2SLGBTQ+ community in Windsor, Ont., worries about rise in hatred in wake of Trump order
CBC
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
Trump, on his first day in office, ordered an end to a range of policies aimed at promoting racial equity and protecting rights for 2SLGBTQ+ people.
During his speech, Trump also said it is now "the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female."
The executive order requires the government to use the term "sex" rather than "gender," while mandating that identification documents issued by the government, including passports and visas, be based on what it described as "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female."
"This is quite ridiculous," said Mulaisho, the founder and managing director of Queer and Trans Migrant Advocacy Alliance of Windsor-Essex.
"What do you call me now? How do you perceive me to be? It's a human rights violation."
Mulaisho said this will elicit and legitimize hatred against the larger 2SLGBTQ+ community.
"What affects the U.S. eventually also affects us here in Canada," they said.
"There are so many problems going on right now in the world, let them focus on those that are actual problems instead of making sexuality, which is not a problem, a huge thing."
They said they are also receiving "quite a lot of calls from the U.S." where people are concerned for their safety.
In Windsor-Essex, Mulaisho said they are hearing growing concerns about potential increase of hatred and violence.
Akshat Virmani moved from India to Windsor to feel comfortable in her skin as a trans woman.
"In my high school, I was bullied a lot," Virmani said with tears in her eyes. "But there is hate and bigotry which is still prevailing in this society too.
"It is quite disgusting…The order will be causing even more division and more bigotry and hate."
As Vancouver nears its April 5 two-seat byelection, candidates have been in neighbourhoods talking directly with voters at several all-candidates meetings, but two in particular have, so far, been absent.
A Simcoe, Ont., woman has entered into a peace bond after she sprayed her neighbour with a water gun and was charged with assault.
This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration as told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it.
It's as Canadian as hockey, the maple leaf and Canada geese.
Toronto's 2026 FIFA World Cup committee wants to spend nearly $11 million on ticket packages for the upcoming games and resell them at marked up prices, with some councillors saying the move would amount to "scalping" with taxpayers' money.
Ontario universities host both the men's and women's U Sports hockey championship tournaments this week, but teams from New Brunswick and Alberta enter as the top seeds with games set to begin on Thursday.
The amount and duration of shore ice around Prince Edward Island has been changing in recent years, and researchers say shorter seasons are a concern because the ice provides a protective shield against winter storms and erosion.
Canada's national defence minister says plans for a naval facility project in Nunavut failed to consider the local context, and that his department has learned lessons from that.
Canada's new prime minister is facing growing criticism from advocacy groups upset that ministers solely dedicated to their issues are no longer around the cabinet table.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl across the border must be stopped.
Premier Doug Ford's new cabinet will be sworn in Wednesday, and some conservative strategists expect familiar ministers to be sitting around that table as the re-elected Progressive Conservatives try to project stability in the face of U.S. tariffs.
London's two major school boards are ending in-person summer school, a move that has caught teachers' unions off-guard and some say will hurt students.
N.S. Opposition wants dismissal provisions for civil servants halted until PCs can explain rationale
The minister in charge of Nova Scotia's civil service said Tuesday a bill that would allow the province to get rid of non-union government employees without cause will proceed unchanged.