CHARLIE LOWTHIAN-RICKERT
Hello! My name is Charlie, I am 11 years old, and I am grateful for many things in my hometown of Ottawa and my country, Canada.
I am a kid who cares about human rights, so I have been working the past four years with local activists to make sure transgender and gender-fluid people are treated fairly, like every other citizen.
We launched a protest on Parliament Hill a few years ago called “Occupotty” where we sang “Let us pee” and asked for C279 to pass. Me and my friends, no matter what our gender, kept pushing on.
We took any opportunities to do workshops or presentations, and we accepted every invitation to do an interview — just to educate about why trans rights are human rights. Whether it was with newspapers, magazines, TV channels, radio stations, or schools, churches and community groups, we have been working hard. We are still fighting to be heard and accepted, and it was my hope C-16 (amending the Canadian Human Rights Act to add gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination) would finally pass before the celebrations of Canada Day this year (editor’s note: The bill has now received royal assent).
I am trying to speak for respect of all those kids who don’t feel comfortable speaking out, so I am really lucky to live in Canada’s capital city, where I can meet amazing people in our government such as Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould, Sen. Grant Mitchell and Coun. Catherine McKenney.
Last year, I was one of the grand marshals for Ottawa Capital Pride, which was a real thrill because I got to ride in a Fiat 124 Spider (I love cars), and because I got to meet my neighbours and friends in the city, who support me and the work we do. I joined Girls Skate 613 and Girl Force, two local groups that teach me skateboarding and computer programming and I like to go to OCR Academy and Capital City Dance for my favourite hobbies, parkour and dancing.
Family Services of Ottawa and Camp Ten Oaks are the charities I care most about, plus I like the “Music on Mission” and “Bowlathon” competitions each year. Ottawa is a really awesome city to live in and me and my whole family feel really lucky to be Canadian, too.
For the future, all I wish for is that people like me — trans, gender fluid, two-spirit — are treated fairly and with understanding, and that someday we will get respect. I think everyone should have full access to any job, and full access to services such as health care, no matter your gender, colour, belief or nationality. Oh, and I want to have clean lakes and rivers, too. Charlie Lowthian-Rickert is a transgender youth who is passionate about human rights. She hopes one day to experience a world that is free of discrimination.