{"id":743684,"date":"2026-06-17T23:02:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/743684\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T23:02:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:02:38","slug":"edmonton-launches-2slgbtqia-safe-spaces-action-plan-to-counter-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/743684\/","title":{"rendered":"Edmonton launches 2SLGBTQIA+ safe spaces action plan to counter hate"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Pride Month marches on, the city has officially launched its 2SLGBTQIA+ safe spaces action plan<\/a> to make Edmonton a more inclusive place.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, an emotional city council voted unanimously to proceed with the action plan to make sure city facilities and operations are sensitive to the needs of the community. Council had previously committed $750,000 for the effort last fall, which was distributed to support groups through grants. Another $750,000 to continue the program annually will be discussed as part of the city\u2019s four-year budget deliberations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis couldn\u2019t come at a more critical time,\u201d said Mayor Andrew Knack. \u201cThere\u2019s a reality provincially that we can\u2019t ignore \u2014 we\u2019re being told what kind of flags we can hang in our buildings. You will still see the Pride flag hanging in the window because they can\u2019t tell me what I can hang in my office. But these types of things we see happening provincially we know cause real harm.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery Edmontonian has a place in our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council heard that government treatment of the community can have a huge impact. A 2024 study<\/a> in Nature found between 2018 and 2022, jurisdictions in the United States which passed anti-transgender laws saw an increase in suicide attempts by up to 72 per cent.<\/p>\n

The last survey of transgendered youth\u2019s experience in Alberta came in 2018<\/a> under the Rachel Notley New Democratic Party government, which found gender-fluid youth in Alberta experience greater amounts of sexual harassment, violence and are more likely to attempt suicide.<\/p>\n

The provincial government under the United Conservative Party since passed legislation restricting how transgendered youth can join sports and access medically prescribed treatments<\/a>, as well as laws targeting libraries using material depicting homosexual acts as a justification for restricting literature<\/a> and banning the Pride Flag<\/a> in public schools.<\/p>\n

A 2021 survey of 107 members of the community in Edmonton found 81 per cent reported experiencing \u201cnegative public interactions\u201d from the public at large.<\/p>\n

Hate crimes targeting sexual and gender expression are trending upwards across the country, with 50 incidents in Edmonton in 2024.<\/p>\n

The results of this violence are significant. The report said a disproportionate amount of Edmontonians experiencing homelessness, just under 12 per cent of the 800 unhoused who disclosed their orientation to the city, identified on the 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum. Across Canada, that amounts to 13 per cent of Canadians living on the streets and 25 per cent of youth<\/a> forced out of their homes.<\/p>\n

Currently, people surveyed identified their homes, their friend\u2019s homes and public libraries as the safest spaces to be who they are. Conversely, public transit, council and committee meetings and the presence of law enforcement were identified as the least safe.<\/p>\n

Former councillor Michael Phair \u2014 the first openly gay politician in Alberta \u2014 said prior to then-mayor Jan Reimer declaring the first pride celebration on June 6, 1993, city councils were downright hostile to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cNext they\u2019ll want us to proclaim a day for chimpanzees,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThat was the kind of thing that we heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 40,000 Edmontonians identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ and more than 2,000 of them identify as gender diverse.<\/p>\n

ebowling@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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