{"id":71051,"date":"2025-08-15T07:21:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T07:21:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/71051\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T07:21:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T07:21:10","slug":"carneys-focus-on-resource-economy-over-people-will-hurt-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/71051\/","title":{"rendered":"Carney\u2019s focus on resource economy over people will hurt everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s mandate of \u201cspending less to invest more<\/a>,\u201d major cuts are coming to federal government spending, and cuts of as much as 80 percent<\/a> of the budget are expected at Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE). This could not come at a worse time, given that our neighbours to the south are now a full-on authoritarian state, causing global economic chaos that is impacting us here in Canada. Because WAGE houses the 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat<\/a>, programs affecting queer and trans communities will be affected by these cuts.<\/p>\n

The cuts at WAGE were listed in the 2025\u201326 departmental plan<\/a>, stating that the department is going to let the bulk of their grants and contributions lapse and not renew their funding within the next two years. The departmental funding in the plan shows that not only is the statutory funding being cut (this being the operating funds for the department), but the \u201cvoted\u201d funds, which are where the grants and contributions come from, are also being massively slashed. In the 2025\u201326 budget year, the statutory funding was $7.1 million, which is being reduced to $4.3 million by 2027\u201328. For voted funds, it\u2019s even more dramatic, going from $400 million in 2025\u201326, down to $71 million by 2027\u201328.<\/p>\n

A lot of the grants and contributions that are ending were related to WAGE\u2019s Gender-Based Violence Program, and its supporting research and knowledge mobilization functions. Huge cuts<\/a> are also coming for the Equality for Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression Program (SSOGIE), which includes funding for queer and trans programming, including the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan<\/a>. The total grants and contributions are being slashed from nearly $208 million in 2025\u201326, to less than $1.9 million by 2027\u201328.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 2025\u201326 and 2026\u201327 planned spending\u00a0variance is due to the time-limited funding from Budget 2021 ending,\u201d the document reads. That time-limited funding included capacity funding for Indigenous women\u2019s and LGBTQ2S+ organizations to provide gender-based violence programming, as well as the funding to renew the 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund.<\/p>\n

These cuts are going to be devastating to queer and trans organizations<\/a> at a time when they are most needed. Trans rights are under attack<\/a>, and queer rights are next<\/a>, if they\u2019re not targeted already. Some of this sentiment is coming from the U.S., but some of it is also coming from places like Hungary, where Conservatives in this country have a glowing admiration. The LGBTQ+ scapegoating<\/a> that is part of their authoritarian playbook is being used here, particularly in provinces like Alberta<\/a> and Saskatchewan<\/a>. Tough economic times generally breed even more scapegoating, and that is exactly what we are headed toward. Police-reported hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation in Canada have seen a dramatic increase between 2020 and 2024, according to StatCan data<\/a>, and slurs like \u201cgroomer\u201d have become commonplace (which courts have finally started ruling<\/a> are indeed slurs and not protected speech).<\/p>\n

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U.S. president Donald Trump\u2019s executive order declaring that there are only two genders is starting to impact Canadians\u2019 personal ID documents. The Globe and Mail reported that Canadians are soon going to be forced to pick either an M or F on their Nexus card\u2014even if they have an X gender marker on their Canadian passport. The Nexus program is co-managed by the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and is designed to make frequent travelling between Canada and the U.S. faster and easier. The CBSA said it will continue to recognize Nexus cards with X gender markers until they expire, but that trans and non-binary travellers will have to choose between M and F when renewing their membership or applying for a new card. Roughly 3,600 Canadians have added X to their passports since the third gender marker was recognized by the federal government in 2019. And between January 2022 and March 2025, the CBSA said that about 550 Nexus applications were sent with X as the chosen gender marker. We break down how the policy change highlights the confusion trans and non-binary Canadians continue to deal with when considering travelling to the U.S. \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f #canada<\/a> #unitedstates<\/a> #trump<\/a> #transgender<\/a> #travel<\/a> #border<\/a> #lgbtqnews<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u266c original sound – Xtra Magazine<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n