More and more Franco-Canadian members of the LGBTQ+ community fear making their coming out. The rise of hatred, conservative speeches and the lack of “inclusive” health services in French push many of them to hide, or to go “live in English” to be accepted.
“Even if people have been open about their sexual orientation or gender identity for years, this year, or in the last few months, is the first time in their lives that they have not felt safe and are hesitant to display themselves openly,” says the community engagement coordinator of the FrancoQueer group, Élisabeth Bruins.
“Even if people have not experienced a hate incident themselves, the political and social climate right now makes people feel unsafe. » According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes against sexual diversity increased by 64% between 2020 and 2021, and the victims “tend to be younger”.
Bills passed in New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which require schools to inform parents when a child wishes to be called by a new first name or pronoun, carry ” transphobic ideas” in the name of “parents’ rights,” deplores the organization, based in Toronto.
“There is really a rise in hatred,” confirms Martin Bouchard, general director of the Comité FrancoQueer de l’Ouest (CFQO). He affirms that the organization meets, in Alberta schools, “many young people who do not want to reveal their sexual or gender orientation anywhere other than in this safe space, for fear of being victims of bullying “.
This “decline” risks becoming more pronounced if the Conservative Party of Canada wins the next elections, fears Mr. Bouchard, the remarks of the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, already being “great violence for people trans and non-binary.” “We fear that there will be a backlash [de haine]. […] We’re going to have to be tough, because we really expect this to get even worse with the arrival of the Conservatives. »
The weight of the Francophonie
However, progress has been made within the Franco-Albertan community, he believes. With the Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta, the CFQO has been hoisting a “queer Franco-Albertan” flag since 2022 during the month of June. A “small gesture” that “speaks a lot” in this “more conservative” community. “Now they embrace diversity with open arms. »
But many LGBTQ+ Franco-Canadians still have “the impression that they are being asked to be queer in English”, underlines Mme Bruins. “Members of our communities face the intersection of transphobia, homophobia, linguistic discrimination in a French-speaking minority environment and a lot of racism.”
Many then turn “towards the English-speaking environment, because it is more educated, perhaps more inclusive. There is perhaps an ease in terms of language too; there is less misgendering possible in English,” explains the CFQO, which, with financial support from Health Canada, is trying to “turn the tide.”
Lack of inclusive care
Access to “inclusive” health services must also be developed. In Alberta, it is already “limited” in English, so “in French, forget it,” says Mr. Bouchard. In Ontario too, “it is doubly difficult to find health care at the intersection of the Francophonie and queer and trans identity,” confirms M.me Bruins.
The situation is even more “sad” for seniors, underline the two speakers. If they publicly accepted their sexual orientation or gender identity for decades, many must “return to the closet at the end of their lives, because the health system is not sufficiently aware of gender or sexual diversity. This absence of trained personnel is rather linked to a “lack of resources” than to bad will, according to Mme Bruins.
But the fact remains that “long-term care homes are micro-societies in which, unfortunately, we very easily find the same actions as in student dormitories,” explains Benjamin Sourisseau, project manager at the 2SLGBTQIA+ Seniors’ Network. . “That is to say that there will be a lot of harassment or mockery of LGBTQ+ people”, going so far as to make them fear displaying photos of their spouses in their bedroom.
Founded on June 3 by the Federation of Francophone Seniors and Retirees of Ontario and FrancoQueer, the network, which calls itself apolitical, now wants to bridge the gap between health centers, seniors, and the LGBTQ+ community.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.