Several current and former Trudeau scholars and mentors are taking part in the two-day seminar, including Louise Charron, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, former CTV and CBC journalist Rosemary Thompson, and noted wheelchair athlete and disability studies scholar Danielle Peers.
At the end of the two days of discussion, several prominent participants will attempt to draw some conclusions during a final public session. The group includes Peers, Line Chamberland, who holds the Research Chair in the Study of Homophobia at UQAM; Bruno Selun, who manages the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights, and Gabrielle Bouchard, coordinator of the Centre for Gender Advocacy at Concordia.
Bouchard says she’s looking forward to seeing what rights get discussed during the conference. “There’s this narrative that equal rights is a fact here in Canada, but it’s not true. Trans people don’t have equal rights in Quebec and in most provinces. So, who are we talking about? Which rights are we talking about? How are we defining the idea of rights?”
Among the speakers Bouchard is excited to hear from is Jake Pyne, a Trudeau scholar, who has been an advocate and researcher in Toronto’s transgender community for more than a decade. “Pyne is sort of a hero figure in trans communities and trans activism, so it's going to be hugely interesting to hear him talk and see what he has to say.”
Human Rights and Dignity is one of the four themes that govern the work of the Trudeau Foundation. Bouchard says she’s excited to learn more about how the charity supports its scholars and mentors advocating for LGBTQ Human Rights.
“I’m going to have a lot of fun throughout the whole two days, then at the end, trying to come up with a cohesive idea of the whole conference,” she says. “I’m very happy that I was invited to take part.”
Several Concordia scholars are participating in the 27th edition of the Entretiens Jacques-Cartier. There are 27 different colloquiums taking place from October 2 to October 10, on themes ranging from Jewish migrations to the development of viable electrical transportation fleets.
Visit the website for more information about the sessions happening in Montreal.