Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian trans family and north of the border TransGriot readers!.

Today is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Canada.   On July 1, 1867 the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were untied under the British North America Act into the Dominion of Canada.   Upon confederation the former province of Canada was divided into the current provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Since that July 1, 1867 date Canada has grown to become an internationally respected nation touching three oceans and comprised of ten provinces and three territories

This day is celebrated across the nation with fireworks, parades and other events, but since this was the 150th anniversary of the date of confederation, this particular Canada Day celebration was going to be an epic party.

For my Canadian trans family, this Canada Day will probably be a memorable one which has even more meaning for them.

The June 15 passage of the Trans Rights Bill in the Canadian Senate and its subsequent receiving of Royal Assent from the Governor General, means that on this Canada Day, the human rights of Canadian trans people are protected federally and in all the provinces and territories of Canada.

Canada acquired its independence gradually over time.  It joined the League of Nations as an independent country on January 10, 1920.  It wasn't until the 1982 passage of the Canada Act by the British Parliament that the Canadian Parliament assumed the power of making changes to the Canadian Constitution with Queen Elizabeth II still being considered the queen of Canada.

Dominion Day, as this date was previously known and celebrated as, subsequently became known as Canada Day.  

We're happy for you Canadian trans fam, and one day, your American trans cousins hope that in the near future we can celebrate the day that our human rights are recognized and protected by our federal government .

It's Canada Day north of the 45th parallel, and the day when I give a shoutout to all my Canadian readers as they celebrate the July 1, 1867 day that the British North America Act established their nation by uniting three colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada) into their home and native land.  

The Province of Canada was subsequently divided by what's now called the Dominion Act into Ontario (Upper Canada) and Quebec (Lower Canada), with the British parliament and cabinet keeping limited political control rights over the new Dominion of Canada they gradually shed until the last vestiges of them were shed in 1982.

149 years later Canada is now the second largest nation on the planet in land area, a respected and admired nation on the international stage and is comprised of ten provinces and three territories with an estimated 36 million people living there.

Canadians from the Atlantic provinces to the Pacific coast to Nunavut in the Arctic will be celebrating Canada Day with parades, fireworks and other events.  The biggest is in Ottawa, when thousands pack Parliament Hill and Centre Block for Canada Day ceremonies.

This Canada Day will see Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presiding over their nation and giving the traditional prime minister's speech like his father once did as their leader.



My trans Canadian cousins are celebrating this 2016 Canada Day with a hopeful spring in their step. They are hopeful that the tabling of C-16 (the Trans Rights Bill) will upon its passage result in their human rights finally being recognized by their nation.

And yeah, my Canadian cousins are frankly some cool people to hang around with in addition to being in their own right respected leaders on the international trans rights front. We're hoping south of the border the same thing happens for you as well.    

Happy birthday, Canada.. Going to be interesting to see how your 150th birthday party is going to turn out.

Happy Canada Day to all my readers above the 49th parallel.    You are one year closer to your 150th birthday in 2017 and hopefully you'll have a new prime minister by that time too if the October 2015 federal elections go the right way.

One of the things I was not happy about was the Senate not only stalling progress on C-279, but bouncing out of Ottawa for their summer break once again before doing the correct human rights thing and passing the Trans Rights Law.

And sadly, with a federal election on the horizon, I fear more of the same stonewalling as well.  

However, there is some positive movement for trans issues in Canada.   Trans folks in Saskatchewan and making moves to push their province toward joining Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories in adding sexual orientation and gender identity to their provincial non-discrimination laws.   The Vancouver School Board just passed a trans inclusive policy.

Moving on to other subject, glad that on this Canada Day my Timmy's IceCapp drinking homegirl has recovered from the health challenge she was battling last year .  I'm waiting for her to unleash her usual pro Canada Day post.

And no Renee, even with you having a milestone birthday coming up in a few days, there will be no territorial swaps accepted for Alberta unless y'all take Justin Bieber and Ted Cruz back as a negotiation starting point.

I have enough off the chains conservafools on my side of the border to deal with


I also want to take this time to thank you north of the border readers for your love, support and suggested Canadian themed topics.  The all-Canadian Shut Up Fool is a great idea and I will look at doing it for Labour Day and Canadian Thanksgiving in October.   Will just need y'all to nnominate the deserving maple leaf flag waving fools for it

Happy Canada Day!   As Canadian TransGriot readers take the time to celebrate it, have fun and be safe. 

Happy Canada Day TransGriot readers!

Today is Canada's 146th birthday, and it would have been an exceptional and more joyous one for my Canadian trans cousins had the Senate not succumbed to its Conservative leanings.

It should have brought the Trans Rights Bill up for a vote before they went on summer recess.  

But despite that, your home and native land has made some fantastic progress trans human rights wise that your south of the border trans cousins are envious of.

And on the day your nation was born, I want to thank all you readers north of the 49th parallel who surf to my blog on a regular basis and read what I have to say about various issues and let me know how much you appreciate an American taking an interest in what happens in Canada.

As a child of the African Diaspora, what happens in Canada is also a major concern to me because of my African descended brothers and sisters up there.  As a member of the international trans community, what happens in Canada also affects me so it is important for me to keep up with developments that affect the trans community in the Great White North.

I'm also continuing to think about and pray for the rapid recovery of my Timmy's IceCapp loving homegirl as she continues to recover from her health challenge 

Going to miss the post in which she does her usual Canada Day bragging that I have to rebut three days later. 

And no Renee, no proposed trades accepted for Alberta.  I have enough problems with the conservafools here in Baja Alberta (AKA Texas to the rest of y'all) and the rest of the Confederate flag waving South.  

I don't need any more, so y'all deal with the Sweater Vest, Little Alberta and all those Conservatives in the prairie provinces.

Happy Canada Day!

It's next stop London for the Canadian women's basketball team.

Two days after being upset by Croatia in the quarterfinals, they had to do it the hard way and on Canada Day no less, but for the first time since 2000 the Canadian women's basketball team will be taking part in the women's Olympic basketball tournament.

They knocked off Argentina 58-41 yesterday to get to today's final.  Courtney Pilypaitis scored 21 points and handed out six assists in the 71-63 win over Japan to clinch the final berth available in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Ankara, Turkey.

The Canadians shot 48% for the game and lit it up from three point range, knocking down 9 of 19 attempts from behind the arc.

They get to savor their win for a few days and contemplate what life will be like in the Olympic Village before preparing for tough Group B Olympic competition that will include games with 2008 silver medalists Australia, Brazil, 2008 bronze medalists Russia,  2010 FIBA Women's World Championship runner-up Czech Republic and host nation Great Britain.   

Today is Canada Day and I wanted to take a moment to wish all my TransGriot readers north of the 49th parallel a happy one.

Canada Day celebrates our northern neighbors birthday.   Specifically it commemorates the uniting of three colonies, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada (which split into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec) and creating a four province federation under the British North America Act in 1867.

The July 1 date is considered Canada's birthday, and that means it's a holiday weekend in the Great White North. I presume my homegirl in Niagara Falls will be marking the auspicious occasion of her nation's birth by indulging in a few Timmy's Ice Capp's or maybe some adult beverages.  

And yeah Renee, I'm waiting to see what Canada Day smack you write this year because you know the retaliatory post will be coming three days from now.

And don't overdo it on the ketchup flavored potato chips.

I suspect when the fireworks and parades happen to celebrate their nation's 145th birthday, trans Canadians, especially in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario will be singing 'O Canada' a little louder and be standing a little taller this year because of the positive direction that trans human rights have taken in their home and  native land. 

Happy Birthday, Canada!

It's probably not the way they envisioned spending Canada Day, but they will be glad to take the court tomorrow with a final chance to dribble their way into the London Olympic women's basketball tournament. 

After a tough quarterfinal 59-56 loss to Croatia that dropped them into the win or go home knockout semifinal games today, Canada defeated Argentina 58-41 today to reach the final game at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament being contested in Ankara, Turkey.

Their opponent will be Japan, who knocked off their fellow FIBA Asian Zone rival Korea 79-51 to advance to tomorrow's pressure packed game for the final Olympic women's basketball berth.

Good luck ladies and don't sleep on Japan.   If you do your next chance to play basketball on the Olympic stage won't occur until 2016 in Rio.

Sorry to kill your buzz as y'all prepare to celebrate your 145th birthday on the other side of the 49th parallel, but as a good neighbor to all my loyal TransGriot readers on the other side of the long border we share, I thought I should advise you that some of our Ugly Conservafool Americans have expressed a desire to live on your side of the border because of their foaming at the mouth racist hatred of President Obama.

As much as I would love for them to bounce and never come back, I can't in good conscience let that happen with at least giving y'all a heads up.

Since y'all are busy celebrating Canada Day weekend, as a birthday gift to your nation I'll take it upon myself to talk to our conservafools American to American and point out why US conservafools should reconsider their hasty ramblings and empty threats to move to Canada. 


Okay conservafools, let's chit chat for a moment shall we?   Before we get started, there is no industrialized nation or continent in the world that you can to go to escape a government run health care system except sub Saharan African ones, and even they are trying to get to single payer health care as expeditiously as possible
.  
Now y'all have been in sore loser freak out mode ever since the SCOTUS ruling on the Affordable Care Act Thursday surprisingly went against y'all.   Here's just a sample of the tweets y'all composed that we 'libruls' have been hysterically laughing at the wake of your loss.


I don't know why you peeps arrogantly think the Canadians want you to live in their country.  They have their own conservawingers in Alberta and Little Alberta (Saskatchewan) to deal with and damned sure don't want y'all stomping around Banff National Park or smoking up their high quality BC weed.

And hello, if you want to leave the USA because of 'socialized medicine', guess what the medical system is based on in the Great White North?  

If you said socialized medicine, congratulations, you're smarter than the average non hooked on phonics conservafool.  Even your NRA poster girl Caribou Barbie has snuck across the border from Alaska to partake of their high quality socialized medical care that results in Canadians having longer life spans than us exceptional Americans.

You conservapeeps are stuck in your conservamedia echo chamber you'll have to give up once you step across the 49th parallel.  But before you do so, you have to pay all the taxes you owe Uncle Sam before.you leave.  Assuming you meet the requirements for emigration to your proposed new home and native land, you'll quickly discover that Canadians live in a different and reality based world

They don't allow unchecked hate speech or have a network that broadcasts 24 hour conservalies.  Their gun laws are stiffer, and oh yeah, Canada has allowed since 2003 gay marriage, respects a woman's right to choose and has strong, powerful politically active unions.   You'll have to get used to a Canadian Armed Forces that allows transpeople to openly serve in it, and speaking of transpeople, human rights for trans Canadians is starting to make serious progress in the Great White North thanks to the New Democratic Party and fair minded Canadians realizing it's time to do so.

The national pastime is hockey and televised on Hockey Night In Canada.  Football is CFL football, played with three downs, 12 men and on a 65 by 110 yard field with 20 yard end zones and a championship game called the Grey Cup.     .

Your homeschooled kids will no longer be taught Flintstones science, they'll be taught facts based  science in schools that are ranked in the top five in the world in math and science education in addition to a longer school year that ends in late June.  

There's also something y'all hated on called the metric system that is in widespread use north of the border that you and your conservakids will have to get adjusted to.  You'll watch a smiling weatherperson telling you it's going to be a hot 37 degrees in Calgary.  Your speed limits are posted in km/h, distances between cities will be measured in kilometers and you'11 be buying gas for that trip in liters.  . 

Since many of you conservafools have a demonstrated spelling problem, they also use Her Royal Majesty's English north of the 49th parallel as well.


Oh yeah, since you conservapeeps love hating on France, I would suggest you don't move to or visit Quebec where the French language and culture are dominant to the point where the road signs are printed in that language and Francophone Quebeckers are fiercely protective of that French heritage as well.

And yes, Canada is a bilingual country. 

The Sweater Vest and his Conservatives have a majority government now, but his conservafool policies y'all love are pissing off the Canadian electorate to the point that by the time you experience your first Canadian election in 2015 you may be facing the prospect of gasp, you ran from the federal center-left policies of President Obama to the federal center-left policies of the New Democratic Party if the chatter coming out of the Canadian pundit class is correct and another Orange Crush wave to throw the Conservative bums out is building..

FYI, if you move to Ontario, they just passed an anti-bullying law that applies to all schools in the province including the Catholic ones and an anti-trans discrimination one.   If you visit Toronto, it's a world class city with a multicultural population that has people there who look like me.   Nova Scotia has a lot of people there who look like me as well.


And if you're bitching about paying taxes now, wait until you discover on April 30 that Canadians shell out much more of their loonies in taxes to pay for that socialist infrastructure. 

But you will get to eat at Timmy's more often, celebrate Thanksgiving in October, be healthier and drink better beer.

Hell, maybe I should consider moving there, but only after President Obama wins his second term.