Gay Life in Canadian Cities

[SignalHillHiker]

I went for a walk after work and snapped a few more pictures of other businesses with Pride flags up. I didn't bother with the ones just displaying Pride events listing posters, there were too many even on my little route.

[SignalHillHiker]

Even though it's really only Pride Week in St. John's, a lot of communities too small to have their own do little things during the week - the most common being, of course, raising a Pride flag.

Individuals usually come up with cuter ways, though, I love this one:



And wow, Bonavista has some cute couples.

[SignalHillHiker]

Watched an interview about Pride in Grand Falls-Windsor. Interviewer asked why it's important to have Pride in smaller towns and not just in "big cities like Toronto and St. John's."

Died.

[SignalHillHiker]

Tonight is FRISK Fetish Night at Velvet, always the busiest of the year, when fire codes are kinda... shhh...

Also, one of the only nights of the year when the bars are filled before 1 a.m.

If you're in town, come on down and show off your pink parts.

Last year's, PG clips only of course:

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[vid]

Mine is more of a light brown.

[MonkeyRonin]

We're all pink on the inside.

[SignalHillHiker]

A little taste of a Saturday night out during Pride Week.

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[SignalHillHiker]

Well, as I mentioned before, we don't have a tradition of celebratory Pride parades. We've had them for many years, but they've always been either joyous or protest-based marches with fewer participants than even the bonfire. This was the first year there were even vehicles in it. Also, our first float.

But, this year was a giant leap in the right direction. And what a wonderful time!

We had the Progressive Conservatives, Liberals, and NDP representatives. Labrador First Nations, who got the biggest round of applause from onlookers. TD, CBC, countless local businesses (Newfoundland Chocolate Company, Rocket Bakery, etc.). The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, of course, lots of left-wing organizations, PFLAG, and so on.

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After the parade, it was on to Quidi Vidi Lake for Pride at the Lake, a family event.

[SignalHillHiker]

VOCM has an estimated attendance number:

It's being hailed as the most successful to date as hundreds turned up to march in the St. John's Pride Parade.

For the first time, the parade included floats. Donning their best rainbow colors, members of the LGBTQ community, their families and allies marched through downtown St. John's yesterday to Quidi Vidi Lake where there was entertainment and concessions.

An estimated 1,800 people participated. The event, unlike its early days, was more of a festive celebration of diversity, rather than a fight for equal rights.

That'd be, by far, our biggest ever. Probably more than 1,000 ahead of second place.

And NTV's coverage. The anchorwoman is in my workout class.

http://ntv.ca/st-johns-pride-sees-record-numbers/

[SignalHillHiker]

A few more pictures from Divas and Frisk.

Penny Dreadful's family came out to support her drag show.



And then some of the scenes at Frisk:

[SignalHillHiker]

A friend on Facebook shared this. A look at Halifax's disproportionately HUGE Pride Parade.

This isn't even close to all of it - it's taken from one of the floats at the very end.

[Dwils01]

Sault Ste. Marie will have it first ever Pride Parade on September 7.

[SignalHillHiker]

Long-term care facilities adopting LGBT-friendly policies

Years ago, Derrick Bishop and his young gay friends chatted about buying a big communal house for their senior years.

It was the half-hearted answer to what they would do when they got old.

The times were different then — activists were still fighting for basic rights, like protection from getting fired for being “out.”

“Who could afford to buy a building lot in St. John’s now?” said Bishop, 59, whose thoughts returned a couple of years ago to the issue of how the community will meld into the long-term care setting.

Acquaintances were moving to Toronto for better access to health services and they’d also expressed concern about the lack of policies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people (LGBT) in long-term care.

“I am sure there are people in nursing homes that are gay and lesbian, but I can’t think of anyone offhand,” said Bishop, echoing a sentiment expressed by activists who are working on the issue, but aren’t hearing directly from LGBT  long-term care residents.

That could mean many have gone back in the closet in the homes, or were never out.

The issues for the LGBT community include acceptance by staff and other residents, the need to feel safe when they are vulnerable and recognition of their partners.

But other concerns apply to all senior couples — gay or straight, Bishop said. And that’s keeping couples together, sometimes difficult to do with waitlists.

“I think it’s a crime we have husbands and wives who have been together for 40 or 50 years and one of them becomes ill, they both end up in a home, but it could be in different communities,” he said.

And there are not enough affordable assisted living units, where seniors live independently in a complex or community, but are able to get the services they require.

He visited one of the more posh private complexes in St. John’s recently.

“I’d love to live there. It’s like a hotel, being on a cruise or something. But let’s face it, most people can’t afford that,” Bishop said.

Another issue for any senior — sexuality — is often swept under the rug, Bishop says.

“People, for some reason, stop being sexual when they reach a certain age. That’s the attitude a lot of people have. … I don’t think it’s just a problem for gays and lesbians. It’s a problem for seniors, period, that we discount people continuing to be sexual beings all their lives,” Bishop said.

LGBT policies in long-term care are among the issues the Aids Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador’s executive director Gerard Yetman and other activists have been working on.

Eastern Health is making an effort to identify and remove any issues that members of the LGBT community would encounter in long-term care.

In summer 2012, Eastern Health’s long-term care program started a sexuality and diversity working group to discuss and plan for care delivery in nursing and personal care homes.

A resource package and training program will be ready to roll out for some long-term care sites in the fall, an Eastern Health spokeswoman said in a statement to The Telegram.

The working group has also started to review and update client communications packages and policies to be more inclusive. For example, Eastern Health defines family as the person identified by the resident and not necessarily the biological relation.

Yetman hasn’t heard from any people living in the long-term care homes, nor are staff necessarily out, he said.

“Gays and lesbians weren’t just born yesterday,” he said, noting the silence among residents and staff and hoping LGBT staff members will help set a tone.

Some training was conducted in February with frontline long-term care workers and the eventual goal is to include facilities across the province.

The training will also help address issues for residents who are HIV-positive.

“Our goal is looking at how the system is structured, ensuring that if a HIV-positive person or a member of the LGBT community has to go wherever — when they don’t have a choice — that the facility has the proper policies and they receive services with dignity.”

Yetman said a lot of work has already been done on LGBT policies by St. Luke’s long-term care home in St. John’s.

Shari Ritter got involved about a year ago through friends Robert Nelder and Peter Lakin, a couple who have since moved back to Toronto and were concerned about experiences they were hearing about in long-term care across the continent.

“All over, there was this problem now where seniors who had been the activists in the ’60s and ’70s came out of the closet then, and now that they are aging in their senior years and trying to get into retirement homes or long-term care facilities, they were being discrimiated against by the staff,” said Ritter, who helped get people together locally to talk about the issue.

The AIDS committee also has a number of issues on the radar that focus on seniors, including housing needs and sexual health.

It’s planning a sexual health manual written by seniors for those older than 55.

The HIV infection rate is rising among seniors across the country — 18 per cent of new infections — because they are re-entering the dating pool after a divorce or death of a spouse and may not be aware of sexually transmitted diseases and how to protect themselves.

http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Loca...dly-policies/1

[SignalHillHiker]

So, my Grindr picture is especially flattering, as you do, especially when you look like me.

Some crazy hot guy named Visiting messaged me this morning, "You're up early!"

I wasn't actually on Grindr, so I only got a little while ago that message. Says in his profile he's looking for a guide, so I offered to take him to Cape Spear, etc. Literally just that, not code for sex. He's actually on his way to the airport now, I'm too late, but we keep exchanging pleasantries.

Then he says he just finished a wonderful hike and loved it here.

And I texted: "I was hooking this morning too in Shea Heights."

Fuck.

And now Vid is calling me SignalHillHooker.

[vid]

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

A friend on Facebook shared this. A look at Halifax's disproportionately HUGE Pride Parade.

This isn't even close to all of it - it's taken from one of the floats at the very end.

I couldn't make it this year due to work but apparently ~80'000 attended the parade this year. This one parade is attended by 20% of Halifax's population!

The other major event is the Dykes vs Divas Baseball Game. The photo below is from last year but features our mayor in drag (centre);


Source: Jeff Harper - Metro News

[travis3000]

Just got back from Montreal with my bf (my 5th time in the city). We spent the weekend. I love that city so damn much. We were holding hands the entire time. Not just in the village, but all over! We went to Mount Royal, hiked to the top, spent some time on the streets just to the east of Mount Royal, did downtown, Old Port, Old Montreal, during the day and night. We were affectionate, and always holding hands, even on the subway. Not once did anyone say anything to us, I even made a point of watching peoples eyes and nobody even glanced or cared. It was truly awesome.

Honestly, if you any of you haven't been to Montreal I would advise going. It's an awesome experience, especially if you plan to be on foot/bike. So much stuff to see and do.

[SignalHillHiker]

HITS FM sponsored Pride this year. I can't tell if they don't get it, or are just that cool with it.

[Dr Nevergold]

You still use Grindr? I thought that had went out of style... Or maybe I was just hoping it had went by the way side along with how I don't like gay guys in cowboy hats. LOL

[SignalHillHiker]

Nope, not out of style - at least not here. It's still huge in Ireland too. But beyond that, I don't know. We could be the equivalent of MySpace users by mainland standards.