Thursday, 19 November 2015 – Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 10:30 a.m.

On this day, a first for a jurisdiction the size of Ontario, the sitting government and legislative assembly, officially recognized and observed the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance and paused for a moment of silence.

I was personally honored to be invited to take part in this historic day.

The motion for the moment of silence was introduced by the Ontario NDP and received unanimous consent by all parties in the legislature.

“The moment of silence today is a historic first for Queen’s Park,” said NDP LGBTQ critic Cheri DiNovo, a champion for Trans rights in Ontario and Canada and the MPP who introduced the motion. “In fact, this is a first in North America for a jurisdiction of this size.”

Trans Day of Remembrance is marked annually on November 20 to recognize those who have died due to transphobic hatred and prejudice. It is a crucial opportunity to raise awareness of the realities the Transgender community continues to face.

“I am proud to lead an Ontario NDP team that champions Trans rights — whether it was leading the fight to ban conversion therapy, or pass Toby’s Act, NDP MPPs like Cheri DiNovo have led the way,” said Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath. “Our commitment to bringing these issues forward is a reflection of the courage and leadership the Transgender community continues to show. We are stand proud of the work we’ve done as a community, but recognize that there’s still more to be done so that more innocent lives aren’t lost in vain.”

Thirty trans people and our allies were in the members’ gallery of the house to take part in the observance.

This was a very emotional moment for all of us.

We met for a breakfast reception in Cheri’s offices at Queen’s Park and were seated in the house in the morning to be able to observe and take part in the first ever observance in Ontario.

Because the house does not sit on Friday, the observance took place on Thursday, November 19th.  We are already working on having our federal government and House of Commons in Ottawa hold a similar observance next year.  It is time that this becomes a national observance.

We are blessed to have such a fierce advocate and ally like Cheri DiNovo in provincial politics.  What we need now are her counterparts federally to have similar successes.  It is time that we were recognized as people with the same rights as everyone else, and that the continuing transphobia and escalating violence that we face on a daily basis must be eliminated.

The disappointing thing about yesterday, the mainstream media didn’t take notice.

Not. One. Word.

Therefore, it is up to all of us to continue to spread the word that trans rights are human rights.

I am proud to call Cheri a personal friend of mine, and I am grateful for her determination that all people deserve equal rights and fair treatment under the law and everywhere.

On November 20th, while my heart will be heavy with the memories of friends lost over my lifetime, I am also heartened to see our allies stepping forth to be counted.