The federal government has just dumped over half a million dollars into an organization to track “anti-trans organizing” and concerned parents asking questions at school board meetings or protesting outside its office.
The Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez awarded $516,036.00 to a trans activist group JusticeTrans. In the description it says it will do a “pan-Canadian environmental scan” collaborating with other activist and lobby groups including school boards targeted by “anti-trans violence”.
JusticeTrans will work with decision makers and the “project will contribute to changing cultural norms and behaviours and to encourage decision-makers to implement new policy and practices.” The project will run from Jan 16, 2023 – Mar 31, 2024.
Will do a “pan-Canadian environmental scan” collaborating with other activist and lobby groups including school boards targeted by “anti-trans violence.”
The group will work on surveilling concerned parents participating in “anti-trans organizing.”
“This will be achieved by identifying, documenting, and tracking anti-trans organizing in Canada, and developing safety solution to address it.”
“Based on the needs identified and the data collected on anti-trans organizing efforts, the organization will create resources to safely respond to anti-trans hate and lobbying, in collaboration with key partners from 2SLGBTQI+ communities. “
“Within this project, JusticeTrans will work with decision makers as part of its advocacy strategy to protect the rights of trans people in Canada, to improve the understanding of organized anti-trans hate, to increase empathy toward 2STNBGN people, and to build support from allies. Thus, the project will contribute to changing cultural norms and behaviours and to encourage decision-makers to implement new policy and practices.”
Protests and any other gatherings that are anti-gender ideology or anti-SOGI 123 such as the recent protest popping up in Ontario spearheaded by the Muslim and Christian communities and other parts of the country will be subjected to data on them being collected and shared with the federal government.
The JusticeTrans website states claims like “JusticeTrans recognizes that Canadian law is a colonial creation that is inherently oppressive to the lives of many.”
A message on its website also claims the law is used to harm everyone that’s not white additionally a “tool for transphobia, homophobia, and sexism” and to prop up “white supremacy and patriarchy.”
It also received $195,970 to work in partnership with another project called Tracking (In)Justice: A publicly accessible online database of police-involved and carceral deaths across Canada
JusticeTrans has receive several other government grants bringing that value up over one million dollars for a total of $1,039,974.00 that could currently be found.
It was given $338,716 by Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) between Nov 10, 2020 – Mar 31, 2022.
“WAGE has generously awarded JusticeTrans $338,716 from the LGBTQ2 Community Capacity Fund for the completion of the Trans A2J Knowledge Enhancement and Capacity Building Project. The funds will be used to hire full-time and part-time employees to work on the project, to cover the administrative cost of the project, and to cover various professional fees for translation, legal advice, graphic design, grant writing, training, dissemination of materials, etc” JusticeTrans wrote in a statement.
It received two injections of $5,111.00 for administrative costs (here and here)
All of the projects are described as “strengthen the capacity of JusticeTrans to advance LGBTQ2 equality.”
JusticeTrans also got a grant for $175,000.00, according to the description the first funding installment will be used to pay for an audit of the organization for for fiscal year 2022 and non-profit insurance.
“The second supplement (for phase 2) will be used to build organizational capacity, undertake a community-based strategic planning process and to develop a national network of Two Spirit, trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming advocates, legal professionals, law students, and community-based organizations and allies.”
[Update] The headline was edited to more accurately describe the project
