March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility, celebrating transgender people and awareness of the discrimination they face worldwide, as well as their contributions to society. The event was created in 2009.
This year, as it would've fallen on Easter Sunday, it was recognized by the Province at noon on March 26, when politicians, a choir, and members of the public gathered in the south courtyard of Province House.
Click the photo for the flag raising video & song. Video by Onna Young.
Lisa Lachance (NDP), Jill Balser (PC), Minister responsible for the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women Act, Braedon Clark (L), and Suzy Hansen (NDP) all spoke with an uncharacteristic unity, with shout-outs to those trans folks in their own lives. They also directly called out the actions of conservative politicians in other provinces and at the federal level.
Not in attendance: the three members of government who hold the most power over trans folks' lives, the Premier, Minister of Health, and Minister of Education.
There was no vilification and not a peep from opposition about the recognition of the day, nor any counter-protest from political margins.
The choir sang an uplifting tune that was on the nose for the weather, the flag went up, and then everyone dashed for cover as the rain came down.
We’ll see if we are all singing the same tune a year from now with elections on the horizon, but trans folks can take solace that despite our many challenges, an outwardly hateful government is not one of them.
So this Sunday let's be extra visible... and maybe this Easter, we'll crack a few eggs!
