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.

The unspoken cost of Harper's tough-on-crime bills

I have a new piece on the national page of Xtra.ca today, and it's one that I've spent the past couple of weeks working on. It was a bit of a tough go, trying to get all of the interviews over the holiday period and while everyone was getting back into their routines, but nevertheless everything worked out. In fact, I only wish I had more space to write, because this could easily have been a much longer piece.

I did post part of my interview with Senator Joan Fraser on my Hill Queeries blog - an interview which was an absolute pleasure to do, I might add.

Libby Davies on prorogation: "We're not going to let Stephen Harper off the hook"

I have a new piece on the national page of Xtra.ca today which takes a look at the prorogation issue taking place in Ottawa right now. Given that NDP House Leader Libby Davies is openly lesbian, it gives Xtra a better opening to engage on that issue. Davies is always a great interview, and it was great to get this bit of first-hand information on the issue.

Confessions of a gay political spouse

I have a Xmas Day release on the national page of Xtra.ca - an interview with MP Rob Oliphant's husband, Marco Fiola. This was an interview I did a couple of weeks ago when Fiola was in town for the Liberal Party staff and caucus Xmas party, and we went for a coffee together after the Question Period scrums were over. It was a genuinely delightful interview to do, and I'm glad I got the opportunity.

Fiola and I have struck up a rapport after our first meeting at Toronto Pride this past summer, and later when Oliphant and Fiola were my "dates" to the Press Gallery Dinner in October. He's a genuine delight to talk to, and I hope that you enjoy reading the interview as much as I enjoyed doing it.

Queer calls unheeded as refugee bill dies

I have a new piece up on the Xtra.ca national page today, which is one of the pieces that I finished last week. This has been an issue that I've had my eye on for several months now, and as a result, I've developed a bit of a rapport with some of the MPs at the centre of this. Being able to track an issue like this is something that I've really come to appreciate in doing the work I do in the Press Gallery, and working for a smaller group of venues like the Xtra chain means that I can really focus on a smaller number of issues, and report on them better. (The bills around reforming Canada's Access to Medicines Regime is another good example, but most of that tracking is taking place on my Hill Queeries blog.

As for this particular piece, Olivia Chow's reaction was dropped in the editing process, but otherwise it really captures what the fallout of the defeat of the bill in question was for groups concerned.