While the budget was released, activists were already speaking out. It was clear before the budget hit Parliament that it was not going to be written with poor folks, seniors and other minorities in mind, that it would be full of cuts to social services, communities and jobs -- in other words, it's #notourbudget. With economic uncertainty looming, there's no better time to organize against Harper's mega-prisons and take direct action.

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I have to admit, as far as trans issues go, beauty pageants are way down my list of priorities. At a time when it's difficult to access doctors willing to treat trans people for the flu let alone assist in transition, when even something as simple as basic human rights inclusion remains uncertain, and when I still struggle to find answers to questions about which shelters are willing to take in trans men or women, Miss Universe seems an alternate reality, in many ways.

Happy International Women's Day!

The relatively recent development of the anti-bullying campaign has been almost universally accepted as something that is unquestionably "good." These campaigns are politically correct, they are focused on kids (a largely unhateable group), and they are relatively easy to get behind for most people, (with the exception of some religious groups) particularly those who consider themselves to be open-minded, liberal folks.

"It'll never pass," I often heard. "Not with a Harper government. They'd never support human rights inclusion for transsexual and transgender people."

And then it passed.

Oh, Bill C-389 -- championed by the now-retired NDP MP Bill Siksay -- had its challenges. It narrowly passed second reading in June of 2010, and again at third reading in February, 2011. Had an election call not killed the bill while awaiting discussion in the Senate, it could have reached Royal Assent... instead of having to start over.

Randall Garrison and Hedy Fry have re-introduced legislation to include gender identity and gender expression among the protected classes in the Canada Human Rights Act, as well as those in the hate crimes clause of the Criminal Code of Canada.

A couple of years ago I spent my summer vacation from university back home in Vancouver working at the same pizza place I worked in high school. A work friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go see a few films at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival with him, one of which included an accessible documentary called Diagnosing Difference made by Annalise Ophelian. Diagnosing Difference focuses on Gender Identity Disorder (GID) as a central point to address many trans* issues, including access to health care and services, legal issues, and common misconceptions.