Drag the Vote event in N.B. encourages 2SLGBTQ+ people to cast ballot in federal election
Mitchell Goodine has an urgent message during this federal election campaign: Get out and vote.
Goodine is a Fredericton-based ambassador for Drag the Vote, a national campaign to engage 2SLGBTQ+ people and their allies to exercise their right to vote.
"We felt the tides turning and the energy shifting and wanted to get the queer community and in general, the youth and anybody in the community out to vote," said Goodine, also known as the drag performer Amour Love.
"It's not switching voters from blue to red, it's just simply switching from non-voter to voter."
Goodine, who hosted a Drag the Vote event in Oromocto on the weekend, said they are concerned about children's rights and any policy that could restrict them from being themselves.
"What we're frustrated about is not simply just having a queer voice or having queer rights. It's not having science-led policies and procedures, having faith-based decisions," they said.
They said that this change needs to be made from the "top down" to influence change.
"If the tone from the top says that I shouldn't be able to exist or the way that I exist is too loud and too proud, and I should be over there quietly behind closed doors with their restrictions and with their preferences, that's going to echo all the way down," said Goodine.
Connor Hibbs is also an ambassador for Drag the Vote and shares Goodine concerns.
Hibbs fears that recent changes to trans rights in the U.S. could also happen in Canada.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared in his inaugural address on Jan. 20 that "it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."
"I'm worried about losing our rights completely and not being able to do drag because drag is my happy place," said Hibbs.
He got involved with Drag the Vote to "get people out and inform them" about the election.
Kendra Mackie of Cambridge Narrows, who has partner and a baby, said she worries about her human rights everyday.
She hopes that whoever is elected will respect her family and acknowledge that they exist.
"I can't imagine there being a government that just acknowledges that trans people don't exist and it's made-up. Like, I don't even want to really think about it," said Mackie.
The federal election is set for April 28. Advance polls open on April 18.
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Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
China takes out newspaper ads issuing warnings to Canada on Taiwan
The ads, purchased in the Ottawa-based newspaper The Hill Times, consist of op-ed columns written by Chinese Ambassador Wang Di Flags of China (top) and Taiwan (GettyImages) OTTAWA — Taiwan's ambassador to Canada has dismissed a series of full-page newspaper ads taken out by the Chinese Embassy as little more than sabre-rattling over the communist regime's claims over the east-Asian nation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The ads were published in The Hill Times — a twice-weekly Ottawa-based newspaper covering the goings-on at Parliament Hill — and clearly draw a bold, red line under China's position on Taiwan, continuing China's tendency towards hard-handed 'wolf-warrior' diplomacy. 'If their position is already the norm of world politics, if they consider the 'One China Principle' as universal and accepted by most countries, why on Earth do they need to use this to promulgate it?' Taiwanese Ambassador Harry Tseng told the Toronto Sun. 'Obviously they are perhaps doubtful of what they claim — that the 'One China Principle' is a universal principle that every country should abide by.' Taiwan's history is complex, beginning when Chiang Kai-shek and his republican government fled the mainland to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In 1971, UN Resolution 2758 recognized the People's Republic of China as the 'only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations,' a move that saw Taiwan kicked out of the UN and its ancillary organizations. Harry Tseng, Taiwan's ambassador to Canada, in his Ottawa office on Friday, Nov. 15 2024. Photo by Bryan Passifiume / Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network In the decades since, Taiwan emerged as a democratic and free nation, a world leader in high technology and chip making. But despite holding democratic elections and issuing its own currency and passports, Taiwan exists in a diplomatic no-man's land — with any nation hoping for diplomatic relationship with the PRC forced to not recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and accept Beijing's assertion the they are the only 'China' in the region. The first ad appeared in the July 2nd edition of the Hill Times with the headline 'The One-China Principle is indisputable, and the victory of WWII must not be tampered with.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The ad, essentially a paid-for op-ed by China's ambassador to Canada — Wang Di — describes Taiwan as an immutable part of China, promising attempts by 'Taiwan separatists' to halt an eventual reunification are bound to fail. 'Complete reunification is a shared aspiration of the Chinese nation,' Wang wrote in the letter. 'It is an inevitable trend and what the greater national interests entail. 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Canada's has long been a target of Chinese meddling, including intimidation of Canadian politicians like MPs Michael Chong and Kevin Vuong, and implicated by Canadian intelligence services of interfering in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. China also operated a series of clandestine police detachments within Canada, targeting both Chinese nationals and Canadian citizens for investigation and intimidation campaigns. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Alan Kessel, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a former Canadian diplomat, said the ads were an attempt by Beijing to control the narrative. 'One message implies closer ties, while the other draws a red line around Taiwan, signalling the price of engagement,' he told the Sun, describing the ads as a coordinated attempt to influence Canada's public and political discourse. 'It's all about shaping Canada's policy with respect to Taiwan — one ad projects warmth and a desire to improve relations, while the other is just rigid, ideological red lines over Taiwan, implying that engagement with Canada comes with conditions.' With Prime Minister Mark Carney replacing predecessor Justin Trudeau, Kessel said Canada needs to pursue a China policy grounded in Canadian values, and not dictated by foreign authoritarian sensitivities. 'That means rejecting coercion, resisting influence operations and affirming that our decisions on Taiwan or any other issue are not shaped in Beijing, but Ottawa.' bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume Read More Sports Columnists Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA
Vancouver Sun
13 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Canada denounces Hong Kong's bounties on pro-democracy advocates living abroad
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Edmonton Journal
13 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Canada denounces Hong Kong's bounties on pro-democracy advocates living abroad
The Canadian government is condemning Hong Kong's law enforcement authorities after they issued bounties and warrants for 19 pro-democracy activists, some of whom live in Canada. Article content In a joint statement, federal Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Saturday that Canada will not tolerate what it describes as an attempt for Hong Kong 'to conduct transnational repression abroad.' Article content Article content Article content The statement came after Hong Kong police announced Friday warrants and rewards for 19 activists for 'suspected contravention' of its National Security Law for their roles in promoting self-determination in the Chinese special administrative region. Article content Article content 'The new warrant … will help to draw more attention for (the) international community to realize that the transnational repression of (China) is so toxic and dangerous to normal people on exercising freedom of expression and speech,' Ho said in a text message to The Canadian Press. Article content Ho added he was not surprised to hear his name on the new warrant list again, and the best policy on handling the situation is 'to keep everyday business as usual as possible.' Article content Article content The new list of 19 people added at least three other Canadian residents to the list with rewards of HK$200,000 offered, including Vancouver-based activist Keung Ka-wai. Article content Article content Keung said while he is somewhat concerned about his safety, he does not plan to stop his work in the Hong Kong democratic movement as he has already been arrested nine times and jailed twice for his participation before leaving for Canada. Article content 'It is very important to us because that is our dream,' Keung said of the pro-democracy movement. 'And we have to do what must be done to develop the democracy of Hong Kong. Article content 'I think it is really important to me and to every Hong Konger.' Article content Hong Kong police said in its announcement that they are calling on those on the wanted list to return and turn themselves in instead of 'making more mistakes,' but Keung said he has no plans to do so. Article content Ho agreed, adding that he is not concerned about his personal safety and has cut off all contact with Hong Kong family members since last year, and Global Affairs Canada has reached out to find out how many people living in the country are being targeted.
