Pride in a pandemic: Festivities go virtual during COVID-19
By Mira Williamson — Pride Month is normally a time for LGBTQ+ folks and allies to gather and celebrate. But COVID-19 has definitely rained on this year’s parade in cities across North America. Still, the show of support will go on, say Pride festival organizers who are taking steps toContinue Reading
Lady ‘A’ name change long overdue
I downloaded my first Lady Antebellum song in 2014. It was ‘Need You Now’—the catchy song about someone feeling lonely and calling their former love in the early hours of the morning. It topped all the charts that year. At that time, I wasn’t exactly a dedicated fan. MyContinue Reading
Vancouver Pride Society explains decision to exclude police from events
By Eva Zhu — Vancouver Pride Society is sticking to its move to ban uniformed police from this year’s parade in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, despite the mayor announcing he was “saddened,” by the decision, an official said Thursday. It is important to remember the history of police victimizingContinue Reading
Reducing Vancouver Police budget: experts call for alternative solutions
By Eva Zhu — VANCOUVER — Amid calls across North America to “defund the police,” in the wake of an horrific killing of a Black man at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, a debate is swirling in Vancouver over whether to decrease the police department’s operatingContinue Reading
Peel Police investigating shooting, young male injured
By Monika Sidhu — Peel Police are investigating a shooting that injured a young male early Thursday morning. The youth turned up at a Brampton hospital with a gunshot wound around 1:12 a.m., police said. His injuries are considered serious, but not life-threatening, they said. Police did not release anyContinue Reading
COVID-19: Post-secondary education for about 10,000 students to re-start July 2
By Vicky Qiao The province announced plans for reopening post-secondary education Wednesday, with some in-person classes scheduled to start in less than a month. The limited summer reopening plan is aimed at helping students who should be graduating but have been unable to finish their studies due to COVID-19 closures,Continue Reading
Cross-border couples left off travel ban exemptions say government shouldn’t ‘dictate’ whose relationships are essential
By Monika Sidhu — Chantal Philion is placing a lot of faith into June 21, 2020. That’s the new date the federal government has set for lifting the ban on “non-essential” travel between Canada and the U.S. That means if the ban doesn’t get extended again, it will be theContinue Reading
LGBTQ+ Harry Potter fans question their loyalty after transphobic J.K. Rowling tweets
By Eva Zhu — Savannah Bagshaw says growing up, J.K. Rowling created a whole new universe for her and many others. It was an inclusive community, where everyone had a chance to be accepted and find solace in their own way. Now, the 24-year-old says she no longer admires RowlingContinue Reading
COVID-19: New chapter for libraries and other businesses set to re-open as Ontario enters Phase 2
By Mira Williamson — Premier Doug Ford announced Monday that Ontario would take a regional approach to reopening with 24 regions of the province — but not all — entering Phase 2 Friday. For those regions, that means as many gatherings can include as many as 10 people, up fromContinue Reading
Ontario student athletes ‘very disappointed’ after season cancelled
By Adriana Vicic — Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, university-level student athletes continued to prepare for a season they didn’t know would happen. They’ve now received some clarity. Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced Monday that it had cancelled all sanctioned sport programming and championships until December 31, 2020. Marsh, a 20-year-oldContinue Reading