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Significant Dates - 2SLGBTQ+
Home / Social Justice / 2SLGBTQ+ / Significant Dates - 2SLGBTQ+

Significant Dates - 2SLGBTQ+

2SLGBTQ+ communities mark a number of significant days. ETFO encourages all Ontarians to learn about and celebrate these days.

Each year, ETFO recognizes the International Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). It is a day to remember transgender people, gender non-conforming individuals and those perceived to be transgender who have been murdered because of hate. Read our press release for November 2020.

ETFO has created a list of resources on Trans Allyship which is available here. Nomination forms and complete awards eligibility criteria are available from  Status of Women Canada. 

Learn more about the day here.

For member resources, ETFO members can log in to ETFO Secure.

The Day of Pink is the day to take action on Bullying, Homophobia and Transphobia. As in previous years, members and their students have voluntarily participated in this day.

The Day of Pink was started in Nova Scotia in 2007 when two Grade 12 students saw a Grade 9 student who wearing a pink shirt being bullied on the first day of school. Bullies harassed the boy, called him a homosexual for wearing pink and threatened to beat him up. The two Grade 12 students - David Shepherd and Travis Price bought and distributed 50 pink shirts and encouraged peers to arrive to school wearing pink.

The result was that the school took a stand and began working together to prevent bullying.

For more information click here.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has been celebrated every year on May 17 since 2004.

May 17 was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. This day draws the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by 2SLGBTQ+ people internationally. At the International Conference on LGBT Community Human Rights in 2006, the Declaration of Montreal included a recommendation to host an International Day Against Homophobia on May 17 of each year. Most United Nations agencies also mark the day with specific events.

On April 6, 2020, Egale Canada released its National Survey Results: The Impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQI2S Community. This report, which was created through an in-kind partnership with INNOVATIVE Research Group, is extremely relevant and timely as it highlights the specific impact that the COVID-19 crisis has on Canada’s LGBTQI2S community. 

May17.org is a website that has a variety of resources and posters from around the world and includes ideas for action under lockdown. 

To learn more click here.

Pride is an integral part of inclusive classrooms and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario continues to work towards creating safe and inclusive spaces in all of Ontario’s public schools and classrooms.

​For more information contact mhardy@etfo.org at the ETFO provincial office.

Click here for a list of Pride events across Ontario.