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905-849-4998 www.aireone.com 1-888-827-2665 A+ Rating comwww. *See dealer for details 9 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU BETTER #1 in Home Comfort Since 1990 We service Lennox *Call for details, offers cannot be combined, On new orders only ** OAC Prime rate subject to change. ELIGIBLE FOR$3830* IN GOVERNMENT & FACTORY REBATES* UP TO System for Your Home GAS FURNACE, CENTRAL AIR, AIR PURIFIER & HUMIDIFIER Or Central Air Conditioner from $39/month** THE BIGGEST SALE EVER SAME DAY INSTALLATIONS AVAILABLE A/C or Furnace Diagnostic Service ONLY $49 $89/month** 19 Thursday , Septem ber 16, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By Haley Rose GRADE 12, ABBEY PARK H.S. According to recent figuresissued by Statistics Canada,hate crimes in Canada against individuals in the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans- gendered) community doubled in 2008, indicating that these crimes are on the rise. Despite this, Canada is still cred- ited as having the most advanced LGBT rights in the Americas, and my voyage across Ontario this past summer has only supported the accolade. While visiting the northwestern city of Thunder Bay, I noticed that many establishments bore a rainbow sticker in their windows. When I enquired about the mean- ing of the stickers, one employee explained eloquently, It means that everyoneand their partners, are welcome here. I took the hint. Many of Thunder Bays elementary schools also have a rainbow-themed website and exterior signage it is possible that this stands to serve the same purpose as the rainbow- coloured window stickers. The most memorable observation I made during my stay in Ottawa occurred while simply walking down the street. A young gay couple were strolling a few metres in front of me, holding hands and being quite affec- tionate. The thing that struck and pleased me about the situation was that nobody was paying them any more attention than they would to a straight couple exhibiting the same behaviour. I also attended the CLAY (Canadian Lutheran and Anglican Youth) gathering this year in London, Ontario, a congregation of young Anglicans and Lutherans from across Canada. The trip provided various work- shops, one of which offered open and frank discussions on the diversity of sexual orientation and acceptance in the church. Speaker Matthew Cutler of Toronto presented to a near-full audi- torium of teens searching for a high- er understanding. He addressed the need for open conversations about sexuality in all churches, backed by a plethora of sta- tistics and flawless common sense. So why, despite the observable support of the LGBT community, are Canadas statistics showing the growth in the number of hate crimes against LGBT people in our sovereign land? University of Ottawa law professor and expert in sexual and racial dis- crimination Constance Backhouse has a theory. We have started to move in our culture and our society and in our laws towards greater acceptance of gay and lesbian and bisexual reality, she declared. Backhouse went on to explain that Student sees paradox affecting LGBT community as a result, LGBT people have devel- oped a heightened sense of freedom and may now be more publicly out and visible in society. She theorized that the recent increase in sexuality-provoked crimes may be an indication of a backlash to that. Another alarming statistic proved that youth between the ages of 12 and 22 are responsible for six out of every ten hate crimes. This contradicts directly with the positive reinforcement I had observed during the summer. What could possibly account for this blatant paradox? Chances are, there is no definite answer countless factors could have contributed. Conversely, the explanation may be simply the fact that two or more years have passed since the figures were collected.