Liberals roll out $1M in funding for LGBTQ2 organizations

EDMONTON Three organizations serving LGBTQ2 communities across Canada are getting a combined $1.05 million from Ottawa, Minister for Women and Gender Equality Maryam Monsef announced at the Pride Centre of Edmonton Thursday.

“This celebrates and invests in (the LGBTQ2 community’s) brilliance and their ability to do work in their neighbourhoods,” Monsef said.

Monsef says all three of the organizations receiving funding will have long-reaching effects for marginalized Canadians.

Enchanté, a cross-country network of LGBTQ2 organizations, will receive up to $700,000 to expand, train its directors and dole out smaller grants to individual LGBTQ2 centres under its umbrella.

Up to $200,000 will go to the 2 Spirits in Motion Foundation, a not-for-profit advocacy group focused on providing resources to 2 Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ2 populations.

Finally, the Canadian Rainbow Coalition for Refuge, a group comprised of organizations that provide support for people displaced by discrimination based on their sex, gender or orientation, will receive up to $150,000 to expand their network and resources.

When asked about the timing of the announcement, just over two months before the Oct. 21 federal election, Monsef argued the funding was a continuation of the government’s work, not a re-election strategy.

“We’ve been investing in Canadians since Day 1,” Monsef said.

“Think of this as a basketball game. We’re going to keep investing in Canadians until we hear the sound of the final buzzer,” she added.