The Manitoba 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Action Coalition is hosting its first pride picnic at Assiniboine Park on Saturday, July 27.
Rainbow Pride Centre president and UMSU representative, Theodore Biggs-Engel, said a lot of activism in the past couple of years has focused on rallies and protests. His goal with the picnic is to “have a peaceful event where we can kind of get to know other people in the community.”
The event is free to attend and will include food and drinks including vegetarian and halal options.
Biggs-Engel said that while everyone is invited to the picnic, its focus is on “queer people and their families.” He said the picnic will be a great opportunity for people to meet the new executives and to continue building community for 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Biggs-Engel added that this a chance to “connect and get some excitement for what [is] planned in the fall […] Pride doesn’t end the first of July.”
The coalition includes U of M groups, such as the Rainbow Pride Lounge, the Queer & Trans Graduate Student Group (QTGS), Engiqueers, UMSU Women’s Centre, UM Queer/2SLGBTQIA+ Asper Students, the UM Social Work Students Association and the Racial Equity and Inclusion Alliance. Groups from the University of Winnipeg are also associated with the coalition.
QTGS president Mikayla Hunter said the group came together in response to rising anti-trans rhetoric and policies around the world, specifically in the United States and Canada.
One of the first events Manitoba 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Action Coalition held was a counter-protest of the anti-trans 1 Million March 4 Children on Sept. 20 last year. Hunter said “we all kind of came together and decided rather than doing these acts of advocacy separately, we could come together and rely on each other for support.”
Hunter said while things are better in Manitoba for 2SLGBTQIA+ people than in Alberta or Saskatchewan, “there’s still really long wait lists for gender affirming care.”
In the last year, the government of Alberta passed a law restricting access to transition related healthcare for trans youth. Meanwhile, the government of Saskatchewan passed a law requiring parental permission for transgender and non-binary students under 16 to use different names or pronouns at school.
They also pointed to other problems facing 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, such as difficulties finding primary health care providers who are well educated on 2SLGBTQIA+ health, homelessness and discrimination in educational settings.
The Manitoba 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Action Coalition planned to accept donations
for the pro-Palestinian campus Encampment at the upcoming pride picnic. Hunter said the coalition has worked to connect with other social movements, such as Every Child Matters. “I think in general people who come from marginalized communities, regardless of which community it is, we’re pretty well attuned of what injustice looks like for other groups,” Hunter said.
“We do not stand for anti-Palestinian hate or Islamophobia and we also don’t stand for antisemitism,” Hunter said.
Biggs-Engel said groups in the Manitoba 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Action Coalition are talking about new plans since both encampments are now dismantled. “The next step […] if we cannot support them directly [is] looking for other Palestinian resources to donate to them or support them,” Biggs-Engel said.
Manitoba 2SLGBTQIA+ Student Action Coalition’s pride picnic will be occurring on Saturday, July 27 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be located at campsite 6 at Assiniboine Park (55 Pavilion Crescent).
