| Federal MPs have voted yes on a bill that will likely legalize same-sex marriage across the country.
The bill still has to be approved by the Senate, but the decision has been hailed as a victory by gay and lesbian activists who have spent years lobbying for equality.
"This is, and always has been, about equal access for all people to a civil institution and the rights, privileges and responsibilities that access affords. This is not about morality, it is not about religion or religious beliefs; it is about all Canadians being equal before and under the law", says Stephen Lock, regional director of Egale Canada.
Same-sex marriage is already legal in every part of Canada except Alberta, Nunavut, North West Territories and Prince Edward Island due to court decisions.
Recent flooding has knocked out the road used by heavy trucks to transport supplies to Prince’s Island for the Calgary Folk Festival.
But festival general manager Les Siemieniuk is vowing that even if volunteers have to use golf carts or carry equipment and supplies across the pedestrian bridge by hand, the festival will remain at Prince’s Island Park.
Dave Breckon, director of parks for the city, says city staff will be able to tell festival organizers by July 5 if the causeway across the Bow River can be repaired in time. Siemieniuk says not having the road would be "a giant pain in the ass," but they’ll "work around it."
The author of a study on male prostitutes says there aren’t enough services specifically geared towards helping young men involved in the sex trade.
Sue McIntyre interviewed male prostitutes in Calgary and Edmonton for her report, called Under the Radar: The Sexual Exploitation of Young Men.
McIntyre found that male prostitutes tend to work in the sex trade for longer periods of time and tend to have more serious drug addictions than female prostitutes, and 70 per cent of the men she interviewed had been sexually violated in the past. More than half of the men interviewed were of aboriginal descent, which she says is a much higher percentage than in studies she’s done on female sex trade workers.
McIntyre also found that male prostitutes under the age of 18 were reluctant to seek help from outreach workers or service organizations out of fear of getting arrested under the provincial Protection of Children Involved in Prostitution legislation, under which they can be locked up in a safe house for up to five days.
The provincial government is holding a symposium on children involved in the sex trade this fall. McIntyre says she is hoping there will be "dialogue" on how to enforce the legislation without discouraging teenagers involved in the sex trade from seeking help.
Low income Calgarians will soon find it more affordable to get around the city. On Monday, city council voted to create a new bus pass for all low-income Calgarians by January 1, 2006. The new bus pass will be $35 a month, which is half the current rate.
Calgarians on Assured Income For the Severely Handicapped (AISH) will be eligible for the new pass beginning August 1 of this year.
GlobalFest is growing this year with a new world stage and a film festival as well as 12 multicultural pavilions and the internationally renowned fireworks festival.
Festival organizers announced that this year’s fireworks competition will feature teams from Italy, United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Before the fireworks, musicians and dancers will perform on the new Centennial World Stage.
For more information, go to www.globalfest.ca. |
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