MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
The largest gay pride parade in central Europe took place again in Warsaw on Saturday for the first time in two years after a pandemic-induced break -- and amid a backlash in Poland and Hungary against LGBTQ2S+ rights.
The year's Equality Parade came 20 years since the event was first held in the Polish capital. It was banned twice in its early years by a conservative mayor who feared it would promote homosexuality and last year it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski walked at the head of the parade in a sign of support for LGBTQ2S+ rights, joining thousands who were cheered on by others waving rainbow flags from apartment balconies and sidewalk cafes.
But that level of acceptance is not universal in Poland, a heavily Catholic, largely conservative nation.
The joyful and colorful celebration was tinged with fear of what the future holds for the rights of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people after setbacks first in Russia and now in Hungary.
"The day of the parade is always a bittersweet moment for our community," said Rafal Wojtczak, a spokesman for the organizers. He described feelings of sadness and helplessness that LGBTQ2S+ people have not achieved rights liked same-sex partnership or marriage in Poland, while also facing new threats.
The parade comes only days after Hungary's parliament passed a law that makes it illegal to show any materials about LGBTQ2S+ issues to people under 18.
Hungary's conservative ruling party portrayed the law as an effort to fight pedophilia. But human rights groups say it will stigmatize LGBTQ2S+ people and prevent youth from accessing critical information.
Poland's populist ruling party has taken a political direction very similar to that of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban, pushing conservative policies and tightening ruling party control over courts and media. The European Union has criticized both nations, accusing them of eroding democratic norms.
One prominent Polish activist, Bart Staszewski, carried a Hungarian flag in Saturday's march, saying it was a message to the EU to defend LGBTQ2S+ people because he fears that "Poland will be next."
Among those who participated was Misza Czerniak, a 37-year-old musician who was born in Russia and emigrated to Poland 10 years ago in part to flee the homophobia there. Czerniak said the recent scapegoating of LGBTQ2S+ people by Polish officials feels reminiscent of Russia, in particular local anti-LGBTQ2S+ resolutions that "create an atmosphere of hate, suspicion and fear."
"The right-wing turn has made Poland feel much closer to my country of origin than I would have liked. It made me question why I moved here," he said.
Ambassadors and other diplomats from 14 embassies in Warsaw also took part, including the U.S. charge d'affaires Bix Aliu, who tweeted "Let's choose love not hate."
A year ago, the Polish LGBTQ2S+ community faced a backlash from ruling conservative politicians, local communities and the church. In his successful bid for reelection against a challenge from Trzaskowski, President Andrzej Duda declared that "LGBT is not people; it's an ideology" while also claiming that it was "even more destructive" than communism.
A Polish archbishop warned of a "rainbow plague." And dozens of local communities in Poland passed resolutions against "LGBT ideology," claiming to protect traditional families. The resolutions were strongly denounced by EU officials and a handful have been rescinded.
"We've been through a very, very rough time. But at the same time, we are going out in the streets and we are saying we are stronger and we are not going to give up," said Miroslawa Makuchowska, vice director of Campaign Against Homophobia.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.