April Issue Now On-line!!

It's Finally Springtime!

Spring Fashions are featured in this month's issue and also an article about skincare. In the Greenroom Charlie David interviews Peter Stickles from the new T.V. series The Lair. Josh Murray interviews Taylor Dayne, the late 80s pop icon and Sean McLennan tells us more about the AIDS research breakthrough at the University of Alberta. Plus our regular columnists and Out & About coverage from Across Canada. Happy Spring!

Egale Summer Musical Event

This summer, Egale Canada has joined forces with Cyndi Lauper for the musical event of the year in support of LGBT equality. The second annual True Colors Tour, featuring Cyndi, The B-52s, Rosie O’Donnell, Carson Kressley, Tegan and Sara, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Joan Armatrading, Wanda Sykes, Regina Spektor, Indigo Girls, The Cliks, Deborah Cox, and many others, will visit more than 20 cities across the country, starting May 31 and ending July 5, with stops in Toronto on June 4th and Vancouver July 2nd. Egale Canada will receive $1 from every ticket sold from the True Colors Fund.
Cyndi Lauper has long been a supporter of our community, and Cyndi has said that her motivation for this tour was to raise awareness of Egale’s Safe Schools Campaign while in Canada.
In Toronto, tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 14th. In Vancouver tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 5th.

AGM Notice 2008

This year, Egale Canada’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Board of Directors elections will take place at 2:00 pm, on Saturday, May 10, in The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The Board of Directors for Egale Canada is comprised of 12 directors, two people of different genders from each of six regions in Canada. Electoral terms are two years long, and each year half of the positions on the Board are open for election. By-election terms are held to complete terms directors who were elected in 2007 but have left and are for one year long.

Jeremy Dias is nominated for a BR!CK Award

Jer’s Vision: Canada’s Youth Diversity Initiative is happy to announce to that their Founder and Executive Director, Jeremy Dias, has been nominated for a BR!CK Award in New York City. The BR!CK Awards have been called the Oscars of youth service by CNN.

Since 1996, the BR!CK Awards honour the finest young world-changers in Canada and the United States. The goal of the awards is to shine the spotlight on these amazing leaders and give them the applause they deserve. Last year's awards in New York City featured: Mandy Moore, Susan Sarandon, LeAnn Rimes, Fran Drescher, Petra Nemcova, Wyclef Jean, Jason Ritter, Dashboard Confessional, Lance Armstrong, JA Rule, Hilari Burton, Jennifer Staples, Nigel Barker & many more.

Jer’s Vision is proud to announce that its own Jeremy Dias can now be counted among the nominees. His tireless work across the National Capital Region and Canada has been described as inspirational and is a role model for young people.

He will be heading to New York City for the two-day selection process on Wednesday, March 6h, 2008.

March Issue Now Online!!

This month Outlooks celebrates eleven years of publishing and we have a special photo spread with our cover models. In the Greenroom Charlie David interviews his co-host of Bump! and our travel story is Budapest, Hungary the Queen of the Danube. Learn more about the upcoming Calgary Cares fundraiser event and many more community stories from Across Canada.

Jer's Vision Speaks At Senate Of Canada

Jer’s Vision has been to be invited to speak on behalf of youth and LGBTQ concerns on Bill C-2

Jer’s Vision: Canada’s Youth Diversity Initiative will be speaking at the Senate of Canada at the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. Jer’s Vision is honoured to be speaking about the concerns of the national youth community and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Queer communities in Canada.

Jer’s Vision will be discussing Bill C-2 (An Act to amend the Criminal Code...) with Senate representatives of the committee. They will be educating the committee about youth opinions of the Bill, and the need for Youth Consultation. Currently, Jer’s Vision will be the first youth organization to be consulted on this Bill. They are very concerned that considering that there are major proposed changes to legislation that affects youth; they want Senators and Parliamentarians to seek additional youth consultation.

They also hope to educate the Committee on the homophobic nature of the bill, and the importance of making changes.

Jer's Vision: Canada's Youth Diversity Initiative is Canada’s first national organization to support and encourage the work of youth to address discrimination in their schools and communities. Through grass roots initiatives and partnerships with a variety of established national and community organizations, they provide youth with the tools and the resources to promote diversity and address discrimination of all kind.

To complement their national programming and in response to requests from youth in local high schools, Jer’s Vision is proud to announce the launch of local programming for the national capital region. The programming works with high schools, post-secondary institutions and community groups/centers to address discrimination. All of these services are offered free of charge to the school or organization, and services are offered in French and English. They are a youth run organization with an adult Board Advisors.

Gay Activist to receive "ORDER OF CANADA"

REV. DR. BRENT HAWKES TO RECEIVE ORDER OF CANADA
CANADA BECOMES THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO BESTOW ITS HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOUR ON A GAY ACTIVIST

Toronto, ON – The Rev. Dr. Brent Hawkes, gay activist and senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, will be invested as a member of the Order of Canada on Friday, February 22, 2008.
The Order of Canada is Canada’s highest civilian honour. Created in 1967, the Order of Canada recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation. Over the last 40 years, more than 5,000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order.
“To my knowledge, Rev. Dr. Hawkes, is the only person to receive their country’s highest honour in recognition of their gay activism,” said Douglas Elliott, founding president of the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association.
Rev. Dr. Hawkes has been a champion of human rights and social justice for decades, and is a leading advocate in the struggle for equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons. A man of fearless conviction, he presided over Canada's first legal wedding of a same sex couple – also the first in the world - and has continued to call for tolerance, understanding and respect for all Canadians. Rev. Dr. Hawkes has previously been honoured with the City of Toronto’s Award of Merit, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the United Nations Toronto Association Global Citizen Award and the YMCA Peace Medal.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will preside over the 101st Order of Canada investiture ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, which begins at 10:30 a.m on Friday.