The B.C. Legislature raised a transgender flag for the first time in its history Wednesday morning.
The pink and blue flag was raised at parliament in honour of the international Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), a day to remember those who have lost their lives because of acts of transphobic violence and harassment.
“As a government, we’re taking steps to make our province safe and welcoming for trans people by affirming, acknowledging and teaching about all gender identities in our schools, providing a non-binary gender option on government identification, improving access to gender-affirming surgeries, and re-establishing a human rights commission to fight inequality and discrimination in all its forms,” a statement from Premier John Horgan says on the government’s website.
The raising of the flag took place at 11:30 a.m. this morning, with Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, Mitzi Dean, representing the province.
“This moment is long overdue. In a better world, it would be a moment of celebration. But in this world, where so many trans people are hurt and killed for who they are, it is a call to fight for justice for all,” reads Horgan’s statement.
The TDOR was established in 1999 when a vigil was held for Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in Boston the year before. Since then, it has evolved into an international day of action with memorials that typically involve reading the names of those who have lost their lives in the previous year.
Following the flag-raising ceremony, a banner presentation and candlelight vigil will take place at Bastion Square.
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