free with a few newsstand and subscription sales. This is all part of the growth strategy, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops.

The C-389 piece is on page 14, and the Thoughts from the Hill panel is on page 17.

How Parliament Failed CAMR + Thoughts From the Hill - December/January Edition

The December/January issue of Outlooks magazine is now out, and I have two pieces in it. The first is an editorial based on my experience following the two bills and various debates on trying to reform the Canada's Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) legislation, and some of the frustrating aspects of watching the drama play out and everything that could go wrong with it happening, while MPs of all stripes were content to accuse one another of sabotaging things. I can't say that I'm happy with one of the captions, which seemed to belittle a group despite a point I was trying to make, but this is the way it goes sometimes. The second piece was, of course, my monthly panel, and it was an interesting question to ask, and as per usual, I got some pretty interesting responses.

The CAMR editorial is on page 19, while the panel is on page 22.

Another Solution For AIDS Drugs? + Thoughts From the Hill - November Edition

The November issue of Outlooks is now out, and I have two pieces therein. The first is a slightly different take on the CAMR issue, looking at some of the alternative plans that two Liberal MPs are proposing instead of Bill C-391, while I still get someone to challenge that point of view. It was also my chance to have a sit-down conversation with Glen Pearson, who is a gem of an MP. The panel, meanwhile, was an issue that I've covered a fair bit for Xtra, but it was nice to get a somewhat different take from a different cast of characters than I would for an Xtra story.

The CAMR piece is on pages 18 and 19, and the panel is on page 22.

The Armageddon Factor Author Warns Against Complacency + Thoughts from the Hill - October Edition

I have two new pieces in the current issue of Outlooks magazine (which, you may note, now distributes on the 15th of the month rather than the first). The larger piece is an interview with Marci McDonald, author of The Armageddon Factor, which I was extremely happy to do. I think she was pleased that I actually had read the book, which is not the case for every interviewer, and we had a really great and lengthy conversation - both on the record, and once the recorder shut off. I'm just sorry that I didn't have more room than that sole page.

The Thoughts From the Hill panel was actually destined for the September issue and got bumped, and unfortunately timing considerations meant we couldn't get a response from the Senator for that month, but I can assure you that she's on fire for the November panel.

The interview is on page 27 of the issue, and the panel on page 25.

Is there a religious left in Canadian politics?

I have a feature in the September issue of Outlooks that examines the look at religious left in Canadian politics. This came about after reading Marci McDonald's great book The Armageddon Factor, which examines the role of the religious right in Canadian politics. Knowing that most of our out gay and lesbian Parliamentarians have a strong connection with the United Church of Canada, I spoke to MPs Rob Oliphant, Bill Siksay, and Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and so far the response has been quite positive - especially from my interview subjects.

The article is on pages 24 and 25 of the issue, which is on stands now.

PS - My interview with Marci McDonald about her book will be in October's issue.

Thoughts From the Hill - June Edition

I have a single article in the June issue of Outlooks, which is the usual Thoughts From the Hill panel. This month, my three Parliamentarians look at the issue of the refugee reform bill - something I've been covering at great length the past few weeks. There was a bit of drama in that I had to increase my word count to fit in the answer of one panellist, but I got some great answers in the end, which always makes this an enjoyable piece to do.

That's also the last panel for the summer, and it'll resume for the September issue.

Same-sex marriage in Canada - Five Years Later + Thoughts From the Hill - May Edition

I have two new pieces in the May edition of Outlooks, which is now on the newsstands. My first piece, which is on the website, takes a look at the same-sex marriage fight in the Canadian House of Commons five years later. Given that we've already seen people taking this for granted, I wanted to do my part to help keep this history alive in the minds of Canadians, and to encourage those abroad who are still dealing with this issue.

The second piece, my usual panel of three out Parliamentarians, asked for their personal recollections of this particular fight, and I got some really great answers, especially from Senator Nancy Ruth, whose viewpoint was unique and nuanced in the way in which the battle played out.

Jack Layton, A Fighter Undeterred + Thoughts From the Hill - April Edition

I have two articles in the April edition of Outlooks. The Outlooks website has also been revamped entirely, and while it looks like the whole current edition is no longer available in .pdf format, individual articles are now posted. The first piece is my sit-down interview with NDP leader Jack Layton, which we had planned to do before his announcement about his battle with prostate cancer, but which ended up being one more part of the article. This was actually my first sit-down with Layton - though our paths have crossed before in terms of scrums and whatnot in the foyer outside of the House of Commons, and just days after this interview, I got Layton's comments regarding another story I was working on.

The second piece, the Thoughts from the Hill panel, isn't online yet unfortunately. In this month's panel, I asked our three queer Parliamentarians about what they thought it says about Canadians that gay rights being excluded from the citizenship guide made mainstream headlines, when compared to the fights going on in the States. And I got a couple of really interesting answers.

You can find Outlooks at many newsstands across the country.

Rob Oliphant's Path to Politics + Thoughts From the Hill - March Edition

After a bit of delay, the March edition of Outlooks is now online and on the newsstands. I have two articles in this issue - the Thoughts From the Hill panel, this time on the issue of Uganda, and a profile of Liberal MP Rob Oliphant. I've come to know Oliphant quite well over the past couple of years, and his profile in Outlooks was long overdue, so it was good to finally get to do that.

I posted a brief excerpt from that interview on my Hill Queeries blog a couple of days ago, which generated some reaction, so I wanted to post the full transcript bit here. The issue was when Oliphant said that he was targeted by both the Conservatives and NDP during the last election because of his sexuality. This is what Oliphant had to say during the interview:

"Both the Conservatives and the NDP attempted to use my sexual orientation against me during the election. The Conservatives had targeted letters to various ethnic communities about my so-called “lifestyle,” and they were anonymous – they weren’t acknowledged, but we could tell exactly where they came from. So we confronted them with this, and I registered a complaint about that. The NDP also had a strong verbal campaign in the ethnic communities – particularly the Muslim community – against me as a gay person, at which point I had to go over the riding level to ask them to cease and desist because it was simply dangerous. It wasn’t dangerous for me, as much as it was my concern was that it was a very hateful campaign that was being waged, could cause a young gay Muslim person to suicide, which was my concern. So I did face quite a strong campaign against me from two sides as a gay candidate, and interestingly, neither of them was successful at all. We had a phone call in the campaign office from someone in Leeside who had been canvassed door-to-door by a Conservative, and issues of my so-called “lifestyle” were raised, and this man called and said I guess they thought they could do that because I’m a single man that lives with my mother, and I don’t happen to be gay but there’s no place for that, and I used to vote Conservative and I’m not going to vote for them if they’re going to do that."

Thoughts From the Hill is on page 14, and Rob Oliphant's Path to Politics is on pages 24 and 25. You can download the full issue in .pdf form here.

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.

Thoughts From the Hill - December Edition + Olympic Cleansing

I have two articles in the December/January edition of Outlooks. The first is the usual Thoughts from the Hill panel, and this month I looked at the Canadian Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR) bills which are currently wending their way through the House and Senate. I've been following the two bills over on my Hill Queeries blog, and I was glad to carry over the debate to this platform. I was also very lucky that the legislative process didn't happen any faster, and that the two bills are coming up on important votes soon, rather than having already happened by now. (Such is the danger of being a monthly publication trying to be very timely and topical).

My other piece is a longer, more investigative look at the kinds of "social cleansings" happening around the Vancouver Olympics, and how that related to the kinds of cleansings from the Montreal Olympics in '76. I was turned onto this idea when I wrote about the queer youth and history article a couple of issues ago, so I'm glad that I got to explore this topic a little further.

Thoughts from the Hill is on page 16 of the issue, while the Olympics cleansing piece is on pages 23 and 24. You can download the full issue in .pdf format here.

Thoughts From the Hill - November Edition

My Thoughts from the Hill panel appears once again in the November issue of Outlooks. This month, I asked the panel about nominations processes in each of their parties. Astute readers may note this is something of a theme I've been writing about - I am indeed trying to help people learn more about the political process from start to finish, and nominations are a big part of that, and frankly most people don't learn about it in school anymore. I figure the more I write about it, the more some people may learn.

The panel is on page 22 of the issue, which you can download in .pdf format here.

Thoughts From the Hill - October Edition + Queer Youth and History

I have two pieces in the October issue of Outlooks - my usual Thoughts From the Hill panel, as well as a two-page feature that examines the way that queer youth interact with their own history. The panel question was actually chosen months ago, but recent events with the Canadian Human Rights Commission made the topic that much more relevant (though I did change the preamble to reflect current circumstances before press time). The other piece was a topic I've been quite interested in, which is how do we learn and pass on our history as queer Canadians, given that we're not exactly a culture that can pass along our history to our children or the next generation in the same way that any other ethno-cultural community might. I managed to talk to a few very interesting people, which I'm glad I had the chance to.

The panel is on page 13, and the Queer History and Youth feature is on pages 20 and 21. You can download the full issue in .pdf format here.

Thoughts From the Hill - September Edition

The September issue of Outlooks is finally online, and inside I have a new edition of the Thoughts From the Hill panel. This was an interesting topic to handle, and all three of my Parliamentarian panellists had really great answers to them. I think it was also the only time that they all had really succinct answers, which meant I had the opportunity to write a bit more of a preamble on what some of the issues at hand are.

As well, this is the first month where I am now on the masthead as Outlooks' new Political Editor. I'm eager to take on what new roles and challenges this title brings.

The panel is on page 52. You can download the full issue in .pdf format here.

Michael Ignatieff on Equality in Canada and the World + Queeroes

I've been waiting a while to talk about this, but in the July/August issue of Outlooks (now a glossy, might I remind you), I have a two-page interview with Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. It was a pretty great interview, and he's certainly a pretty great person to do an interview with, who gives thoughtful and personable answers (though he politely declined to give substantive answers to a couple of policy questions).

The interview did take a few weeks to set up, between Parliamentary business and his hectic travel schedule, and in order to make deadline, we only managed a twenty minute phone call, but I ended up meeting him two days later at the caucus and media garden party at Stornoway, so we still got to put faces to names there.

Also in this issue is my review of the book Queeroes, along with an interview with author Steven Bereznai. This was initially a case of pitching a story to one editor, having it assigned, writing it, and then finding out that another editor in the same chain had assigned the same piece to someone else, and well, mine got cut (with a kill fee, mind you). Outlooks was happy to pick it up, especially as we interviewed Bereznai two years ago after his first book came out, so it all worked out in the end.

(Curiously, however, it appears that the summer edition of my Thoughts From the Hill panel got bumped).

The interview with Michael Ignatieff is on pages 28 and 29, while the Queeroes piece is on page 45. You can download the full issue in .pdf format here.