Bios

Gilles Marchildon Biography

Gilles Marchildon is the Executive Director of Egale Canada and the Egale Canada Human Rights Trust. Prior to assuming his dual position in January 2003, Mr. Marchildon ran his own communications, marketing and event planning firm in Winnipeg called People and Ideas. He sat on Egale’s board of directors as one of the Prairie region representatives and was also the founder and director of the Reel Pride festival put on annually by the Winnipeg Gay and Lesbian Film Society. In Manitoba, he
also served as Interim Executive Director at the Winnipeg Film Group and was employed at one point by the Manitoba Legislative Task Force on Canadian Unity. Working with a board of directors is not new for him.

In addition to sitting on numerous boards, including the Ontario Federation of Students, Direction Jeunesse and Ottawa’s ALGO Centre, he managed the board of directors for TVOntario, the Ontario Arts Council and the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba. Mr. Marchildon has also pursued a career in arts management to the benefit of the Julie West Dance Foundation, Pro-Arts, Ottawa’s Festival Franco, Winnipeg’s Festival du Voyageur, the Music Arts Academy and numerous performing artists. This has complemented his work in the cultural tourism field. A long-time advocate of equality and human rights, both within and beyond the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, he has written for Toronto and Vancouver’s XTRA! Magazines and Toronto’s ICON Magazine. His editorial pieces on LGBT issues have been published in the Globe and Mail and the Winnipeg Free Press. Gilles was also Editor/Publisher of Winnipeg-based Swerve newsmagazine for four years and continues to pen a weekly column on LGBT issues for Uptown magazine. A graduate in Political Science from the University of Ottawa, the fluently bilingual Gilles Marchildon hails originally from Penetanguishene in southern Ontario but has lived in Ottawa, Paris, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Dr. Lorne Warneke

• Graduated from medicine in 1967
• Received his FRCP in Psychiatry in 1973
• Did a year at the Maudsley Hospital in London England for about a year in 1973
• Has been a general psychiatrist in Edmonton since 1974
• Was Clinical Head of Psychiatry at the Grey Nuns Hospital for 21 years, until 2004
• Currently is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Alberta
• Has a stong interest in biological psychiatry and is currently considered an expert in the area of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Has always been interested in transgenderism and began seeing such individuals in 1976
• Has also been interested in human rights and human sexuality and as such presented a brief to the Alberta Government along with three others in 1985 and 1989 to change the Alberta Human Rights Legislation to include sexual orientation; provided considerable input to the Delwin Vriend case that was brought to the Supreme Court of Canada and was won (Sheila Grackol, legal counsel).
• Provided a brief to the Alberta Government on same sex relationships and the ability to parent as part of the defense for the case of "Miss T" that did not have to go to court after all.
• Started a gender clinic at Grey Nuns Hospital in 1996 which has expanded in a major way.
• Currently is one of the two psychiatrists in Alberta that Alberta Health accepts to recommend sex reassignment surgery for appropriate transgendered individuals
• Continues to lobby for the rights of individuals who are transgendered.

Kindred House

Kindred House is a program of Boyle McCauley Health Centre. Kindred House is a drop-in resource centre that offers a number of programs and services to prostitutes including a kitchen area with food provided by the Edmonton Food Bank It offers a safe and supportive environment for women and transgendered individuals over the age of 18 for drop-in services and resource referrals. The program is harm reduction based and serves women and and a significant number of trans people
involved in street prostitution. They offer a place to go, food, some personal care items and support for 5 hours a day 5 days a week.

Hate and Bias Crimes Unit Information

Mission Statement

The Hate and Bias Crime Initiative advocates for a safe and inclusive environment for our diverse and multicultural society. The initiative is committed to building a framework to manage issues and prevent occurrences involving hate.

What is a hate crime?

The Edmonton Police Service defines a hate crime as:

An offence committed against a person or property, which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the suspect’s hate, bias or prejudice towards an identifiable group based on, real or perceived, race, national or ethnic origin, language, color, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or any other similar factor.

Examples of hate/bias crime include:

* Violence, threats of violence,
* Acts of mischief or vandalism
* Distribution of hate literature, hate mail,
* Threatening phone calls, and/or
* Destruction of religious property or symbols.

If one of these criminal acts occurs, and the investigating officer feels it is motivated by hatred, bias or prejudice, the file will be classified as a hate crime.

What are hate incidents?

It is important to note that not all incidents of hate are criminal in nature. However, the impact on the individual or community is similar. For a variety of reasons, it is important to report these occurrences to Police.

Some examples are:

* Intimidation against identifiable groups or individuals,
* Distribution of prejudicial material, and/or
* Use of racial slurs against individuals.

Hate Propaganda Sections

Hate Propaganda is defined as:

Any communication, poster and/or graffiti used by a person or group which promotes hatred based on race religion, nationality or ethnic origin.

There are three Hate Propaganda sections in the Criminal Code. These sections are separate from the Criminal Code occurrences.

1. Section 318, Advocating Genocide
2. Section 319 (1), Public Incitement of Hatred
3. Section 319 (2), Willful Promotion of Hatred

Advocating Genocide Section 318

Is to argue or urge people to kill others because on their color, race, religion or ethnic origin. Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part any identifiable group namely:

* Killing members of the group, or
* Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of calculated to bring about its physical destruction.

Public Incitement of Hatred Section 319 (1)

Everyone who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of an offence.

Willful Promotion of Hatred Section 319 (2)

Everyone who by communicating statements other than in private conversation, willfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group is guilty of an offence.

Are you a victim?

How to know if you may be a victim of hate crime or hate incident? There are a number of indicators that may assist you in your assessment. Here are a few examples:

* Language of the offender,
* Hate graffiti,
* No association between the offender and you, and/or
* The victim and offender are from two different groups.

What to do if you are a victim of a crime motivated by hatred?

If it is a crime in progress, call 911.

If it is not a crime in progress, contact the Edmonton Police Service complaint line at (780) 423-4567.

Please make sure that the investigating officer understands that you perceive the crime as being motivated by hatred. The investigation will make its way to the Hate and Bias office for file review and follow up.