Trans Nova Scotian snubbed from Newfoundland Taavel Memorial

Now that the dust has sort of settled from the initial outburst of emotion from the murder of Ray Taavel in Halifax back in April, I thought now would be the time to raise issue with a rather unfortunate and disturbing situation that took place on April 24, 2012 in St. John's, NL. 

Two of the new members of St. John's Pride Inc Board of Directors, took the step to organize a memorial event for Ray.  They put on a great event and had many well-known members of the local gay/lesbian community in attendance to deliver a speech; however, noticeably absent was the presence of Nova Scotian born Newfoundlanders, as well as the lack of presence of members of the trans community. One after one, gay/lesbian speakers - most of whom represented youth support groups, used the LGBT term, yet no evidence of any trans presence was at the event.  While there has no doubt been friction between myself and supporters of the new Board members, a memorial event of this nature should have been a time to put differences aside. 

As a Halifax Nova-Scotian-born Newfoundland resident, and pretty much the only out member of the trans community, I can't help but feel disappointed that this new group decided not to invite me to speak.  Ray's death hit closer to home for me than it did for anyone else in attendance. 

Not only did this group miss out on a chance to prove that they could do a better job at being inclusive of the 'LGBT community" than myself and former Directors were, they completely demonstrated their lack of respect for me, for the trans community, and for Nova Scotian-born Newfoundland residents.

Fast forward now 6 weeks, and unfortunately, I do not feel this new group had made any further progress to demonstrate their ability to make me and other trans people feel welcome and included. It's a shame to see St. John's appear headed in the same direction as so many other cities - that being, that the trans feel alienated from Prides from the gays and lesbians.  Oh well, I knew there was this risk, but there was not much I could do. I have no regrets from leaving Pride and although it will be sad to think that there is a strong chance that I may not attend any of the Pride Week events, I can feel good about the fact that I have managed to put my time to other use in a way that will bring a much stronger and greater positive impact for the National and International Trans communities.
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Beware Internet Trolls and Integrity of Online Information 5/29/2012

For those of you who follow my blog with regularity, yes the millions and millions of you, hehe, I thought it would be a good time to discuss a topic I have always found fascinating: the matter of Internet Trolls. By definition, trolls are people who post inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community - such as forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into emotional responses of grief.

Seems as of late, we have an anonymous individual who claims to be from the north part of Toronto, who seems to get a kick out of trying to discredit my great athletic accomplishments. They do so without ever really giving an explanation.  This is a clear example of a troll who is clearly up to no good. 

What makes trolling interesting is that the true motive of trolls is not always obvious.  The last time I was victimized by trolls was when I was faced with a barrage of posts from feminist pro-choice activists, shortly after I resigned from a Pflag Canada committee.  While their intentions seemed quite clear: that being, to take advantage of any opportunity to promote their agenda, it remains unclear as to what agenda Toronto North (TN) really has. Could it be that TN is jealous of my amazing accomplishments? Or could it be that TN is one of these religious-right extremists who thinks that all LGBT people are possessed by the devil?  Or could this really be someone locally who takes issue to some of the controversial things I have said on Twitter about our Provincial Government? 

Perhaps we will never truly know the motive, or identity of  TN.  This brings me to probably the most important lesson I have ever learned with regards to the credibility of Internet information.  Always beware of  people online who fail to provide a tangible name and contact information.  All true entities who have something to say, will never be afraid or ashamed to identify themselves and provide proof that they really are who they say they are. TN claims to be a runner but provides absolutely no proof of this. TN show me no confidence that they can or should be giving any sort of athletic or medical advice.

Ultimately, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment and success out of the fact that I have managed to publish information that has stimulated such keen and passionate interest in me and my stories. Gaining a reaction is usually the prime motivation of bloggers. Unfortunately, this is not the type of person or reaction I have been looking for though, but this is at least a sign that I am doing something right!

It will be interesting to see if this person continues to troll away here, or disappears further into the irrelevant obscurity that their miserable anonymous existence currently champions

(note: depicted is the universal troll symbol).

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McCreath won't Appeal - NL Trans still need CAMH for SRS funding! 5/28/2012

Jennifer McCreath will not appeal a dismissal from her 2009 Human Rights Complaint against Newfoundland's Medical Care Plan over access to transsexual health funding.

In her vlog, she explains the problem is the limited scope of Human Rights Act; and encourages transsexuals to lobby doctors, health policy makers & politicians for change. She complained that any trans care deemed medically-necessary by Newfoundland Doctors should be funded, and care should be provided in Canada, when available. 

Current MCP trans policy (updated last in 1996) states that funding is only available for bottom surgery, AND only upon a recommendation from the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto (Aka CAMH), AND only if the procedure is not done at a private clinic in Canada.

Unlike most other jurisdictions, McCreath says NL Human Rights Act does not allow investigators and adjudicators at Commission to refer potentially contentious public policy matters to tribunal as their scope of mandate is specific to individuals. McCreath also questions whether the lack of explicit protection under the Act for Gender Identity played a role, and whether having the Commission report to the Justice Minister (and not the House) played a role in making this a political issue rather than a human rights issue.

While significant attention has been paid by trans activists, politicians, and media, regarding the addition of Gender Identity to Human Rights Acts, she raises concern that little attention seems to be paid by any of these entities towards an out-of-date myth that transsexualism is a mental illness that requires assessment by the once-perceived guru of trans psychiatric issues, the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, aka Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH).

World Professional Association for Transgender Health (www.wpath.org) and Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (www.cpath.ca) are globally and nationally-recognized body of knowledges, respectively, on this topic. Both say that existing global best-practice guidelines for the assessment of trans patients does not require anything that can't be attained and achieved through a team of the patient's local family doctor and psychiatrist.

McCreath hasn't ruled out a civil lawsuit against the Provincial Government, but will focus her immediate attention towards building up a team of trans patients and trans acvitists, to lobby doctors, policy makers and politicians, to use moral suasion to attempt to improve human rights and health care for trans Newfoundlanders. McCreath intends to use her own volunteer consulting program (www.jennifermccreath.com) and her soon-to-be-established non-profit, Newfoundland Patient Association for Transsexual Health (www.npath.net), as catalyst tools to move this work forward.

For all questions, comments and media requests: info@jennifermccreath.com 709-753-9529

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Harding questions Moncton City funding of homophobic School

Kudos to Josie Harding of Moncton River of Pride for engaging the media to raise concern over the $28 million of public money that has been granted to a non-accredited private educational institute who practices homophobic hiring policies. Crandall "university" has been on the receiving end of money from city, provincial, and federal government money. They state in corporate policy that they refuse to hire people engaged in same sex relationships due to their so-called religious values. 

UPDATE: while Global seemed anxious to put a spin on the complaint, Josie extrapolated on Facebook expressing concern that her full message was editted out of the telecast. She offered the following:

"Well Global completely hated my response on behalf of River of Pride because they edited it out my entire theme of acceptance. Basically, that Crandall's students and staff are not at fault here, that we as ROP, are accepting of all persons LGBT and Straight. That we support private organizations rights to have their private rules which we know supersede Human Rights Law, but receiving public funding goes against that private ORG status. And MOST IMPORTANT, that we would rather see the their rules lifted than have the funding cut. And if the city is in the business of funding controversy, why not be fair and give Non-Profit PUBLIC groups like River of Pride big cash donations as well. Global was fishing, and the strung shit together to look like they caught something."

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Successful start to Comeback 5/27/2012

Wow, today I conquered one of the most difficult challenges I have ever asked myself to do. I laced them up and hit the road for my first official race since tearing two ligaments in my right ankle. It's been a long and tough 7 months of physio, which only lead to limited improvement. However, after a moderate 16k a few weeks ago, I started to get the idea that I might be ready and able to handle this half-marathon - my third Not So Hilly Half-marathon in 4 years. 

I knew I was in the worst shape I had ever been, entering a race of this distance, but I put together a game plan and stuck to it. With a course time limit of 3 hours, I set a pace that would bring me in just under that. The run went pretty much as I expected. From the get go, the lower back was extremely painful. The ankle was still very tender too.  Also, as expected, my other leg got sore for having to over-compensate due to my limp, which made it very interesting for most of the race, as I found myself using my bad right ankle to support the now worse left upper leg. 

Another interesting issue was the matter of hydration management. The sun felt hot, even though it was rather cool, and I found myself dehydrated. They only had gatorade stops at 5k, 10k, and 17k, so I had to make due.  Another unfortunate incident was that very early into the race, the pocket in my shorts ripped, and my keys, watch, and emergency kit broke loose. This meant that I ended up running pretty much the entire race while carrying this in my hands.  Oh well, I am so used to running with my purse, that this seemed to be a minimal distraction.

Given that I ran wire to wire at the back of the pack, I had a police escort right behind me for the entire race (turned out to actually be saint john ambulance folks in the car).  While I knew they were there, not once did I turn back to look at them (runner's superstition is to never look back during a race, no matter what). 

My pace remained fairly constant throughout the race. I slowed down to a walk during the few short hills on the course, and found myself limping badly and feeling totally exhausted during the last 4 km, but I managed to get accross the finishing with a smile on my face, essentially laughing along with the finish line attendants - all of who know me.  Gun time was 2.57.40, and chip time will likely prove to be about 20 seconds less.  Close call and a few moments where I though I would have to drop out, but I struck it through.  Depicted below is my finishers medal and my bib. 

Not sure when or where I will race next. For now, I am extremely happy to have survived this one, a race that was pure physical torture for 3 hours.

I

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Animals and Ponds 5/26/2012

wow, i had a lovely afternoon of animal interaction.  i dropped into Lesters Farm to visit their rabbits, goats, ostriches and others. then hit burton's pond to see the newly-hatched first batch of baby duckies. 12 in totol, who were peeping away at me while i fed birdseed to their adult duck colleagues.  then it was my first visit to left pond of the year, where i jumped in for a swim and took in the peaceful woods.. oh, i also swam in kent's ponds with two lovely german sheppard dogs, who's owner was throwing sticks in the pond for them to chase after.  hmmm, seems ironic how i feel more comfortable liasing with other animals than other humans.. oh, now i have two cats and one hamster here at home looking for attention!  ahh, a relaxing day before a big race. going to bed early tonight for my 5 am wake up call.  such a nice sunny day here. when the weather is nice (which is rare) there is no better place in the world..

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Ready to rock! (and run too) 5/26/2012

I was wondering if the day would ever come for me to feel ready and confident enough to pin one of these on my shirts ever again! 21.1k half marathon tomorrow in Mount Pearl. the 3rd time in 4 years iIhave run this! The best two runs of my seasons were these two runs in 2009 and 2011 respectively. I'm going in on torn ankle ligaments but improved enough from 6 months of physio. Hope I can finish without to much pain, and before the time limit! so excited to be running again! Follow @Jenn_McCreath Tweet