A Jan. 8 news release describes the action plan as a “co-ordinated road map to advance equity, improve access to services and supports, and build safer, more inclusive communities.”
It “identifies changes” in a bid to help improve provincial programs and policies and better support the “full inclusion” of 2SLGBTQIA+ people.
The community includes those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit and who identify using other terms related to gender or sexual diversity.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General Scott Armstrong said racism and hate “have no place” in the province.
“This plan reflects what we heard directly from 2SLGBTQIA+ Nova Scotians — their challenges, their priorities and their hopes,” said Armstrong, who is also responsible for Nova Scotia’s Office of Equity and Anti-Racism. “We are listening, and we are taking action to help ensure every person in this province can feel safe, welcomed and supported.”
The plan involved 448 public survey respondents, as well as a little more than 200 participants in engagement sessions. Of those who did the survey, 62 per cent identified as being under age 40, and almost half — 49 per cent — said they are experiencing “financial hardship, difficulty or insecurity.”
Also, 46 per cent said they live outside the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Among other things, respondents reported facing barriers to accessing justice services. With this, the action plan vows to advance training for police, corrections officials and victims’ services staff in a bid to “reduce bias and improve safety.”
Participants also said they face barriers to housing and health care, and that government forms, processes and data collection often do not include 2SLGBTQIA+ identities.
The plan also vows to see that the province’s “inclusive education curriculum” is strengthened, that more gender-neutral washrooms are in places such as libraries and access centres, and that training for educators and staff on inclusion and “anti-bullying practices” is promoted.
“We have heard loud and clear that while progress has been made, challenges remain,” states Armstrong in the plan’s introduction. “This plan is not just about recognizing those challenges; it is about taking concrete steps to address them.”
Armstrong went on to note that “change does not happen in isolation.”
“It requires ongoing collaboration across and between government, community organizations and the people most impacted.”
The plan noted that it was borne out of the province’s Dismantling Racism and Hate Act, passed in 2022.
“The … Act provides the foundation for this work. The plan builds on this legislation by highlighting priority areas where government action can make a meaningful difference and outlining mechanisms for accountability and progress tracking.”
The Act also mandated the development of the province’s Equity and Anti-Racism Strategy, which was released in 2023 and highlights “the need for a dedicated approach to address the specific challenges faced by the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”
According to a past Nova Scotia government news release, 2SLGBTQIA+ people made up somewhere between 10 and 20 per cent of the province’s population as of 2023.
A Statistics Canada report from 2022 found Nova Scotia, Yukon and B.C. had the highest proportions of transgender and non-binary people of the provinces and territories.
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