Burnaby Now did a spotlight on Burnaby Pride’s plan for their 2021 Pride event. CAN’s (LET’S’) Executive Director is Co-Chair of Burnaby Pride and spoke about how they are excited that Burnaby Pride will keep some online access post-pandemic for accessibility.

From article:

o their eternal credit, Burnaby Pride 2020 was a great success. Four and a half hours of live and pre-recorded programming were broadcast on Facebook and YouTube, and attracted “a larger audience than we’d anticipated,” says fellow co-chair and accessibility consultant Heather McCain (they/them).

“We had comments open, so we were hearing in real time from people who were watching,” says McCain. “It was awesome. We really appreciated how different parts of the event spoke to different people, and when they saw someone of the same identity, how proud they were to see that representation.””

CAN (LET’S) has launched our two new workshops: Queer + Trans History BC and Queer + Trans History Canada.

Queer + Trans History BC

This workshop will take participants through some of British Columbia’s milestone moments in 2SLGBTQIA+ history. We will journey from the 1950s, a time when homosexuality was a crime, to current day. Learn about the people and organizations that fought for, and secured, the rights, freedoms, and protections we currently hold. The workshop will cover the many firsts in British Columbia, including the first gay rights protest, first dyke march, and the first Pride house in the Olympic Games. Please join us to learn more about queer and trans history in B.C.

Queer + Trans History Canada

This workshop will take you through the highlights of Canada’s history, including milestone moments during each decade!  We will journey from  the 1950s, when homosexuality was considered to be a “curable illness” to today, given in bite-sized pieces. Did you know that Quebec was the 2nd place in the world to provide human rights protections? Or that the Canadian Navy’s 1st kiss was on BC soil? We will see just how far our laws and media have come in regards to 2SLGBTQIA+ consideration. We will also highlight some of the rights and protections we are still fighting for today! We welcome you to join us in learning more about queer and trans history.

Flower borders. Text reads Love is Love
Border of colourful flowers and rainbows. Text reads Love is Love.

CAN (LET’S) delivered a Disability Awareness workshop for (Ottawa) Capital Pride‘s (Ottawa) EDUCATE series. We were excited to be part of a series that helped speak to a wide range of 2SLGBTQIA+ issues and experiences.

View recent Educate Series talks, including 1 LET’S being represented in the Identifying Queer and with Living with a Disability discussion.

Capital Pride’s mission: “Our mission is to create opportunities to celebrate, advocate, educate and connect people, respecting the full diversity of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

Check out Capital Pride’s list of 2SLGBTQ+ Community Resources. Includes:

  • Community Organizations
  • Employment Services
  • 
Healthcare Resources
  • 
Housing and Shelter
  • Legal Services
  • 
Mental Health Resources (Indigenous)
  • Mental Health Resources (National)
  • Mental Health Resources (Local)
  • Parents and Family Resources
  • Refugee and Immigration Resources
  • 
Seniors (65+) Resources
  • Sports and Activity Groups
  • Student Resources
    Trans Resources
  • 
Trans, Non-Binary, and Women’s Resources
  • Youth Resources
  • Miscellaneous Resources

Burnaby Pride is expanding their program to include events every other month. For their first event, CAN (LET’S) partnered with them to deliver a Disability Awareness workshop to the public. Burnaby Pride also partnered with Rob Bittner, who will be making book recommendations for all of the bimonthly events. For this event, he suggested books that included disabled characters and all but one book was written by disabled authors. The YouTube video on Burnaby Pride’s YouTube channel.

Screenshot of Rob Bittner's YouTube Video
Screenshot of Rob Bittner's YouTube Video for Burnaby Pride LGBTQ+ Book Suggestions