58 10 3176 https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/files/original/e9dd3e536e2b83a9222ec4668983c17d.png 9c49bfc58235e308563b6b31b8810a00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories of Trans Health Care Activism in Ontario, late 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of transgender activism Description An account of the resource Oral Histories with 8 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted by Nick Matte in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998, 2016 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital video Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ontario, late 1990s Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website https://vimeo.com/182897079 Location The location of the interview Toronto, Ontario Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview NM Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Cheri DiNovo Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Video Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:30:33 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Cheri DiNovo Oral History (2016) Subject The topic of the resource trans activism; oral history; Ontario 1990s; Ontario 2000s; gender confirming surgery; OHIP; health care Description An account of the resource Oral History with Cheri DiNovo, one of 7 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Cheri DiNovo served as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale–High Park from 2006 to 2017. In addition, she's also a minister for the United Church of Canada. Cheri was particulaely influential in the passing of Toby's Law, the amendment that added gender identity and gender expression as protected clauses under the Ontario Human Rights Code. This law was named after Toby Dancer, a transgender woman who led the Emmanuel Howard Park United Church's gospel choir until she died of an overdose in 2004. As this was the church were Cheri ministered, this sparked a passion in her to fight for transgender rights in Ontario.  Toby's Law went through an extensive process in Parliament, being tabled five different times. At the time, Cheri described it as being the most inclusive law of its kind in North America, as it extended to employment, housing, and education unlike Bill C-16, which only covered the military, immigration, the criminal code, and federal employees. She highlights the need for provinces to cover gender-related issues beyond their respective human rights codes, as just doing this does not ensure that every service of the public sector is ready to welcome LGBTQ+ individuals. Thus, she pushes the provincial and federal governments to include protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in every aspect of the law. In addition, she considers that these protections need to be as extensive as possible and developed in consideration with transgender communities.  According to her, the political reality at Queen's Park showed her that progressive circles within Toronto exist in a bubble that does not really extend through all of the city, much less so the rest of the country. While she was doing activist work for the latest version of the Ontario sexual education curriculum, she realized there is still considerable amounts of homo- and transphobia in our society. She signals the queer homelessness epidemic as evidence that Ontarian homes and communities are not fully safe.  As a queer person who was street-involved during her youth herself, Cheri is able to relate to stories of queer hardship and thus considers herself a natural, lifelong ally of the transgender community. She remembers queer activism in the 60s and 70s being more radical and profound as according to her we had a clear defined enemy: the rest of society. In the days before the AIDS crisis, there were many more demonstrations, rallies, and parties that she lists as powerful elements of the queer spirit of the time. She describes it as a countercultural radical movement that highlighted gender fluidity beyond normative and binary understandings. While she is thankful that the LGBTQ+ community has experienced a relative sense of freedom and inclusion, she fears it has lost a lot of its political sense and direction.  As a queer Christian, she felt compelled to practice her religious teachings and be an advocate for those in need, hence her general inclination towards LGBTQ+ activism. She talks about how she performed the first same-sex marriage in North America. Cheri recalls her role within Provincial Parliament to try to sway political opinion in favour of the LGBTQ+ community.  According to Cheri, re-listing GCS was a relatively easy way for the government to appease the large pressure from the LGBTQ+ community, as research and activism on the issue was very prevalent at the time. Although she agrees that there’s still a long way to go in the fight for LGBTQ+ human rights, she signals the relisting of GCS as an event that catalyzed further progress in this fight, such as the eventual passing of Toby's Act. Cheri speaks of the bill banning anti-conversion therapy, which got approved two months after Toby's Law. At the time, Cheri recalls they had an separate clinic set up to perform conversion therapy on LGBTQ+ individuals, enlisting several psychiatrists specializing in the area.  <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/302780356" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/302780356">Cheri DiNovo Oral History (2016)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource PI: Elspeth Brown Interviewer: NM Interviewee: Cheri DiNovo Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CLGA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Province of Ontario. 1998-2008. https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/files/original/631a0f737e59483c4f51b4bd46c1f85a.png 24ede43c4929bbb623d781824d62bdb9 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories of Trans Health Care Activism in Ontario, late 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of transgender activism Description An account of the resource Oral Histories with 8 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted by Nick Matte in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998, 2016 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital video Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ontario, late 1990s Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website Part1: https://player.vimeo.com/external/183847529.hd.mp4?s=af286e52839bbf69b43170b93c5d91ab6f30d8a1&profile_id=119 Part 2: https://player.vimeo.com/external/183878785.hd.mp4?s=267200a11adbafd5240dddba775948fa403dee2b&profile_id=119 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview NM Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Susan Gapka Location The location of the interview Toronto, Ontario Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data video Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 36:56 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Susan Gapka Oral History, Part 1 (2016) Subject The topic of the resource trans activism; oral history; Ontario 1990s; Ontario 2000s; gender confirming surgery; OHIP; health care Description An account of the resource First oral history with Susan Gapka, one of 7 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Susan Gapka was born in the 1950s. She is of Ukrainian, Polish, and French Canadian background. Susan grew up in many cities, amongst them Trenton, Ontario, a very conservative environment which was restrictive of gender expression. She moved to Toronto at age 17. At this time, she was inspired by the stories of Christine Jorgensen and Dianna Boileau, trans women attaining a great deal of press coverage in the mid-twentieth century. She recalls transgender issues being heavily stigmatized in the 1970s and 1980s.  Susan had a series of personal struggles until 1997. At this time she realized her gender feelings were still present and decided to take steps to act on these feelings. She came out in 1998 right around the time of delisting. Within 8 months she was living full time in her identity and taking legal and medical steps towards her transition. She studied at George Brown in the Community Worker program. She did a placement with the Toronto Social Planning Council and worked with a housing project, and then worked in Olivia Chow’s office at City Hall as an intern until April 2000. She mentions benefitting from this political environment as she transitioned during this time and found support in her network. She recalls meeting George Smitherman around this time and outlining the series of needs trans Ontarians experienced at the time. This political agency and access to political and activist networks led her to form the Trans Lobby Group in September 2001.  The group started meeting up, with their goal being access to SRS and proper healthcare. They met with Gerard Kennedy and George Smitherman to outline their needs. Describes anger and disappointment in the trans community as sexual orientation was being added under the protections of the Canadian Human Rights Code, but not gender identity. Worked with Egale Canada aiming to push the agenda of trans Ontarians. Around 2003 she got involved with the push for same-sex marriage, also collaborating with Egale despite acknowledging they weren’t very trans-inclusive at the time given that their focus was mostly on marriage. Mentioned also working with Martine Stonehouse and Rupert Raj to help draft legislation to add protections for transgender people under the law. During this time she also tried to organize and plan protests for trans rights but these wouldn’t be very popular and therefore would have low attendance. She recalls protesting at City Hall in the early 2000s. Susan is also critical of the ways that LGB organizations have excluded transgender populations, considering the latter almost “peripheral”, and helping to perpetuate the marginalization of this community. She is nonetheless thankful of having been able to use these networks and skills acquired through these circles to the push for the rights of transgender Ontarians.  Eventually the Trans Health Lobby group started meeting under the Rainbow Health Network, an effort stemming from CLGRO (now Queer Ontario). The group, originally titled Health Advocacy Action Group, was comprised of others such as Martine Stonehouse, Rupert Raj, Shadmith Manzo, Joanne Neverman, and Michelle Hogan. For Susan, at this time there wasn’t much of a cohesive trans community but rather a collection of individuals (like Ki Namaste) raising awareness on an individual level.  She recalls events on May 16th, 2008 when funding for gender confirmation surgery was reinstated. There was an announcement made by George Smitherman (Ministry of Health) that day, holding a reception at Queen’s Park. She recalls receiving unwanted questions and comments from the press during this time, reflecting the lack of tact in dealing with transgender issues then. As such, she highlights the importance of respecting the privacy of transgender people who have had to make their life public in order to fight for their rights. Susan hails the work of Mirha Soleil Ross and Boyd Kodak to diversify the narratives and stories of transgender people in the media in Ontario. She is critical of how much the media has focused on the medicalization of transgender issues, showcasing a great deal of curiosity around surgeries and procedures that often was very invasive and inappropriate. She argues for the expanding and diversifying of trans narratives not only so other can see themselves represented but also to not contribute towards the dehumanization of trans people.  She speaks of a time in 2007 when Rainbow Health Ontario was formed with a number of partnerships from many community groups. For her, the creation of RHO was part of a series of political actions that culminated with the reinstating of coverage for gender confirmation surgery in 2008. At this time, medical experts were still considered gatekeepers for gender transitions, but thanks to the work of activists like Susan this was changed to a multiple-provider model where doctors didn’t have the only authority on deciding the fate of transgender people. Susan is critical of how the fate of transgender people and their transitions often depend on cisgender individuals who are not familiar with the specifics of their narratives and experiences. She also emphasizes the need to encompass the fight of non-binary individuals under the transgender umbrella so as to help undo harmful gendered power structures.  She recalls being approached by the Ontario Health Association, who asked her to collaborate and take up their project on Access to Trans Health around 2003. Both Rupert and her applied and were eventually chosen to lead the project. Up until this time she only knew of two previous research studies in Canada, a piece by Devon McFarlane on trans sex workers in Vancouver just before 2000, as well as Vivian Namaste’s ‘Access Denied’. The Trans Health Project initiated by Susan and Rupert eventually led to the Trans PULSE Project, led by Greta Bauer, as she argues that the recommendations she enacted with Rupert were foundational for the latter project.  <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/300917985" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/300917985">Susan Gapka Oral History, #1 of 2 (2016)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource PI: Elspeth Brown Interviewer: NM Interviewee: Susan Gapka Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CLGA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Province of Ontario. 1998-2008. https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/files/original/f5108f0c4b905ff19a36dc3869d993df.png 3a9d5285f99ab8f0e984937b5a0c2a76 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories of Trans Health Care Activism in Ontario, late 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of transgender activism Description An account of the resource Oral Histories with 8 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted by Nick Matte in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998, 2016 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital video Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ontario, late 1990s Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website https://player.vimeo.com/external/182692751.hd.mp4?s=8eac34e29e9515b1b61a54d7daddade102f6654b&profile_id=119 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview NM Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Martine Stonehouse Location The location of the interview Toronto, Ontario Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data video Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:41:20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Martine Stonehouse Oral History (2016) Subject The topic of the resource trans activism; oral history; Ontario 1990s; Ontario 2000s; gender confirming surgery; OHIP; health care Description An account of the resource Oral History with Martine Stonehouse, one of 7 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Martine Stonehouse is a transgender activist with a long history of engagement with the liberation movement. She begins her interview with a story of her transition, which began with a visit to the Gender Identity Clinic in 1982 and led to her coming out into her new life in 1994. This time was difficult for her as she would be misdiagnosed as a gay man, or in their words a “confused homosexual”, rather than receive the care she needed as a trans woman. Martine blames this on the doctors at the GIC, most of whom had been trained in the 1950s and thus held a very paternalistic and pathologizing approach to transgender issues. Indeed, Martine claims being aware of the fact that they were mostly interested in being able to publish research papers about patients, and thus she recalls faking a number of tests they performed of her out of spite. For example, Martine recalls a particular test where they would show patients pornographic images of different people while they had vacuum suckers attached to their genitalia in order to measure arousal from a diversity of genders and sexual practices.  These outdated ideas functioned as gatekeepers that ensured trans patients in Ontario before 1998 went through a long, rigorous, and exhausting process in order to be able to transition. Certainly, Martine was only able to begin her new life in 1994 and therefore proceed with the final paperwork to get her GCS. She recalls an uncomfortable experience she had with OHIP, as she had an affidavit letter from a lawyer that allowed her to change her name on her legal documents such as her social insurance number and driver’s licence. She remembers the OHIP office purposefully avoiding her calls, to the point of disconnecting the phones in the entire office just so she couldn’t reach them, as they refused to change the name on her health card. Eventually, she was able to get her name changed on this document, and through various means of her own she managed to get the gender marker on it changed too, something that was not possible to do in Ontario at the time without having had GCS. However, when her health card expired in 1997 and they asked for other proofs of identity, she was accused of falsifying documents and committing fraud as the gender on her health card did not match the one on other government documents. She was then taken out of the OHIP office by security and had her OHIP revoked, spending a year without health insurance. She was eventually able to get a doctor’s note explaining the situation and got her OHIP back in August, 1998. In September, she approached the GIC in order to finally get the approval for GCS, which would not happen until December of that year. On October 1st, 1998, the delisting of GCS under OHIP eventually suspended the transitions of many trans people who were already going through them, and for some like Martine this signified the beginning of an arduous activist trajectory.  After the delisting, Martine approached a number of government officials and offices to raise awareness of her case, but she couldn’t reach the most important person of all: the Minister of Health. Thus, Martine resolved to take her case to the Canadian Human Rights Review Panel, which was taking submissions in Toronto for two days. She brought forth a speech containing 30 recommendations to one of such panels in 1999, which she argues eventually became Bill 33 (which added gender identity and expression to the Ontario Human Rights Code). People from the Ontario Human Rights Commission advised her to launch a human rights case, and she was able to secure funding through CUPE who also assisted her in finding a pro-bono lawyer.  This support from CUPE came from the Local 44, as she was part of the equity committee. She talked about her situation with its members and when word got around, she gained the support of CUPE Ontario’s Pink Triangle Committee in November 1999. Also in November, she told her story and outed herself at a trustee meeting for the Toronto District School Board, which was debating its first human rights policy and was looking for public input. As a result of this work, the TDSB’s new policies released in May 2000 contained provisions for gender identity extending to both staff and students.  She recalls the political work that laid the foundation for the eventual delisting of GCS in 1998. A journey that began with the possibility of delisting in 1992 under the NDP government, this eventually galvanized as a Conservative project which materialized in 1998. Martine recalls how the province of Ontario, with Elizabeth Witmer as Minister of Health, would ignore calls from OHIP and prominent doctors to not delist coverage for GCS and ended up doing it anyways. She was able to find out this information as through her cases she was able to obtain access to government documents through a finding hearing. The provincial government became agitated at this move, and as a response decided to offer the four transgender people holding human rights cases against Ontario a chance to have their GCS as well as monetary compensation. However, they all chose to deny this offer as they weren’t after individual gains but rather collective justice.  Martine talks about her days doing activist work for the Trans Lobby Group with Susan Gapka and Rupert Raj, as well as the different activities that they would undertake. She argues that through the work of this group and its political lobbying Bill 33 eventually became a reality. She recalls knowing Rupert Raj since 1982, as they both were members of the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transexuals (FACT), a support group ran by Susan Huxford. Susan recalls Rupert running a separate group for trans men, as trans communities at the time were divided along binary gender lines.  She remembers finding out medical documents from the 1960s while undergoing her transition where doctors in her youth had already detected that she was gender variant. At the time, doctors determined that she had a “disturbed sense of sexual identity”. She describes her childhood as mired by bullying and exclusion as a result of her having behavioural issues and autism which were improperly tended to by her community and her schooling. As a result, she started responding to bullying with violence, which eventually raised the attention of the provincial government and got her placed in apecial education school for boys. She ended up dropping out of a school system that wasn’t suit to her needs in grade 11. This negatively affected her chances of getting stable employment, working minimum wage and casual jobs for around ten years until securing work with the TDSB. <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/307049263" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/307049263">Oral History with Martine Stonehouse (2016)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource PI: Elspeth Brown Interviewer: NM Interviewee: Martine Stonehouse Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CLGA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Province of Ontario. 1998-2008. https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/files/original/c82aee50459f1613790cf11b0579cb9e.png e7b1f0afc75382fe6dbb0965bef7332d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories of Trans Health Care Activism in Ontario, late 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of transgender activism Description An account of the resource Oral Histories with 8 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted by Nick Matte in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998, 2016 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital video Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ontario, late 1990s Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website https://player.vimeo.com/external/182878249.hd.mp4?s=05c20041723f7ee887b429c0c307f5260e5de27b&profile_id=119 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview NM Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Anna Travers Location The location of the interview Toronto, Ontario Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data video Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:42:42 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Anna Travers Oral History (2016) Subject The topic of the resource trans activism; oral history; Ontario 1990s; Ontario 2000s; gender confirming surgery; OHIP; health care Description An account of the resource Oral History with Anna Travers, one of 7 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Anna Travers served as the one of the founding members and first Director of Rainbow Health Ontario. She worked closely under the Sherbourne Health Centre (SHC) since its inception in 2002. Sherbourne Health Centre was the first clinic designated as a primary health centre for LGBTQ+ individuals. Shortly after its inauguration, Anna and a group of other trans activists assembled a working group to assess healthcare needs in the transgender community in Toronto. While the services provided by SHC were limited in the beginning, this working group resulted in a protocol for trans healthcare based on consent and self-determination, steering away from other, more medicalized approaches.   At the time when SHC opened its doors, the requirements for hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) in Ontario called for individuals to live as the opposite gender for two years. In addition, candidates also had to fit highly binary and normative understandings of gender and gender expression, often feeling pressured to fit the narrative of being 'trapped in the wrong body'. However, these requirements changed through the work of this group of activists working under Sherbourne Health Centre, and soon they were able to pioneer a model that expanded HRT coverage to primary health centres across Ontario. This new model of trans healthcare was highly beneficial to transgender people across the province. Previously, transgender individuals in Ontario had to rely on the highly-medicalized and pathologized approach employed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) for their transitions. Experts at CAMH would deny access to HRT and gender confirmation surgeries (GCS) to those who they determined to be uneducated, undecided, or unsure about their transitions. As such, they were able to argue that GCS was not a vital service to be provided under the province's healthcare plan, which eventually influenced its delisting in 1998. Of course, these numbers were only this low given that, as per Anna's estimations, CAMH would turn down around 95% of applicants for transgender-related healthcare. Together with the working group of trans activists, Anna was able to secure funding from the Wellesley Institute at first, as well as the HIV Treatment Network, which allowed them to study healthcare needs in the transgender community in Toronto. This eventually grew into the Trans PULSE Project, one of the most important inquiries into the state of transgender health, wellbeing, and marginalization in Toronto. The results of the Trans PULSE Project not only shed a light into the needs of this community, but Anna also expresses it was heavily influential in terms of public policy. Of particular importance is the fact that the majority of the team working for the Project were transgender. Anna speaks of the important role that Rainbow Health Ontario (RHO) has served for the community. Rainbow Health Ontario has its roots in Rainhow Health Network, which started as a voluntary group meeting once a month to work on advocacy issues for LGBTQ health. It was organized out of SHC, and meetings tended to hold a large number of community members and specialists. After some time, they began lobbying then Minister of Health George Smitherman, who was also Member of Provincial Parliament for the riding where SHC is located, to increase access to LGBTQ-specific healthcare across Ontario. While government officials had a hard time understanding that LGBTQ health extended beyond HIV work, Smitherman soon agreed to accept a proposal to develop a new model of provincial LGBTQ health services. Within 18 months, Anna and other activists put together a proposal that gathered over 40 letters of support from community leaders and specialists, and in 2007 RHO began its operations with her as Director.  The mandate of RHO was to develop capacity in healthcare professionals providing different kinds of social services. As such, they do province-wide training and education, and run an informative website containing helpful resources. They have also supported and authored important academic work, such as the Trans PULSE Project which helped them go deeper into trans-related healthcare. Anna mentions that a big improvement in this sector as a result of the work of RHO was giving doctors the confidence and knowledge to prescribe HRT rather than having to refer patients to central clinics like CAMH. Through their work, more local health centres started taking an active role in trans healthcare, as RHO wanted to emphasize that this should be the responsibility of primary local care and not specialty clinics. Soon, cities all over Ontario started to take on the RHO initiatives and increase access to trans healthcare. Anna raises the importance of the Gender Journeys support group at SHC as a positive factor in broadening her knowledge about the experiences of transgender people with gender. This group, ran at SHC, met for 10-12 weeks and allowed members of the transgender community to come together and chat amongst each other about their journeys and experiences through gender and transition. Such an effort helped deemphasize the narrative of a linear transition with a clear goal, and instead highlight the importance of allowing transgender people to have access to healthcare that suits their individual and specific needs. At SHC, they wanted to emphasize the role of local health providers in helping people along their gender journeys and embed these practices and understandings into their current work as opposed to relying on CAMH. Anna mentions that this approach was particularly helpful to non-binary and genderqueer individuals, as well as others who did not desire a binary or legible transition. Before access to trans healthcare was broadened beyond CAMH, people who managed to get through the system were those with knowledge, resources, and education, to the detriment of those who were the most marginalized. Thus, SHC through RHO were committed to expand access to these populations who were once barred from accessing most kinds of trans-specific healthcare. Specifically, Anna mentions how they managed to get beds at SHC so patients who were experiencing homelessness and needed rest after a gender-related surgery could stay there for up to 3 weeks. While Anna doesn't believe she was directly involved with the re-listing efforts, she nonetheless highlighted her role in helping the Ministry of Health change its regulations on the need to go to CAMH to get approval for surgery. After the re-listing happened, the province was under higher demand to provide transgender-specific healthcare, and this could not all be funnelled through CAMH. The model put forth by RHO was the easiest for the government to adopt, as it did not involve the need to select or build a number of trans-specific sites, but instead relies on who is qualified, regardless of they are were. This model was not only logistically-simple, it also emphasized the need to have access to trans healthcare in every community as opposed to in a select number of centres. This model also helped empower many kinds of health specialists, such as social workers, nurses, and psychotherapists into taking trans healthcare into their own practices The work put forth by Anna helped end the tight grip that CAMH held around transgender identities, transitions, and gender journeys for many years in Ontario. As she describes them, CAMH's policies were once "the most restrictive in the world at one point", and now thanks to the hard work of activists the situation has vastly improved.  <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/302637698" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/302637698">Anna Travers Oral History (2016)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource PI: Elspeth Brown Interviewer: NM Interviewee: Anna Travers Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CLGA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Province of Ontario. 1998-2008. https://digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca/files/original/c8c7fa61db2171bfc0cfe406ddd6296f.png c3093674c48ea69ea8ce87e1c5d9c17a Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral Histories of Trans Health Care Activism in Ontario, late 1990s Subject The topic of the resource Oral histories of transgender activism Description An account of the resource Oral Histories with 8 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted by Nick Matte in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1998, 2016 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Digital video Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral history Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Ontario, late 1990s Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website https://vimeo.com/185847290 Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview NM Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Greta Bauer Location The location of the interview Toronto, Ontario Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data video Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:52:13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Greta Bauer Oral History (2016) Subject The topic of the resource trans activism; oral history; Ontario 1990s; Ontario 2000s; gender confirming surgery; OHIP; health care Description An account of the resource Oral History with Greta Bauer, one of 7 activists involved in fighting Ontario's delisting of gender confirming surgeries from the province's public health plan in 1998. Conducted in Spring/Summer 2016 as part of the LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI) <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/300285375" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/300285375">Greta Bauer Oral History (2016)</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource PI: Elspeth Brown Interviewer: NM Interviewee: Greta Bauer Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CLGA Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Province of Ontario. 1998-2008. Hyperlink A link, or reference, to another resource on the Internet. URL <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/190133271" frameborder="0" width="640" height="469"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/190133271">Michael Davenport interviewed by Nancy Nicol</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Michael Davenport interview Subject The topic of the resource gay liberation movement, same-sex marriage, parental rights, partner rights Description An account of the resource Interview with lawyer Michael Davenport, discussing Bill 167, the Act to Amend Ontario Statutes to Provide for the Equal Treatment of Persons in Spousal Relationships in Ontario. Davenport was the head of the Coalition for Lesbian and his involvement through the Coalition for Lesbian & Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO). Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nancy Nicol Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 22/6/2001 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright held by Nancy Nicol Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .mp4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2016-074 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Ontario Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Clip is original footage used in the documentary series, From Criminality to Equality, including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006). Website A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ). Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/190133273" frameborder="0" width="640" height="470"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/190133273">Demo Against Gay Bashing shot by Nancy Nicol</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Demonstration against gay bashing, Toronto Subject The topic of the resource anti-gay violence, demonstrations Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Toronto Description An account of the resource Clip is a record of a demonstration that took place outside of the Second Cup on Yonge street in the Church-Wellesley village, on October 21st, 1994. The rally was held in response to a violent attack on Ross Mulhearon and Steve Tait in the same spot, the weekend before. The clip features rally speaker Bob Gallaghar discussing the experiences of two victims and calling for change, rally signs, and protesters. Chants include "We're here, we're queer, we're not going away!" and "No more violence!". Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nancy Nicol Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994-10-21 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright held by Nancy Nicol Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .mp4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2016-074 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Clip is original footage for documentary series, From Criminity to Equality, including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006), Produced and Directed by Nancy Nicol. http://www.yorku.ca/nnicol/documentary.html Website A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ). Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/190161146" frameborder="0" width="640" height="470"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/190161146">Egale Canada Fundraiser excerpt - Giles Marchildon - by Nancy Nicol</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Egale Canada Fundraiser, Giles Marchildon address Subject The topic of the resource fundraising, LGBT youth, anti-gay violence, transgender rights Description An account of the resource Clip shows an address given at the Egale Canada Human Rights Trust's Outlaws & Inlaws Equality Fundraising Gala event on June 22, 2004 at Church at Berkeley, Queen Street East, Toronto. The event featured Mary McCandless, the Forte Men’s Chorus, the Honourable Martin Cauchon, and Maggie Cassella. The clip features the Executive Directore of Egale Canada, Giles Marchildon, discussing the trusts current LGBTQ+ rights 5 main focus areas, including youth outreach, transgender rights, sex and censorship, anti-gay violence, and collaboration with other groups. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nancy Nicol Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004-06-22 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright held by Nancy Nicol Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .mp4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2016-074 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Toronto Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Clip is original footage for documentary series, From Criminity to Equality, including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006), Produced and Directed by Nancy Nicol. http://www.yorku.ca/nnicol/documentary.html Website A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ). Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/190161147" frameborder="0" width="640" height="470"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/190161147">From Russia in Love by Nancy Nicol</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource From Russia in Love Description An account of the resource Clip features Irina Shipitko and Irina Fedotova-Fet, two Russian women who came to Toronto in October 2009 from their home in Moscow to be married, after their application was denied by the Moscow State Registry Office. The clip includes a press conference with the two women, interpreted by their lawyer Nicolas Alexeyev, and including immigration lawyer El Farouk Khaki. Clip also includes, a greeting by Mayor David Miller, the marriage ceremony conducted by Justice Harvey Brownstone, and a speech by Helen Kennedy, Executive director of Egale Canada. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nancy Nicol Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-10-23 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright held by Nancy Nicol Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource .mp4 Language A language of the resource English, Russian Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2016-074 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Toronto Subject The topic of the resource same-sex marriage, LGBT rights Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The clip is part of the original footage for the documentary series "From Criminity to Equality", including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006), Produced and Directed by Nancy Nicol. Website A resource comprising of a web page or web pages and all related assets ( such as images, sound and video files, etc. ). Local URL The URL of the local directory containing all assets of the website <iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/190161151" frameborder="0" width="640" height="470"></iframe> <a href="https://vimeo.com/190161151">Gay Freedom Rally, 1986 Bill 7 in Ontario excerpt, by Nancy Nicol</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/clgarchives">Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gay Freedom Rally, Bill 7 in Ontario Description An account of the resource Clip depicts a portion of the Gay Freedom Rally, held in Toronto to support of the passing of and amendment to Bill 7 in Ontario, to include protection on the grounds of sexual orientation. Clip features a speech by Margaret Atwood. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Nancy Nicol Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Original footage for documentary series, From Criminity to Equality, including Stand Together (2002), The Queer Nineties (2009), Politics of the Heart (2005) and The End of Second Class (2006), Produced and Directed by Nancy Nicol. http://www.yorku.ca/nnicol/documentary.html Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1986-11-20 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright held by Nancy Nicol Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource mp4 Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 2016-074 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant ||||osm Toronto Subject The topic of the resource Bill 7, demonstrations, LGBT rights