In interview with The sun In the aftermath of the inauguration of the 47th American president, the actor that we could see in STAT – Precisely playing a young Trans who was assaulted – does not hide his apprehension of a rise in homophobia and a decompection of transphobic discourse in Quebec in reaction to the ideology advocated by this new administration.
“As of today, the official position of the American government is clear: there are only two gender, male and female identities, defined at birth,” said Donald Trump on Monday. A decree, published in the evening by the White House, drives the point home: “These genres are immutable and are based on a fundamental and undeniable reality.” All federal agencies will possibly have to comply.
Hairy as Trump
The next day, in an interview with CP24, the leader of the Canada Conservative Party Pierre Hairy and aspiring Prime Minister, reacted by saying only recognizing two genres, male and female, while arguing that the government should refrain from getting questions linked to gender identity.
On social networks, Solidaire Manon Massé reminded her of a video message for just under a minute than “here in Quebec, we do not play the Donald Trump […]we, in the Charter of Rights, the rights of trans and non-binary persons are protected. ”
“This is already something that I live in my everyday life,” says Léo Nault by quoting the recent Gray-Montreal study on the rise of intolerance in schools with regard to LGBTQ+people. I may feel safe in my everyday life in Montreal, sometimes I observe a difference in treatment simply by changing neighborhood. ”
The young Trans reassures himself as best he can of the legal provisions which protect him: “No danger that our rights are removed from us in the near future, but we do not hold anything for granted when we see that elsewhere, it can be done so quickly. ” Especially since the protections in Canada are less solid than it seems (see other text below).
Fear in the belly of American trans, even in Oregon
Talk to Sean, from Portland to Oregon, the dad of Bella, 17. A trans girl under hormonal treatment since 2021 and “very brilliant and fulfilled in her school and artistic life”, according to her father. She wants to make a career in music. Sean describes himself as being angry, even enraged, but at the same time frightened and nervous about the future of his child.
Bella’s family, Transland girl from Portland, Oregon, fears that the new ideology imposed by the 47th President of the United States Donald Trump compromises his “normal” daily life. With Hermana, her adored cat and everyday accomplice, Bella simply dreams of a career in the world of music. She may not have the choice to continue her studies in Canada to flourish in safety. (Family photo, Sean and Bella)
“We knew that Trump’s defeat in 2020 was not going to slow the anti-trans republicans,” said the American on the phone. By seeing them act in the legislative level in the red states in recent years, I understood well how this anti-Trans agenda was going to perform the federally after Trump is back in office. “
Even if he lives “a democratic and progressive state like Quebec”, says Sean-who asked us not to reveal his last name-he and his ex-spouse have been preparing for a year and a half a contingency plan in order to to protect their daughter from the consequences apprehended from a change of federal regime.
Reserve of medication, contact with a Canadian doctor who can provide him with hormonal prescriptions and passports in good standing to allow a rapid exit from the country, are only a few examples of their tool kit.
The maple leaf as a sanctuary?
Bella also plans to continue her university studies in Vancouver, Canada.
“He has almost two years of secondary school left by then,” continues Sean. The school board sent us a message this week, namely that despite everything had changed in their support for transgender children, he says. That they were going to maintain this support within the limits of legality, in particular with regard to the federal attempts to obtain information relating to the specific identification of people. ”
The dad adds: “It’s a generic message, but it made my heart warm. It means a lot. “
-In Quebec, Léo Nault who volunteers at the House of Haiti in Montreal notes that many asylum seekers who are part of the LGBTQ+ community find refuge with us “because elsewhere in the world, it is not safe for them ”.
The Canadian-American border may serve as a benchmark for security for many, Quebec organizations who have a support mission, but also that of educating the population on the diversity of genres and sexual orientations, are still overwhelmed worried calls.
“It started in the election of Donald Trump in November,” said Sidney Durand-Prémont to coordinate intervention services at Gris-Québec. We started to receive many more calls that express a share of concerns about what could happen with the prospect of elections in Canada in the close future, it was even more intensified. ”
Intolerant opinions seeking allies
After five years to occupy various positions at Gris-Québec, Sidney notes that the nature of the speech of intolerance has changed: if people before with anti-lgbtq+ prejudices made remarks that only made them-example “me me I think that … ” -, today, what we hear are people who would like to engage everyone in their opinion.
Béatrice Robichaud, president of the Arc-en-Ciel Alliance de Québec and Charlotte Veilleux to coordination with community services at Divergenres, also note this same trend.
“Our community, our team and even our community partners fear a decline in LGBTQ+rights, but particularly a decline in trans rights,” says Charlotte Veilleux. Because of the Messinformation and Disinformation, these hate speeches there become more and more normalized and trivialized. People worry if it will inspire our governments to further discriminate a small portion of the population which is already marginalized. ”
Béatrice Robichaud, Marketing Vice-President and Customer Experience and Co-founder of Panthera Dental, has recently been president of the Arc-en-Ciel Quebec Alliance. (Erick Labbé/Archives Le Soleil)
Better apply the laws in place
The spokesperson for Divergenres recalls that according to the provisions of the charters of human rights, Canadian and Quebecois, it is forbidden to discriminate someone based on their gender, its gender identity or its gender expression.
“But their application leaves something to be desired,” says Charlotte Veilleux. This does not prevent Sidney Durand-Prémont de Gris-Québec from seeing a solid safety net.
The fact remains that practicing-practical concerns are essential. If for Léo Nault there is no question of traveling to the United States, for Béatrice Robichaud at the head of an SME, it is unthinkable.
“I know there is a margin between the signing of a decree and its application,” she says. But I still wonder about the potential consequences for me, as a trans woman whose passport reports, to travel with these legal documents in the United States. ”
Although we can feel helpless on our scale and latitude, Léo Nault like representatives of organizations for LGBTQ+rights, advocates for benevolence and community action as antidote to hatred and discrimination.
“Listening, educating, supporting,” says Léo. If everyone sensitizes their neighbor to the reality of the other, it will end up making snowball. Then stay positive: they can take away my rights, but not my joy. “
