$300K in taxpayer funds for “queer history” of Columbia Basin

The federal government gave a pride group nearly $300,000 to compile a directory of LGBTQ services and resources for the Columbia Basin Region of British Columbia last year.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

The federal government gave a pride group nearly $300,000 to compile a directory of LGBTQ services and resources for the Columbia Basin Region of British Columbia last year.

According to the Fernie Pride Society, the funding was for a “27-month project” to “address the needs and barriers to equality for 2SLGBTQI+ communities.”

The Liberal government, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, gave the Fernie Pride Society $299,209 in Grants and Contributions.

“This service and opportunity directory will be available in print and electronically and will allow community members to use this tool to find 2SLGBTQ+ and adjacent services and businesses in the region,” reads the project description.

“The project will also engage partner organizations, research, record and document the disappearing Queer History of the Columbia Basin. Once documented, this history will be available online and in a book format.”

The money was distributed through the Equality for Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression Program.

The ESSOGIE’s stated purpose is to advance social, political and economic equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

“Advancement towards a greater understanding of the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors that include race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic condition, place of residence and disability are encouraged under the Program,” it reads.

The Liberal government has committed more than $250 million to “advance rights and equality” for LGBTQ communities since 2016.

Funding for several overseas projects includes thousands of dollars going toward staging performances where seniors shared their sexual encounters on stage in Austria, Taiwan and elsewhere.

According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the stage show by the Toronto theatre troupe Mammalian Diving Reflex was titled “All the Sex I’ve Ever Had’ and received $12,520 from Canadian taxpayers.

Global Affairs Canada paid for the trips to Austria, Taiwan and Australia via the Mission Cultural Fund.

The group spent five weeks in Taipei City in 2019 to select and train a group of elderly people who shared their sexual experiences with live audiences. The show, which cost $4,000, was supposed to promote the Canadian values of free speech and tolerance.

Global Affairs has also been involved in other controversial projects via the MCF fund.

In 2019, the MCF paid Canadian artist Peaches $8,813.70 for a sex toy art exhibit in Hamburg, Germany called “Whose Jizz Is This?”