What a day! I was supposed to get some creative writing work done, but instead the circus that is Toronto Mayor Rob Ford overwhelmed me. Ford’s lunch hour confession that he has smoked crack cocaine “probably” during one of his “drunken stupors”, followed by his late afternoon refusal to accept
Continue readingAuthor: Matt Guerin
Queer-liberal: Well, Ford Nation, how to explain away this one?
The Toronto Star and Gawker were right. The video does exist. The police have it and it will be used as evidence in an extortion trial against Alexander Lisi, a friend of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said the following today at a press conference: “The
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Behold: Rob Ford thug David Price’s destruction of public property
When you reward a thug psychopath who likes to hang out with criminals by electing him mayor, low and behold said thug recruits his thug friends and their destructive, impulsive, anti-social behaviour gets worse and worse and worse. That would very much sum up the last three unfortunate years in
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Federal party fortunes put to the test in four federal byelections called for November 25th
Federal byelections will be held in four vacant ridings on November 25th, 2013: my own riding of Toronto Centre (my very first byelection as a voter!), as well as Bourassa in east-end Montreal, and two ridings in rural Manitoba: Provencher and Brandon-Souris. I’ll be volunteering on Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland’s
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Zac Efron strips for upcoming raunchy comedy "That Awkward Moment"
Okay, let’s put aside all seriousness and celebrate the release of a new, rated-R movie trailer for Hollywood heartthrob Zac Efron’s upcoming raunchy comedy called ‘That Awkward Moment.’ The film is set to be released in January, but already the producers are making us salivate over the quick shot of
Continue readingQueer-liberal: John Greyson, Tarek Loubani return to Canada after imprisonment in Egypt
Today, October 11th, is National Coming Out Day. That fact made this article today by J. Lester Feder on Buzzfeed all the poignant. Entitled, “How A Gay Canadian Filmmaker Jailed In Egypt Went Back Into The Closet To Save His Life,” it details how gay Toronto filmmaker John Greyson’s partner,
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Time to revoke charitable status for "Living Waters" and other Christian groups like it…
I got very angry reading this investigative journalist piece today in the Toronto Star by undercover reporter Graham Slaughter. It’s part one of two stories the Star is publishing this weekend into the dubious Christian program called “Living Waters,” that claims to heal gay people through an intensive 22-week program
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Congrats to Chrystia Freeland!
A quick note of congratulations must go to Chrystia Freeland, who was elected today as the federal Liberal candidate in Toronto Centre for the upcoming by-election. I was at the meeting and happy to give her my first-preference support. I wasn’t able to stick around for the results announcement but
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Best wishes to Christopher Peloso, George Smitherman and family…
After missing since Monday, 39-year-old Christopher Peloso, the husband of former Toronto Centre Liberal MPP George Smitherman, was located today by police, dirty and disheveled in the Lansdowne Ave. and Dupont St. area, just after 11 a.m. I want to express my best wishes to Christopher, George and their family
Continue readingQueer-liberal: LGBTQ Rights activists rally around the world against ignorant laws
The International Day of Protest for LGBTQ Rights took place today, Sunday Sept 8, 2013, in about 50 cities around the world including Toronto. Citizens concerned about attacks on LGBT human rights in Russia, Uganda, Iran and other countries also rallied or held “kiss-ins” in Rio, London, Dublin, Berlin, Montreal,
Continue readingQueer-liberal: The heartwarming story of Wren Kauffman
I have been delighted this week to read about the story of Wren Kauffman, an 11-year-old Edmonton boy who went back to school this week like most kids his age. The amazing part of this story is that Wren returned to school after he had been known as a girl
Continue readingQueer-liberal: INTERVIEW with Chrystia Freeland and why I’m supporting her for the federal Liberal Toronto Centre nomination
There has been a bit of press recently on the local battle for the Toronto Centre federal Liberal nomination to replace Bob Rae, much of it unfairly attacking the candidacy of Chrystia Freeland (pictured), including allegations that Justin Trudeau is stacking the deck in her favour despite his commitment to
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird blasts ‘hateful’ Russian anti-gay law
I’m very glad to see John Baird taking a very strong stand in opposition to Russia’s odious, hateful, new anti-gay laws. “As concerned as we are about the Olympics, that’s nothing. That’s two, three, four weeks for the athletes and participants and the visitors,” Baird said in a telephone interview
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Toronto Centre Liberal nomination race heats up…
It’s now confirmed that author and journalist Chrystia Freeland (pictured) will be seeking the federal Liberal nomination in Toronto Centre for the upcoming byelection to replace retiring MP Bob Rae. Freeland is obviously a brilliant writer and journalist, having penned the influential 2012 book ‘Plutocrats: The Rise of the New
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Stephen Harper’s Conservatives take away victims’ rights by passing pro-hate speech bill
While few were looking, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have succeeded in using the weaselly option of a backbencher’s private member’s bill to quietly gut the Canadian Human Rights Act to remove victims’ rights to fight back against hate speech in Canada. A no-name Tory MP’s private member’s bill passed the Senate
Continue readingQueer-liberal: 2nd Toronto Pride Week LGBT Short Film Festival launches Monday
After a very successful inaugural run in 2012, I’m very proud to be organizing the Canadian Media Guild’s 2nd Toronto Pride Week LGBT Short Film Festival, which starts tomorrow. I’ve been working with other CMG volunteers to select a collection of great recent short films with LGBT themes, contact filmmakers
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Inside Out film festival wraps: My favourite flicks this year.
The 23rd Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival wraps today. I’ve been a patron of the festival since I moved to Toronto in the 1990s. This year was a great success on many fronts with many good films getting a Toronto or Canadian premiere. I took in seven programs which
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Lessons learned after the B.C. election: the NDP can’t win in most parts of English Canada…
This article by Chantal Hebert sums up some of my feelings about the NDP in the face of their stunning defeat in British Columbia last night. Here are my lessons learned from the B.C. election campaign: 1) Canadian pollsters have no real idea which way Canadian voters are going to
Continue readingQueer-liberal: ‘The Golden Pin’: Cuando las tradiciones se interponen en el amor / ‘The Golden Pin’: When traditions stand in the way of love
I recently did an interview with the Latino queer website UniversoGay about my short film, ‘The Golden Pin,’ which has turned into a hit on YouTube. I posted the 16-minute short film there on October 24, 2012, and in six short months, it’s attracted over 900,000 views! At this rate,
Continue readingQueer-liberal: Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau fights back with ‘Channel Change’ TV ad
Canadians are fair people. They understand that 40-somethings just elected to new, massively challenging leadership roles need time to continue to grow and do their jobs. In response to Trudeau’s overwhelming popularity with Canadians, the fearful Conservatives under Stephen Harper launched TV attack ads last week trying to undercut that
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