A local family appreciates the city’s efforts to support its 2SLGBTQIA+ community members – and to let them know there’s no place for hate in New West.
The City of New Westminster has proclaimed May 17 as International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. That proclamation is welcomed by New West resident Naomi Perks and her daughter Vi.
Perks recently told council that International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia is a day dedicated to raising awareness, fostering understanding, and promoting equality for all people, regardless of their sexual identity or gender identity.
“Transphobia, homophobia and biphobia are not just words; they represent real barriers that many people in our community face every day,” she said. “These forms of discrimination and intolerance inflict harm on individuals and communities, leading to exclusion or violence and systemic inequalities. Today, it is more important than ever that we come together as a community to let our 2SLGBTQIA+ neighbours know that there's no place for hate in our community.”
In response to protests against Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) resources in schools, Perks appeared before council last fall to encourage community members and businesses to fly the Pride flag and demonstrate that all community members are loved and belong in New West. She took orders from people wanting to purchase Pride flags.
At the May 6 council meeting, Perks said one of those flags was stolen, but it wasn’t by someone who wanted to hang it themselves.
“When we replaced it the next day, the flagpole was broken, and the flag was also gone,” she said. “So, transphobia homophobia and biphobia is rife in our community. And by recognizing this day, we can take a stand against that.”
According to Perks, statistics show that approximately 4.4 per cent of the population aged 15 and older in Canada reported being part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. She said the reason why more youth identify as being part of that community than older folks can be attributed to the fact that people who are older are less likely to report being queer because they’ve lived most of their lives in a society that was less accepting of gender and sexual diversity.
“Days like the International Day Against Transphobia, Homophobia and Biphobia are so important in letting our queer youth and adults know that they're accepted and welcomed,” she said.
Sadly, said Perks, hate crimes have been on the rise against queer people. Between 2018 and 2023, she said there was a 54 per cent increase in reported hate crimes targeting queer people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
“By you making a show support for this day, we hope that it will show other members of our community that there's no place for hate in New West,” she said.
At council’s May 6 meeting, Mayor Patrick Johnstone read a proclamation proclaiming May 17 as International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
“It's really important for us to hear, it's important for people at home to hear,” he told Perks and her daughter of their message.
Johnstone said the trans-inclusive flag would be raised on the City of New Westminster’s flagpole on May 17 and would fly over the long weekend, in recognition of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
The city’s proclamation said New West is a society that’s open to everyone, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans people, and to all other people who identify with sexual diversity and the multiplicity of gender identities and expressions. It stated that, despite recent efforts towards greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, homophobia and transphobia are still present in society.
Inclusive city
Coun. Nadine Nakagawa also thanked Perks and Vi for attending the council meeting in support of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
“It is really concerning the rise in open hate in our community,” she said. “And so, I just really want to commend you. It's not easy to stand up and advocate this way but it's so necessary and it makes a difference.”
Nakagawa said one of the things that can be done at the local level is to work on inclusion in city facilities. She noted that she had brought forward a motion in January 2020 about making the single-stall washrooms in city hall gender neutral.
“They're still gendered,” she said.
Nakagawa said the COVID-19 pandemic occurred soon after council approved her motion, which included creating gender-inclusive washrooms for all existing single-stall washrooms in civic facilities.
“There are two existing single-stall washrooms on this floor, and I would like to see us convert them to gender inclusive, as soon as possible,” she said of city hall. “We wouldn't actually have to modify anything but signage. I would ask if staff could I move forward with that because I think it's one small thing that we can do right now to make our city more inclusive.”
At its Jan. 13, 2020 meeting, council approved Nakagawa’s motion to direct staff to report back to council on opportunities to make the city more welcoming and inclusive. It included numerous ideas on how to make city facilities and processes more welcoming and inclusive.
