New Off-Island LGTBQ2+ group set to launch
Last weekend, rainbow Pride flags flew in solidarity with the LGTBQ2+ community in several places Off-Island, including MP Peter Schiefke’s constituency office in Vaudreuil-Dorion and at Hudson’s town hall.
Schiefke was joined at the Vaudreuil-Doron ceremony by TrèsSt.-Rédempteur Mayor Julie Lemieux, the first known transgender person to be elected as a mayor in Canada.
Yet despite Pride flag-raising ceremonies and the historic election of a transgender mayor in the region, many LGTBQ2+ people living Off-Island still feel isolated and struggle to feel they belong.
For more than a decade, St-Lazare resident Vivianne LaRivière has lived in the area as an openly gay person. But although she said she has, for the most part, felt accepted here, she has also felt isolated at times.
“When you live in the city as a gay person, there are gay bars, events, support systems and LGBT centres, but smaller towns and villages often don’t have that,” said LaRivière. “We’re not just a phenomenon that lives in the city.”
That’s why LaRivière is starting a new support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, two-spirit and allies in Hudson. Ultimately, she said, the purpose of the group is to create a sense of belonging.
“People want to belong,” LaRivière said. “There’s a lot of loneliness in gay people, because they often don’t have the chance to talk about that part of their lives.”
The first meeting of the group is planned for Sept. 30, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hudson Community Centre. The event is free, however donations will be accepted to fund future activities.
The intention of the first meeting is simply to meet and discuss what participants want and need to see in their community, LaRivière said. While the mission of the all-ages group is to offer support and create an opportunity for local LGBTQ2+ people and allies to meet each other, she said the activities of the group could end up being anything from political or social activism to simply being a safe space to socialize.
Hudson town councillor Chloe Hutchison, who is lending both financial and logistical support to LaRivière’s event, said the need for support for LGTBQ2+ families in the Hudson area is not just theoretical. She said she became aware of the need at a candlelight vigil at Jack Layton Park in 2016 to recognize the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, when local gay and transgender people and their families and allies came together to grieve the loss of the 49 lives in what was believed to be a homophobic hate crime.
“I realized there was a whole section of the community who wasn’t being seen, and we needed to be there for those who weren’t ready to come out,” said Hutchison.
Estimates of the size of the LGTBQ2+ population in Canada vary. A 2012 poll commissioned by the National Post found five per cent of Canadians identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
The poll also found notable differences by age, with 10 per cent of those age 18 to 34 answering the question with a yes, compared to just two or three per cent of those in older age categories. The poll also found six per cent of Quebecers identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, more than any other province.
There’s a lot of loneliness in gay people, because they often don’t have the chance to talk about that part of their lives.