Ottawa TDoR Marred by Arrests
Filed by dentedbluemercedes
November 25, 2010

http://dentedbluemercedes.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/ottawa-tdor-marred-by-arrests/

Ottawa is quite a distance from me, so I can't speak definitively to what happened on Saturday.  Perhaps attendees can fill us in on the details.  What I do know is that two participants in a Transgender Day of Remembrance march in Ottawa were arrested for mischief when they attempted to hang a banner reading "Remember Stonewall" from a Highway 417 overpass (and this caused a bit of confusion, when one headline referred to "417 charges").

Ottawa was notable this year in that their original plans for a march turned into two separate marches, when the Ottawa Police Services planned to unfurl a commemorative flag and lead the march.  The OPS participation is historic.  Over the years, trans people have not been well treated by law enforcement, so there was some obvious distrust and feeling that OPS was attempting to co-opt the event.  "Remember Stonewall" alludes to the fact that the Stonewall riots that touched off the LGBT rights movement were sparked by police raids on the Stonewall Inn in New York.  Xtra covers some of the divergent opinions:

I was there and it was a great demonstration with a talk from Bill Siksay, the MP that introduced to bill to the house, that would include gender expression and orientation to the Canadian human rights act.  It was followed by a very chilly vigil that evening in front of the monument for human rights in Ottawa. 

It is true that 2 were arrested, but from my understanding, they weren't arrested for hanging the banner as all the news stories report, but because they refused to give there names.  Typically, mischief is not a chargeable offence, but the police could not issue the ticket without the 2 giving their personal information. 

I am still unsure weather this helped or hindered the cause.  It did generate a lot of news of the event that may not have been reported otherwise.  But at the same time, maybe more focus would have been on the reason for the demonstration, than the arrests. 

Jenna