Transgender community gathers in remembrance, opposition to Alberta legislation

An attendee holds a candle in recognition of trans people who have died during the Trans Day of Remembrance event in Edmonton on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (Amber Bracken / The Canadian Press)

EDMONTON -

Dillon Ford has never marked Transgender Day of Remembrance before.

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But on Wednesday night, the 23-year-old transgender man said he felt it was important to go to an Edmonton community centre to remember the transgender people who've died around the world, and in Alberta, in recent years.

"It's helping me see hope," said Ford while at the memorial.

"I think now more than ever, I want to remember how important it is to learn about trans people, how people just want to be happy and live their lives how they want to."

Ford said he began losing hope in October, when Alberta's United Conservative Party government introduced three bills that would affect transgender people.

If enacted, the bills would restrict transgender athletes from competing in female amateur sports, prohibit doctors from treating those under 16 seeking gender-affirming surgeries and require children under 16 to have parental consent if they want to change their names or pronouns at school.

Premier Danielle Smith has said the proposed legislation is part of an effort to keep children safe and that parents need to know what’s going on with their children.

Critics have called the proposed laws the most restrictive in Canada. Amnesty International and LGBTQ+ groups have condemned the measures.

Among the critics is the organizer of Wednesday's event, Adebayo Chris Katiiti, a 29-year-old therapist who was beaten and jailed in Uganda for being a transgender man before he fled to Edmonton in 2016.

He said he wasn't surprised Wednesday's event saw new faces and had the largest turnout he has seen since he began organizing in 2018 because transgender community members have been feeling more isolated and targeted by the legislations this year.

"The bills that have been tabled here in Alberta continue to suffocate and jeopardize the lives of trans individuals. The bills perpetuate stigma," said Katiiti, 29, a therapist and life coach who works with the LGBTQ+ community.

"We are here having a government, who's supposed to protect us, passing laws that give voices and space to groups to attack our people."

Wednesday's solemn event began with a slideshow that listed some of the 427 transgender people who died from violence or suicide in recent years around the world. One was stoned to death, another burned alive. One was 14 years old.

Through tears, and while attendees held candles, Katiiti said two people on the list — one a friend — were Albertans who died in 2022.

Among the speakers at the event who highlighted Alberta's legislations was Dee Lachet.

"This legislation is... working to put the LGBTQ and the transgender and gender diverse community in a negative light...It's important that we rally and gather on a day like today because who's going to fight for us if not us," she said during an interview at the gathering.

"It has felt very tiring to see just how much disdain and ignorance exists around gender-diverse people." 

Alberta's minister of arts, culture and status of women said in a statement about Transgender Remembrance Day that she's committed to supporting transgender people and promoting understanding and respect for all Albertans.

"We also recommit ourselves to creating a province where everyone is free to be their true authentic self, free from violence and prejudice," Tanya Fir said. "There is no place for hate or intolerance within our province.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.