LGBTQ advocates call for special council advisory committee

Edmontonians who identify as LGBTQ are hoping to bring their voices to city hall through their own special advisory committee.

The committee would ideally mimic asuccessful model used in Vancouver, according to Kris Wells, faculty director with theInstitute for Sexual Minority Studies at the University of Alberta.

Vancouver's committee meets once a month to discussLGBTQissues, advise the city onLGBTQ-relatedpolicy decisions and develop strategies for a more inclusive city.

Committee seats are also reserved for at least one non-gender-conforming person and another for an Indigenous person.

Vancouver also has a separate committee dedicated totransgenderand gender-variant individuals.

Coun. ScottMcKeentoldCBCNews in an emailed statement that he is working with Coun. Andrew Knack and city administration to file a formal inquiry into the committee before council breaks on Dec. 8.

"It's on civic leaders to build trust with vulnerable folks,"McKeenwrote. "It's critical we tell the stories of discrimination so allEdmontonianscan learn of how their fellow citizens live in fear."

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There were2,315 same-sex families living in Edmonton in 2011, the most recent census dataon Edmonton's same-sex community show. However, the number of self-identifying LGBTQ individuals was not measured.

"[The advisory group]says to the queer community that we think you're important and we want to make sure that we're working on things that will be of consequence for you," former councillor MichaelPhairtoldCBCNews.

Planning council called for committee in 2016

Last year, the city's social planning council submitted a report calling for an LGBTQ advisory committee that would partner with various levels of government, academia and the private sector.

Phair said the last city council was quite attentive to LGBTQissues but said a formal committee would ensure more consistent communication.

"When you have an advisory group, they officially get together on a regular basis [and]that ensures that the contact from the community and from the city are recognized and they become transparent that way,"Phairsaid.

A survey conducted by the Capital Club, an LGBTQ professional networking group in Edmonton, tested the waters for an LGBTQ advisory committee with council hopefuls during the October municipal election.

The club's president, Todd Herron, said he noticed a strong support for the committee from the councillors he surveyed.

Other organizations in Edmonton already haveLGBTQ committees in place. Since 2004, the Edmonton policeChief's Advisory Council has includeda separate committee that advises the police service on how to develop trust with sexual minorities.

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"There are a variety of other LGBTQ issues at the municipal order of government that go beyond policing," Herron said in a statement about the police group.

"An LGBTQ committee advising city council would provide a mechanism for a two-way dialogue across a broader range of LGBTQ issues."

'We still have a long way to go'

Phair said committees can make better decisions more effectively than one councillor can.

"There isn't any doubt in my mind that many things get on the agenda because of advisory groups," he said. "I do think oftentimes those become priorities."

LGBTQyouth homelessness and seniors' housing are two issues the committee should be working to address, Wells said. A 2012 study by the University of Toronto found that 25 to 40 per cent of Canadian homeless youth identify as LGBTQ.

While Wells said he supports the creation of an LGBTQ advisory committee, he said it will take some time for the city to be fully inclusive and welcoming to some of its most vulnerable citizens.

"I still wouldn't hold my partner's hand in some parts of this city because of intimidation," Wells said. "Edmonton is a progressive city but we still have a long way to go."

anna.desmarais@cbc.ca

@anna_desmarais