‘Look at the smiles’: province celebrates first two-spirit and transgender day of visibility

Manitoba’s first openly transgender MLA was thrilled to be part of the province’s inaugural two-spirit and transgender day of visibility — but knows one day of celebration is just a start.

“These are not safe times for trans and two-spirit folks and gender-diverse folks,” said NDP MLA Logan Oxenham (Kirkfield Park) during a news conference at the Manitoba legislature Monday. “(U.S. President) Donald Trump’s intent to erase trans folks doesn’t just stay within the confines of American borders.”

Trump signed executive orders in January terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and has rolled back protections for transgender people.

Oxenham, who introduced the bill last year to make official the March 31 day of visibility, said the best way to fight against rhetoric from the U.S. and Canada is to stick together.

“Just look at the smiles on people’s faces, that’s the best way of us fighting back as a community,” Oxenham said to a crowd of about 150 people. “Understanding that … the world is not a very safe place for transgender people, but also taking comfort in knowing that you do have support here in this province.

“It’s really tragic, what’s happening in the United States, to the trans community. It’s agonizing actually, to watch some of the legislations being brought forward.”

As Born This Way by Lady Gaga played on repeat as people walked in, the minister responsible for women and gender equity, Nahanni Fontaine, announced two bills to support transgender and two-spirit people.

The Vital Statistics Amendment Act would make it possible for adults to apply to change their sex designation without a supporting letter from a doctor.

The Human Rights Code Amendment Act aims to expand the list of protected characteristics to include gender expression, which would protect people from discrimination on how they present, Fontaine said.

“Forevermore, Manitoba affirms the humanity of Manitobans, of two-spirit and gender-diverse relatives,” Fontaine said.

Feather Wolfe, who is two-spirit, called it an important day.

“Today will mean something deeply personal to me,” said Wolfe. “It’s not just about visibility, it’s about being able to exist openly without apology. It’s about honouring all the parts of who we are, the parts that once were hidden, the parts you had to fight to understand, and the parts I can now celebrate.”

The province also announced it would invest $150,000 in support of 2Spirit Manitoba Inc., an organization that advocates for two-spirit people, $473,000 for Shared Health’s Gender Diversity and Affirming Action for Youth program, and about $1 million for the Trans Health Klinic in Winnipeg.

Wolfe said although Monday’s event was a great start, there is still a lot that needs to happen for everyone to feel safe.

“Even with all the progress being made, being trans or two-spirit is still dangerous.”

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca