Introduction
Canada remains one of the few countries that are more welcoming to all people, including the LGBTQ+ community. As explained by Ofosu et al. (2019), it is one of the countries that has legalized same-sex marriage. While several organizations in Canada champion the rights of LGBTQ people, the most notable one is Egale Canada. This organization, founded in 1986 and currently headed by Helen Kennedy, aims to ensure that every person can reach their full potential without hatred and bias. It, therefore, follows that Egale Canada, despite currently crippling by the challenge of hate crime, has not only created awareness about LGBTQI2S issues but also lobbied for equal rights and opportunities for them.
Egale’s History
Egale Canada was founded back in 1986 by Les McAfee, a renowned political activist. Later in 1995, Egale was incorporated as a federal non-profit organization, focusing on ” education, advocacy, litigation and expert consultation” (Ball, 2019, p. 134). Initially, the organization was known by the acronym E.G.A.L.E. (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere).
In response to issues affecting transgender and bisexual individuals, the organization changed its name to Egale in 2001. The organization was established with the mission of fostering an environment free from prejudice, homophobia, and transphobia. In addition to this, the organization was established to help address LGBTQI2S issues by championing human rights and inclusion through collaboration with other special interest groups. The organization’s mandate has remained the same since its inception in 1986 (Rayside, 2019). Its primary focus remains to improve the lives of 2SLGBTQI people in Canada.
Organizational Structure
The organizational structure, for this analysis, describes how tasks are distributed to achieve organizational aims. Helen Kennedy serves as the current executive director of the board of directors. Other executive directors who previously worked for the organization include Gilles Marchildon, John Fisher, and Kaj Hasselriis.
Helen is the first woman to head the organization based on her many years of experience in politics (Egale, 2023). Since joining the organization in 2007, Helen has spearheaded Egale to greater heights through initiatives such as education programs and awareness campaigns (Egale, 2023). Other members of the board include Kendall Forde, Director of Project Management, and Kim Vance-Mubanga, Director of International Programs. Jennifer Boyce, Mark Fellion, and Robyn Johnston act as directors of marketing and Communications, Development, and Human Resources, respectively.
Benefits to the Community
Egale Canada continues to play a crucial role at both the local and national levels by advocating for equal rights and opportunities for LGBT people. With approximately 3,300 members, it has successfully created public awareness and education through the dissemination of information in the media (Egale, 2022). A notable example is the launch of International Intersex Awareness Day, which aims to raise awareness about human rights issues affecting intersex individuals. Moreover, Egale has played a significant role in combating censorship and promoting freedom of expression.
The organization played a central role in most of the community’s activities related to “heavy-handed censorship practices of Canada Customs” (Tremblay, 2020, p. 359). Similarly, Egale was actively involved in supporting the freedom of speech of people, including those who opposed same-sex relationships. An example to illustrate this is the Alberta pastor who was accused of inciting the public against gays. Despite being found guilty, Egale refused to accept the compensation as a sign of respect for individual freedom of speech.
Another benefit to society instigated by Egale revolves around its role in creating safer schools. In 2007, Egale conducted a survey to assess the status of LGBT students in Canadian schools (Egale, 2022). A total of 3,700 high school students were involved in the survey – the aim was to find out the impact of homophobia and transphobia among students (Egale. (2022). The results of the survey were compiled and released to the public in 2011 in a report titled “Every Class in Every School.”
According to the findings of Every Class in Every School’s report, “schools with a gay-straight alliance are seen and felt as being more supportive” (Egale, 2022, para. 7). Egale, informed by these findings, launched the mygsa.ca website, which was intended to provide evidence-based resources to students interested in maintaining a gay-straight alliance in school. The site provides resources to parents and other community members who are keen to support the rights and welfare of LGBT students.
The Usefulness of the Organization
Egale, for many years now, has been utilizing factual material to inform the public and create awareness, and protect LGBT people. For instance, guided by factual material, Egale succeeded in lobbying the federal government to include “sexual orientation in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to protect gays against any forms of discrimination (Salway et al., 2021, p. 252). Similarly, Egale has been lending support to interest groups to ensure equal rights are integrated in legislation throughout the country. For instance, the organization was also involved in Nixon’sNixon’s case as a way of showing its support for transgender people. This was one way of showing why it had to change its name to Egale instead of the acronym E.G.A.L.E.
Furthermore, Egale played a central role in the passage of Bill C-23 as a way of ensuring the country is inclusive of issues affecting 2SLGBTQIA. Their effort resulted in the amendment of a total of 68 federal statutes – same-sex couples started enjoying the same legal status as opposite sex relationships (Salway et al., 2021). Another significant issue they successfully lobbied for is the provision of equal employment benefits to all employees, regardless of their marital or relationship status.
Effectiveness of the Organization in Accomplishing Its Support
Although the organization has been more focused on creating an environment free of prejudice and transphobia and homophobia, there is a lot that needs to be done to combat hate crimes. On the one hand, Egale has been actively involved in fighting for the rights of its members through various court cases, including Egan v. Canada, Alberta, M v. H & Ontario, and Chamberlain v. Surrey School Board. On the other hand, “hate crimes targeting sexual orientation” continue to go up (Egale, 2022). For instance, the year 2019 recorded the highest number of hate crimes – a total of 263 incidents were reported (Egale, 2022). While it is clear Egale has managed to create awareness about LGBTQ people, as demonstrated by the high number of gays in Canada, there is a lot that must be done to safeguard their rights.
Conclusion
Egale, founded in 1986 and later incorporated as a federal non-profit organization in 1995, has been at the forefront in championing the rights of LGBT people in Canada. The organization was founded with the mandate of creating an environment free from prejudice, homophobia, and transphobia. Despite the issue of hate crimes against LGBT people, which has been on the rise, Egale has managed to lobby for equal rights and opportunities for these people successfully. For instance, the passage of Bill C-23 ensured same-sex couples have equal legal recognition as opposite-sex relationships.
References
Ball, C. A. (Ed.). (2019). After marriage equality: The future of LGBT rights. New York University Press.
Egale. (2022). Still in every class in every school – Egale. Web.
Egale. (2023). Meet our people – Egale. Web.
Ofosu, E. K., Chambers, M. K., Chen, J. M., &Hehman, E. (2019). Same-sex marriage legalization associated with reduced implicit and explicit antigay bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(18), 8846-8851. Web.
Rayside, D. (2019). Canada’s LGBT movement and interest groups. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Web.
Salway, T., Juwono, S., Klassen, B., Ferlatte, O., Ablona, A., Pruden, H.,& Lachowsky, N. J. (2021). Experiences with sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapy practices among sexual minority men in Canada, 2019–2020. PLoS One, 16(6), 252-539. Web.
Tremblay, M. (2020). Social Movements: Full-Fledged Actors in Canadian Politics. The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics, 359-378. Web.