PFLAG Canada is a national non-profit organization which brings together family and friends of
LGBTQ
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
people in Canada. It was begun separately and without knowledge of the American
PFLAG
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is an LGBTQ advocacy organization founded and led by friends and family of LGBTQ people. PFLAG is a national organization presiding over decentralized local and regional chapters. PFLAG has nearly ...
which performs the same functions in the United States. As of November 2014 PFLAG Canada has over 70 chapters and/or contacts in nine Canadian provinces. The board of directors is responsible for six regions across Canada, and includes a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer among others.
History
In Toronto in the 1970s, meetings of non-LGBT but welcoming family members were held under the banner of Parents Of Gays (POG). Changes were accelerated by Rev.
Brent Hawkes
Brent Hawkes (born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian gay rights activist and clergyman at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), which is an international LGBT-affirmi ...
of the
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming Christian denominations, LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. The ...
of Toronto, who brought
Betty Fairchild
Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany (given name), Bethany and Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the La ...
, co-author of ''Now That You Know'', to POG meetings. After POG was advertised in ''
Chatelaine
Chatelaine may refer to:
*Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc.
* Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse
* ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...
'', Anne Rutledge of Mississauga contacted June Tattle (a friend of Fairchild and parent of a gay child), after which POG was amalgamated with Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (FFLAG), started by Pauline Martin and her son Russell in October 1981. The new organization was re-styled as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or Parents FLAG.
After a number of media appearances by Rutledge and other members of Parents FLAG, other chapters were established throughout Canada in the 1980s and 1990s. Finally, in 2003, the movement was nationally consolidated as PFLAG Canada, renamed so as to distinguish the organization from the American
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
of a similar name. It was consolidated as a federal corporation in 2005, and all chapters were renamed as PFLAG Canada to reflect the changes.
Endorsements
PFLAG Canada officially endorses the
web series
A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...
''
Out With Dad''.
Partnerships
PFLAG Canada has had a number of partnerships, the most noteworthy being with FCB Toronto when the PSA "Nobody's Memories" aired across Canada and North America.
See also
*
Tehila (
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
)
*
Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
)
*
COLAGE
*
Family Pride Canada
*
Brenda Howard Memorial Award
The Brenda Howard Memorial Award is an award for activism created in 2005 by the Queens Chapter of PFLAG and named after Brenda Howard. It was the first award by a major American LGBT organization to be named after an openly bisexual person. The aw ...
References
External links
PFLAG Canadahttp://fcbtoronto.com/our-work/nobodys-memories/ {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220192149/http://fcbtoronto.com/our-work/nobodys-memories/ , date=2017-02-20
LGBTQ political advocacy groups in Canada
LGBTQ family and peer support groups