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Montréal Outgames:
A Political Magnet
Montréal,
4 August 2006 – This week,
Montréal is not only the gathering place
for 12,000 proud participants competing for medals,
celebrating culture and rights, and fulfilling their
dreams; the Outgames have also become the meeting
place for many prominent Canadian political figures.
Regardless of their political affiliations, politicians
from all levels of government have flocked to the
Outgames to speak out in favour of LGBT rights,
hand out medals, host receptions for athletes, and
even participate in various competitions.
“From the very beginning,
the Montréal
Outgames have benefited from the positive support
of all political parties at all levels of government,” said Louise
Roy, CEO of the Outgames. “We
are very proud of the fact that this commitment
has been evident throughout the week, as many
senior parliamentarians and elected officials
have come out to show their support, encourage
athletes, and inspire our volunteers.”
In this regard, the notable
presence of severable Québec government
ministers is worth highlighting. In particular, Line Beauchamp,
Minister of Culture and Communications welcomed
participants on behalf of the provincial government
during the opening ceremonies. For his part, Yvon
Marcoux, Québec’s Minister
of Justice, was keynote speaker at the Opening Ceremonies
of the Outgames LGBT Rights Conference.
Finally, Jean-Marc
Fournier, Minister of Education, Sports
and Recreation, will be addressing attendees at
the Closing Ceremonies.
From the Federal government, the Outgames have
welcomed three representatives to date. While the Honourable
Michael Fortier, Minister of Public Works
and Government Services, welcomed participants at
the Opening Ceremonies, on behalf of the Government
of Canada, his colleague, the Honourable
John Baird, President of the Treasury Board
and Member of Parliament (MP) from the Ottawa area,
attended the reception hosted by the Ontario Government
in honour of the athletes from that province. In
addition, Luc Harvey, Conservative
MP from Lévis-Bellechasse, attended the Official
Reception marking the Opening Ceremonies.
Other politicians were also
active during Wednesday’s
golf tournament at Club de Golf Métropolitain. Gilles
Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Québécois, Agnès
Maltais, Member of Québec’s
National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Taschereau
(Parti Québécois), and Martin
Lemay, Parti Québécois MNA
for Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques competed in a friendly,
yet competitive, round.
Réal Ménard (Bloc
Québécois), the openly gay federal
Member of Parliament for the Montréal riding
of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, the area that encompasses
the Olympic Village, competed in Men’s Wrestling
66 kg-74 kg (145 lbs.-163 lbs.), Master’s
(age 36 and up) category. He took home the silver
medal. The presence at the official face-off of
the Outgames hockey finals of the Honourable
Ken Dryden, former Minister of Social Development,
current leadership hopeful for the Liberal Party
of Canada and foremost, Canadian hockey legend,
is also worth noting.
Montréal’s mayor, Gérald
Tremblay, has been front and centre in
his support and presence both before and during
the games. Under his leadership, Montréal
has provided significant assistance. For instance,
Outgames participants can ride free on the city’s
public transit system during the games. Furthermore,
Montréal has installed banners throughout
the city promoting the games and made world-class
sports facilities available for competitions.
Tremblay has been a constant presence, speaking
at the International Conference on LGBT Human
Rights, opening the games with Olympic champion
and Outgames Co-President Mark Tewksbury and
tennis great Martina Navratilova,
and hosting a series of receptions at City Hall.
Saturday morning, he will also be giving the official
send-off, from Jacques-Cartier Bridge, for athletes
taking part in the Marathon.
Since Montréal is made
up of 19 boroughs, each one is headed by its own
mayor. Benoît
Labonté, the mayor of Ville-Marie,
Montréal’s downtown borough covering
the financial and commercial district and the Gay
Village, has also been an active supporter. The
Borough of Ville-Marie has provided significant
logistical support to the Outgames and, last Tuesday
night, it became the first elected body in the world
to endorse the Declaration of Montréal, adopted
by the Outgames Conference on LGBT Human Rights
last Saturday.
Montréal’s Executive
Committee was also well represented by its Vice
President in charge of Sports and Leisure, Fancine
Sénéchal whose
steadfast commitment to the Outgames has been noteworthy.
She will be taking part in Saturday Awards ceremony
for marathoners at the Olympic Stadium.
“Montréal is
a uniquely open and diverse city and Canada
a country respectful of its LGBT communities.
Our allies are numerous and we are grateful
for the strong commitment on LGBT rights from
political leaders of all stripes,” concluded
Mark Tewksbury, Co-President of the Outgames.
List of Political Figures that attended Outgames
activities:
- Hon. John Baird, Federal Minister
of the Treasury Board (Conservative Party)
- Mr. Tim Barnett,
Member of Parliament (Labour Party) New-Zealand
- Line Beauchamp,
Québec
Minister of Culture and Communications (Liberal
Party)
- Hon. Scott Brison,
Member of Parliament (Liberal Party)
- André Boisclair,
Leader of the Parti Québécois
- Hon. Denis Coderre,
Member of Parliament (Liberal Party)
- Hon. Ken Dryden,
Member of Parliament (Liberal Party)
- Gilles Duceppe,
Member of Parliament and leader of the Bloc Québécois
- Hon. Michael Fortier,
Federal Minister of Public Works and Government
Services (Conservative Party)
- Jean-Marc Fournier,
Québec
Minister of Education, Sports and Recreation (Liberal
Party)
- Sammy Forcillo, Executive
Committee Member, City of Montréal
- Hon. Liza Frulla,
former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament
(Liberal Party)
- Hon. Hedy Fry,
Member of Parliament (Liberal Party)
- Mr. Martin Geerson, Mayor
responsible for Culture and Recreation, City of
Copenhagen
- Hon. Bill Graham,
Interim leader of the Federal Liberal Party and
Leader of the Opposition
- Luc Harvey, Member
of Parliament (Conservative Party)
- Benoît Labonté,
Mayor of the Borough of Ville-Marie (City of Montréal)
- Martin Lemay,
Member of Québec’s
National Assembly (Parti Québécois)
- Agnès Maltais,
Member of Québec’s National Assembly (Parti
Québécois)
- Yvon Marcoux,
Quebec Minister of Justice (Liberal Party)
- Pauline Marois,
former Cabinet Minister and Member of the Québec National
Assembly
- Réal Ménard,
Federal Member of Parliament (Bloc Québécois)
- Svend Robinson,
former Member of Parliament (New Democratic Party)
- Jean-Luc Romero,
Prominent French Politician leading the fight
against HIV/AIDS
- Francine Sénécal,
Executive Committee Member, City of Montréal
- Bill Siksay, Federal
Member of Parliament (New Democratic Party)
- Mario Silva, Federal
Member of Parliament (Liberal Party)
- Gérald Tremblay,
Mayor of Montréal
- Hon. Jim Watson,
Ontario Minister of Health Promotion (Liberal
Party)
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