| Money for PFLAG chapter
PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Canada wants to let Calgarians know that it has money available for people interested in starting up a local chapter of the organization.
Calgary has had a PFLAG chapter in the past, but it ceased to exist a few years ago.
There are currently 54 chapters of PFLAG in Canada. Wayne Harrison, executive director of PFLAG Canada, says there’s still a need for the chapters because parents and friends of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people need a place to go for support and to get accurate information about sexual-orientation issues.
"We’re trying to create a network where people can support each other in their time of need," says Harrison. "When a loved one comes out of the closet family members or friends are put in the closet because they are afraid to talk to people, because of negative attitudes and stereotypes out there."
Harrison says he still gets phone calls from parents "crying their eyes out" because their son or daughter has told them they’re gay or lesbian. He says some parents are still convinced that if they’d taken their son to more hockey games or made their daughter "wear more pretty dresses" that they would be straight.
For more information about the available funding from PFLAG Canada, e-mail Harrison at pflagcanada@nb.aibn.com or call 1-888-530-6777. To find out more about PFLAG, go to www.pflag.ca.
Albertans say education not affordable
Only half of the Alberta population considers post-secondary education to be affordable, according to a new Ministry of Learning draft annual report.
Three years ago, 75 per cent of Albertans considered post-secondary education to be affordable in the ministry’s annual report.
"This annual report shows, yet again, that Albertans know they’re being fleeced for a post-secondary education," says New Democrat MP Raj Pannu.
Police seeking help on hate crime
Members of Calgary’s Jewish community awoke on Monday, August 23 to find swastikas and the words "Go Home Jews" spray-painted in their neighbourhood.
Calgary police are asking the public to come forward with any information they have about the graffiti, which was sprayed on a condominium fence in the southwest Calgary community of Pumphill.
Police say numerous swastikas were painted on 27 sections of fence facing 90th Avenue S.W. between 16th Street S.W. and 19th Street S.W.
Anyone with information about the graffiti is asked to call Const. Shane Jones at 253-3376 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
New statue for Alberta war pilots unveiled
Alberta pilots who died fighting in the Second World War will have a new statue dedicated to them next month at the McDougall Centre.
The 19-foot-high bronze statue will feature a uniformed airman looking up at the sky. It will commemorate the lives of 1,600 Alberta air crew who died in the war. Organizers are hoping to get in contact with friends and family members of any deceased air crew to make sure their loved one’s name appears on the statue. Call Rosemarie Enslin at 245-8321 or 589-7640.
The ceremony takes place September 3 at 11 a.m.
Pagan Pride Parade
Calgary’s fourth Pagan Pride Parade will take place on September 4 from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. at the University of Calgary’s MacEwan Hall.
Wiccans, Druids and other pagan practitioners will be there to celebrate their faith. For more information call Sheena MacIsaac at 681-7264 or 240-3156.
Screenwriters wanted
Egale Canada is asking aspiring screenwriters to submit script ideas on "the intersections of homophobia/transphobia/biphobia with other forms of oppression" such as racism, sexism and religious intolerance.
Two finalists will be given $5,000 to produce their films. For more information, contact project co-ordinator Amir Baradaran at 514-939-1479 or Stacia Stewart at 613-230-1043, or go to Eagle Canada’s website at www.egale.ca. |
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