We Need Humane Rights, Not Human Rights – LOP037

Populism is on the rise in North America.

For the first time it seems like we’re beginning to see it’s negative effects in Canada – specifically in Ontario where the Ontario PC Party won a majority election earlier this year.

At a recent annual party convention the Ontario PC Party voted on a resolution that is a prime example of the first real "potential" step backwards for human rights in Canada – and specifically the rights of transgender people, and by affect all LGBTQ+ people, anyone who is considered “other” and not part of the status quo.

Read more about this contentious resolution in the article I wrote for the Gay Guide Network, How to Fight Doug Ford and the Ontario PC Party as LGBTQ+.

Below is the quote I read from J.J. Belanger:

“I come from humane human rights, I put humane there, humane human rights. I have no regard for civil and legal rights, per se. To me it’s a waste of time and political activism, because they’re only pieces of paper. They can be rescinded and changed by a councilman, a councilwoman, a supervisor, a governor or a president. We have plenty of evidence of that. So I’m saying, if we don’t learn, to me, heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, ambisexual – these are sex acts, per se. They’re not a lifestyle. What we do in bed, per se, as individuals, is nobody’s business out there. But I’m saying, if we don’t address humane human rights we’re gonna lose the ballgame.”

From the Making Gay History Podcast.

Enjoy the episode, and share your thoughts with me in the comments below.

Living OUT theme music: “Summer” by Bensound.com  ~ Image source