LGBTQ Breaking News Service

Ken Haire was devastated when his partner of 33 years, Gerry Schwarz, died in 2012. He was even more distraught when he learned he wouldn’t see a dollar of the survivor benefits built into Schwarz’s pension because CN Rail’s plan did not recognize same-sex relationships at the time of Schwarz’s retirement.

Haire has spent parts of the last nine years fighting to get the CN’s pension and benefits department to overturn its decision. Now 71 years old, he’s taken that fight public

“He would be devastated if he knew what was going on now,” Haire said of his late partner. “He was a company man. He loved CN Rail.”

Schwarz worked for CN in Toronto for more than 30 years. He retired in 1991, and the couple later moved to Harbour Grace, N.L., to be closer to Haire’s family.

They built a life there, with five Pekingese show dogs and a home overlooking the water, decorated with paintings and antiques Schwarz had brought from his home country of Germany. 

We realize that some former practices and decisions made in good faith in the past need to be re-examined in light of our engagement toward diversity and inclusion– CN statement

He died from heart failure on Jan. 2, 2012, at the age of 76. Schwarz had plans in place in the event he died early. It largely revolved around his CN pension.

“He felt comfortable that if anything happened to him, I would be able to continue on with a reasonably comfortable lifestyle,” Haire said. “And it didn’t happen that way.”

Company admits policy falls short on inclusion, diversity

When Haire got Schwarz’s death certificate, he reached out to CN. They sent condolences on the loss of his common law spouse, and said they would do everything in their power to make sure his pension continued to be paid out.

But on Jan. 31, 2012, Haire got a very different letter from CN’s pension and benefits department. It informed him that the definition of spouse at the time of Schwarz’s retirement from CN was a “person of the opposite sex,” in a conjugal relationship for more than one year. Even though the terms had been updated in 1998 to include LGBT relationships, the pension plan had not made those changes retroactive.

Therefore, Haire was not entitled to anything.

“I suddenly went from being Gerry’s common law spouse, to just being a roommate,” Haire said. “I was hurt. I was more insulted by the fact that … after all those years and all the people he had worked with, that they still didn’t acknowledge the fact that Gerry and I were a couple. We were a couple in every sense of the word. It really did hurt.”

Despite not budging on Haire’s repeated requests throughout the years, CN told CBC News on Saturday that it is now reviewing how its policies have affected workers who retired before 1998.

“We realize that some former practices and decisions made in good faith in the past need to be re-examined in light of our engagement toward diversity and inclusion,” a CN spokesperson said in a statement.

The original decision forced Haire’s hand in heartbreaking financial decisions. He sold the house they’d lived in together, and had to sell most of Schwarz’s antiques and paintings. Hardest of all, Haire had to give up their dogs when he moved into an apartment.

“It would have broke his heart,” said Haire, stopping for a moment to catch the tears rolling down his cheeks.

What does the law say?

While he gave up the fight at times over the years, Haire has now dug in for one last kick at the can. He’s hired a lawyer and plans to challenge the decision in court.

He has a legitimate shot, according to one of the country’s top lawyers in LGBT rights.

“I don’t really think that CN has much of a defence, quite frankly,” said Douglas Elliott, a partner with the Toronto law firm Cambridge LLP.

Elliott argued one of the most prominent LGBT rights cases in the country, when he successfully unlocked Canada Pension Plan benefits for surviving spouses in same-sex relationships. The Supreme Court of Canada ordered the federal government to make the funds available retroactive to 1985, when the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms went into effect.

He believes the precedent from that case would be a behemoth for CN to overcome if they should choose to fight this in court.

Elliott also said he understands the turmoil Haire is going through right now.

“It’s a terrible economic burden, but also a terrible psychological burden, to be told by someone that your relationship doesn’t count, that your relationship was second-rate and that they’re going to try and erase that relationship or devalue it. Especially after that man devoted his life to CN Rail, it’s really reprehensible.”

Elliott called CN’s policy “bigoted,” and said it’s frustrating to still be fighting these situations in 2021.

If CN chooses to reverse course and pay out the money, Haire said he’d accept it. But he won’t act grateful.

“It would be nice to get the pension and it would be nice to keep it going until I pass away. But there’s absolutely [nothing] they could do to compensate me for the loss of my home, for the loss of everything Gerry and I worked for, or for the loss of our pets,” he said.

“They’ve made my life hell and it’s just not right.”

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

Yolanda Brown (R) speaks out at a press conference after her brother Isaiah Brown, a gay Black man, was shot by police 10 times. (Screenshot: YouTube/WUSA9/YouTube/NBC News) 

The sister of Isaiah Brown, a gay Black man who was shot ten times by police, has spoken out about how her brother is doing after the horrific event.

Brown, 32, was shot by a Virginia sheriff’s deputy less than an hour after the same officer gave him a ride home on 21 April. The officer had returned to Brown’s address to respond to a “domestic incident”, and Brown, who was unarmed, was shot multiple times while on the phone with 911. Brown’s lawyer said the officer “mistook a cordless house phone for a gun”.

He was taken to a local hospital after the shooting with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and is on a breathing machine.

Isaiah Brown’s sister, Yolanda, told the Advocate that her brother’s condition “hasn’t changed”, and he remains in the intensive care unit. She said she’s been the only family member allowed to see Brown because of COVID-19 protocols, and she’s been there “every day” since her brother was admitted.

“It’s still touch and go,” Yolanda said. “His vitals are up one minute and down the next, and he still hasn’t regained consciousness.”

She explained that she has been sitting by her brother’s side telling him stories, praying with him and playing music for him. Yolanda said she keeps telling him that she loves him constantly. She added: “I’m just waiting for him to tell me that he loves me back, and that will lift a big burden off my chest.

“We just have to believe that he will be alright.”

Yolanda said her brother’s smile “just lights up a room”, and he “loves his sweets”. She said he is a music lover, and he “currently loves Big Freedia”.

Yolanda said that “so many things” have been running through her mind since the horrific incident, and she just wants her brother to be healthy. But she said that she wants to uncover more about the incident and get answers as to why it happened.

“Hopefully, we can get answers as to what happened and at least try and move forward,” Yolanda said.

She added that her “heart goes out to all the families that have had to deal with this situation”.

Story continues

“We need to figure out why this keeps happening and where all the failures are coming from,” she said. “How to fix this million-dollar question. I have other brothers, and I don’t want them to continue walking around in fear.”

Yolanda said that no one from the police department had reached out to her, or her family, to check in on her brother.

The police deputy, who has not been named, has been placed on administrative leave according to the sheriff’s office policy. The Virginia State Police said it is investigating the shooting.

How did you manage to go from zero to 200+ companies in less than five years?

With years of experience working on diversity and inclusion consulting related to LGBT workplace inclusion, and the support of a handful of U.S. multinationals leading these efforts, the timing to launch Equidad MX was perfect. In 2014, Mexico City hosted the first congress of LGBT-inclusive practices and Pride Connection, the network of LGBT-inclusive businesses, was launched the same year. The close economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico helped shape the way in which U.S.-based companies engage with its Mexican counterparts and how they sought to expand their mission to give all their employees the same inclusive daily experience.

What are some of the challenges you have experienced while implementing this work in Mexico?

LGBT inclusion has grown into a household practice for companies in Mexico as we have some of the most forward legislations in Latin America toward non-discrimination, however, the challenge remains to put them into the practice in the everyday lives of the community, and especially in their workplace. During the initial phase of the program, one of the challenges was that very few openly LGBT emerged leaders accompanied our efforts.

Post Views: 244

Melanie Gillman, an American cartoonist, shared their secrets to success within the comic book industry in an event presented by Stonewall Hall and the LGBT Resource Center. Gilllman is the creator of “As the Crow Flies,” winner of the 2018 Stonewall Honor Award, and “Stage Dreams.” They’ve also worked on comics for popular brands, such as “Care Bears” and “Steven Universe,” and they are a senior lecturer in the Comics Master of Fine Arts Program at the California College of the Arts.

At the start of the event, it was announced that the LGBT Resource Center would be mailing everyone who attended free copies of “Nonbinary,” a minicomic created by Gillman that discusses the process of coming out and living as a nonbinary person. Gillman started the meeting by interacting with viewers and asking them what comics they are currently interested in. Many people called attention to queer graphic novels such as “Kiss Number 8” by Colleen A.F. Venable and “The Prince and the Dressmaker” by Jen Wang. I recommended some of my favorite webcomics, such as “Heartstopper” by Alice Oserman, “Temperature of Love” by NWarrior and “Miracle Simulator” by Misersdream. 

Throughout the event, Gillman shared a few PowerPoint slides to help tell the story of their experiences working on comics. At a young age, Gillman was fascinated by comics and graphic novels but saw that there was a lack of queer representation being produced by the bigger comic book companies. Gillman claimed, “The vast majority of comics that would’ve been available for me as a young person weren’t really up my alley.” 

The popularization of webcomics revolutionized the comic industry for aspiring artists. Having an online platform has made it easier for creators to share their work to a large audience without facing the gatekeeping issues that surround publishing companies. As a result, more queer people have taken to posting queer comics online. According to Gillman, “there was a level of realism and honesty” that accompanied these webcomics that depicted self-representation. Gillman stated that comics are “one of the most direct ways to see through another person’s eyes” because it allows people to see someone else’s direct translation of the world. Having queer people share their stories can help educate others on the LGBT experience and help break harmful stereotypes.

At the end of the presentation, Gillman turned to the aspiring artists in the crowd to share some tips on pursuing self-publishing opportunities and remaining persistent about creating works that they’re passionate about. Gillman cautioned that being a comic artist isn’t always an easy or reliable job. In their experience, they had to take some freelance projects and balance a few steadier jobs in order to create the projects they were passionate about. During the Q&A portion, Evelyn Everheart questioned Gillman on what to do when the passion for a project has simmered away. Gillman revealed that burnout was a common thing for creators to feel. They suggested taking time away from the comic and returning to it at a later time with a fresh pair of eyes.

The event concluded with a drawing exercise where Gillman challenged the audience to brainstorm ideas for a comic that portrays queer joy and/or gender euphoria. There was no time to share any of the comic ideas from this exercise, but it was a creative way to involve the audience and encourage them to create a story they’d enjoy. Overall, this event cast a light on the ups and downs of the comic book industry and the value of seeing more queer representation by queer creators. If you’re interested in more events hosted by the LGBT Resource Center, be sure to check out their social media pages for updates.