The virtual event will feature movement and discussion intended to build community and address service gaps

Working in her capacity as a 2SLGBTQIA+ mental health clinician with Good Shepherd Youth Services, Catherine McCormack noticed that almost all of the trans youth she serviced also had chronic pain or disabilities. As general services for trans folks are already limited, she knew that there weren’t a lot of specialized services for those who exist at this intersection. Seeing an opportunity to build community, McCormack set out to plan an event that would bring together trans and non-binary youth with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

“What I saw was traditional pain services didn't really speak to the youth I was working with. A lot of them came from more of a critical disability perspective, like it's society that disables us, questioning our worth coinciding with productivity, all of that kind of stuff. I was like, “wouldn't it be really neat to connect all these amazing folks that are so isolated and struggling so much – especially during COVID – with each other”,” explained McCormack.

"I was like, “wouldn't it be really neat to connect all these amazing folks that are so isolated and struggling so much – especially during COVID – with each other”,” explained McCormack.

As McCormack doesn’t have these lived experiences, she reached out to movement studio Goodbodyfeel to help her find facilitators. She was connected with a tarot reader, artist and Goodbodyfeel Movement Teacher Clairandean Humphrey and Relationship Coach and Trans Inclusion Educator Mela Swayze. Both are looking forward to leading the free event, which will take on Oct. 13, 2020 over Zoom.

McCormack wanted the event to be a mix of body positive movement and facilitated discussion. The event will likely begin with a framing of why the participants have gathered and a discussion of participants’ expectations. Humphrey will then lead a hybrid of pilates and yoga, using everyday items such as pillows, blankets and rolled up socks as props. After that Swayze will facilitate discussion among the participants. The discussion will give participants a chance to state if they want further programming and what they would want this programming to look like.

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“Folks might just want a place to come and move weekly, folks might just want . . . to just come together the one time and meet each other and then kind of go off on their own and now they know each other and they can connect and self-direct that way. Or it might be the case that people are looking for a more directed, more structured psychoeducation workshop series, for example, that paired education about . . . chronic pain and marginalization and a movement piece. So there's an option that that might be something people are interested in, but we don't want to force it on people,” explained Swayze.

For McCormack, Humphrey and Swayze, it was important that the discussion was combined with movement. While movement has helped some people with disabilities and chronic pain manage their pain, many movement spaces are inaccessible to disabled people. Movement spaces then compound their inaccessibility by not being inclusive of and welcoming to racialized and queer individuals.

With Tender Flow, McCormack, Humphrey and Swayze wanted to help queer youth with disabilities reclaim their bodies in a society where their bodies have been made to be unsafe spaces. They hope the movement portion of the event will help participants in their journey of healing from trauma.

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“[When] I was looking for therapists, of course I had [a] struggle doing that and I decided to see an expressive arts therapist. So a lot of what we do is talk and move with the body. We use the body in order to process emotion and really difficult things and I found that more liberating than just like sitting and talking . . . [I]t's just nice to . . . communicate differently, again between the body and other forms of communication, instead of limiting it to just talking where sometimes you just don't have the words or language to express the complexity of existing in a marginalized body in this system. And that movement can be liberating, slowly, with time,” said Humphrey.

"[I]t's just nice to . . . communicate differently, again between the body and other forms of communication, instead of limiting it to just talking where sometimes you just don't have the words or language to express the complexity of existing in a marginalized body in this system. And that movement can be liberating, slowly, with time,” said Humphrey.

The online platform will help make the event more accessible to folks who don’t have transportation money, have too much pain to leave their houses and for those who have anxiety around attending events like these. However, McCormack acknowledges that those without stable internet access will be unable to access the event. She hopes that, if it continues, Tender Flow can be offered in multiple formats. The accessibility needs that participants express will guide how they continue to provide programming.

McCormack, Humphrey and Swayze hope that participants will leave the event feeling a sense of community. By listening to participants’ concerns and ideas, the facilitators will be able to create programming that enables trans and non-binary youth with disabilities and chronic pain to feeling supported and heard.

Local sustainable business owners comment on the influence of COVID-19 on the sustainable fashion industry

The pandemic has made many people more aware of social disparities and world issues. As people have slowed down, spent more time on social media and realigned their priorities, it’s become nearly impossible to ignore this wave of social movements. One of the movements that have drawn consumers’ attention is the rise of sustainable fashion brands.

Sustainable fashion encompasses secondhand or upcycled clothing, ethically-made clothing where all workers are paid a living wage and clothing made from natural, renewable or locally-produced materials. The pandemic has highlighted that brands that do not consider these factors are not sustainable.

The fashion industry used to produce about 150 billion garments per year. But when COVID-19 hit, it changed how often people shopped for clothes. Spending on clothing has decreased, with many people now facing financial difficulties and others spending the day in pyjamas. Many no longer have the desire to, nor see the necessity in, constantly purchasing new clothing.

The fashion industry used to produce about 150 billion garments per year. But when COVID-19 hit, it changed how often people shopped for clothes. Spending on clothing has decreased, with many people now facing financial difficulties and others spending the day in pyjamas.

“I think when everything slowed down and COVID first hit, people had time to stop and think and to get out of their everyday rushing from here to there. We just had so much time to do nothing that a lot of people cleaned out their closets . . . It just gave everyone a second to develop a new perspective and a new relationship with their clothing,” explained Priya Mohan, founder and owner of Sari Knot Sari, a sustainable fashion brand in Hamilton.

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As consumers’ relationship with their clothing has changed, the pandemic also revealed major issues within the fashion industry. Consumers have been able to observe how a decrease in clothing demand translates into a reduction of the fashion industry’s carbon footprint. At the same time, garment workers have been among the hardest hit by the pandemic. Especially as stores closed and some large brands refused to pay their manufacturers, many workers were laid off without adequate severance payments.

Awareness of these issues within the fashion industry has led some shoppers to seek more sustainable alternatives. Unfortunately, sustainable businesses were also hit hard by COVID-19. With the pause on bring-your-own-containers initiatives at many grocery stores, coffee shops and other businesses, many had no choice but to buy products in plastic packaging or accept plastic bags instead of reusable ones. Additionally, a great deal of personal protective equipment is only single-use or wrapped in plastic packaging to be sterile. 

Sustainable businesses had to alter their business models in order to adapt and remain compliant with pandemic protocols. The Pale Blue Dot, a general store for sustainable living, used to host regular clothing swaps, but these have been interrupted by the pandemic. The pandemic also negatively affected the supply chains of local sustainable businesses, especially as suppliers closed offices and negotiated continuing production while complying with social distancing standards.

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However, Morgan MacDonald, who owns slow fashion clothing line Mettamade, doesn’t see this slowdown as an entirely bad thing.

“[T]he supply chain is still to this day delayed. Things are taking much longer than they were pre-COVID. And I think it goes to show that this slow fashion model is . . . almost non-negotiable at this point . . . [I]t means that people can be more intentional with their shopping . . . They can take more time to research what they want to purchase and where it's coming from. I think it's a good thing. I think it’s making people realize clothing is not disposable and we don't need to be consuming it as quickly as we were told that we should have been until now,” said MacDonald.

This increasing intention around shopping during the pandemic has been paired with a push to shop locally and sustainably. More than ever, people are concerned with combatting the climate crisis. However, as individuals, this issue can often seem overwhelming and the impact of our own actions too small. It’s important to know that small actions like shopping at local businesses or choosing sustainable fashion do matter, if only in that they get people thinking. 

“What I’d really like people to come away with — even if they don't buy anything — is just to have stopped and thought about “Hey, where does my clothing come from? Have I ever thought about pollution in waterways when picking my clothing?” . . . So I think even if I just get people thinking about that, it's sometimes just the seed that gets planted that you know, may or may not bloom into a greater consciousness of the choices that we make around fashion,” said Mohan.

“What I’d really like people to come away with — even if they don't buy anything — is just to have stopped and thought about “Hey, where does my clothing come from?""

For many consumers, especially students, the price of sustainable fashion has always been a barrier. However, people are beginning to realize that buying less and buying secondhand is also a way to shop sustainably.

“For me, I start with secondhand because a lot of the ethically made clothing [that] we all aspire to — locally made, Canadian-made, natural fibers — it's not always accessible for everybody. Especially if you want to slowly convert your wardrobe towards that, right? So for me, I have found this love affair with buying secondhand for over 10 years. Because it’s just so affordable, and it makes so much sense: these pieces of clothing are in perfect condition so why not extend the wear of them?” said Mary Luciani, owner of The Pale Blue Dot.

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The pandemic has highlighted the importance of working within one’s means and focusing on doing the best you can at the present time, rather than the best you could do in an ideal world. It’s important to remember that the world doesn’t need a few people living sustainably perfectly, but rather it needs everyone to do their best.

“It’s about balance. That's what I've learned from everything. Living a more mindful lifestyle you'll drive yourself insane if you try to find the perfect solution. So I would say just do your best, within your means,” said Luciani.

Innis library to be replaced by the McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery

After 46 years, McMaster University’s Innis Library closed its doors on March 19, 2020. As the primary library for the Degroote School of Business, Innis Library in Kenneth Taylor Hall was one of McMaster’s smaller libraries. 

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The decision to close Innis Library came after a gift from the McLean family to spearhead a new project of more than $50 million. In place of Innis Library, a new building known as the McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery will be built as an addition to the DeGroote School of Business.

Aside from the new building, the gift will also be combined with other private, public and university funding sources. 

Three generations of the McLean family studied various subjects at McMaster and on behalf of the family, Paul McLean expressed that the gift came from the positive impact education at McMaster has had on the family’s lives. 

“We looked at what was most important to us, and we’re focusing our efforts on the priorities we identified. Education is certainly one of our highest priorities because it touches everything,” said McLean. 

In July of 2019, McMaster announced that the Toronto-based architecture company Sweeny&Co was selected to design the new building.

“According to the firm, modern postsecondary buildings like the McLean Centre are moving beyond chair-and-podium configurations to more closely resemble the collaborative spaces found at today’s leading companies,” the University wrote within its announcement. 

“According to the firm, modern postsecondary buildings like the McLean Centre are moving beyond chair-and-podium configurations to more closely resemble the collaborative spaces found at today’s leading companies,” the University wrote within its announcement. 

McMaster states that the McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery is more than just a new building. It will also begin a new teaching model for business students at the university. 

The university will transform the Bachelor of Commerce program by allowing students to connect with working business leaders, instructors and students from all disciplines. McMaster stated that emphasis will be placed on problem-based discovery, interdisciplinary study and interaction with business leaders.

“Under the new model we’re creating, a lab manager, an engineer and an ethicist could all be joining business students to work on the same business problem, for example. This new space will be a home for our undergraduate students, where they can develop the soft and hard skills that will prepare them to thrive in a market that is constantly bombarded by such changes as artificial intelligence and blockchain,” said Len Wavermen, dean of the Degroote School of Business.

The new building is designed to be nine-stories high and a library will be reopened on the third floor. Currently, the building is slated to open in 2023-2024.

Although the building is an addition to the Degroote School of Business, the university also stated that students from all faculties will be able to use the space.

McMaster is shifting the blame of COVID-19 to students and the government is prioritizing money over safety

In light of the increasing COVID-19 cases in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has put further restrictions in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Some restrictions include limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people, bars and restaurants closing at midnight at the latest and closing strip clubs across the province. 

In addition, McMaster University has also acknowledged the rise in COVID-19 cases through social media posts on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community. The post advises students to wear masks, stay home if you are unwell, keep your distance and also to avoid holding or attending parties.

Mac students -- don't be the reason COVID-19 spreads in our community. Wear your mask, keep your distance, and give parties a hard pass. Please. pic.twitter.com/NoVapxnGUD

— McMaster University (@McMasterU) September 22, 2020

All of this is important — we have a responsibility to keep our community safe. I’m not disagreeing with any of that. However, institutions such as Mac and our municipal and provincial governments have been shifting most of the responsibility of preventing COVID-19 to the individual level when they have a large responsibility to keep us safe, too. If institutions and governments continue to prioritize financial gain over people, this pandemic is going to last a lot longer than it has to.

I can’t bring myself to fully blame the individuals who are out clubbing, eating indoors and not following the physical distancing guidelines set out by Public Health. We’ve heard a lot of mixed signals from the government — Ford mentioned that anyone who breaks the rules surrounding gatherings can be fined $10,000 as an organizer or $750 if you are an attendee. The government has been setting these rules so that we can protect everyone’s health. Yet, events that are held in staffed facilities, such as restaurants, gyms and convention centres are excluded from these gathering limits. So if an individual holds a gathering with 11 people who are all wearing masks, they can face a large fine, but if a restaurant has up to 50 people indoors who are eating without masks, it’s okay. How is one safer than the other?

So if an individual holds a gathering with 11 people who are all wearing masks, they can face a large fine, but if a restaurant has up to 50 people indoors who are eating without masks, it’s okay. How is one safer than the other?

If we’re really focused on safety, bars and restaurants shouldn’t be open, period. I’m not sure why the Ontario government thinks that closing bars and restaurants at midnight will help prevent the spread of COVID-19. As far as I’m aware, COVID-19 doesn’t spread more easily after midnight and Ford admitted that not many people eat at restaurants at night — so why is the government focusing on time restrictions when they should be focused on limiting the number of people who can dine indoors? It seems like the government is focused on keeping our economy running to the point that they’re willing to give businesses a free pass when it comes to restrictions. Yes, people should try to avoid going to restaurants and bars as much as possible. But the government is the reason why these businesses are open in the first place.

McMaster’s actions deserve to be critiqued too. While I commend the university for making most of our courses online, Mac has made it clear on social media that students must protect our community by not participating in house parties and avoiding campus when possible. It’s true that there has been an uptick in student parties, but it’s not always possible for students to remain at home. Students may visit coffee shops to take advantage of reliable wifi or different study spaces. Maybe their home isn’t a safe or easy place for them to study. But because classes are running, these students have to find a way to study — even if it’s unsafe. Just because something seems non-essential to you, doesn’t mean that it isn’t essential to someone else.

Just because something seems non-essential to you, doesn’t mean that it isn’t essential to someone else.

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To me, it feels like McMaster is acting as though they play no part in the spread of COVID-19, distancing themselves from their students’ actions. This is patently false; restaurants on campus such as The Phoenix, TwelvEighty Bar & Grill and The Grind Café continue to be open. There’s quite a dissonance between having McMaster telling its students to stay away from campus but keeping restaurants open and even going as far as promoting them. Although the latter two are run by the McMaster Students Union, there has been no public communication from the university to close these restaurants to keep students safe. At the end of the day, the MSU is part of the university, so they should be included in the guidelines that McMaster has put in place.

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A second wave is approaching us. While we have a responsibility to continue physical distancing and wearing masks to keep everyone safe, institutions and governments need to understand that their restrictions and rules allow for this virus to keep spreading. Our actions are important, but McMaster and the Ontario government shouldn’t be absolved of their responsibility in keeping us safe.

Our actions are important, but McMaster and the Ontario government shouldn’t be absolved of their responsibility in keeping us safe.