Statements by members, member Vancouver, West, End, Thank You, honorable speaker. Well, for me it was the color purple. My grandmother had a sweatshirt. It was a lovely sweatshirt, bright purple with two ducks on it. It said in neon, pink Vancouver, BC I told her I thought it was a pretty cool sweatshirt.

Well, honourable speaker, to my horror she gave it to me. I was in grade five or six and I say to my because part of me wanted so desperately to wear that shirt.

But part of me knew that if I wore it to school, I would be called or girly boy or any another number of names that people use and still use today to try and keep people down to shame them for who they are so that sweatshirt sat in a drawer for years and I would open the drawer to get my clothes and it would sit there staring at me. Both shaming me for not having the courage to wear what my grandmother gave me, but also reminding me of what I wanted so desperately to wear.

Had the society and the world that I'd been living in an elementary school been more welcoming and a place where you could be all that you can be so. For me, it was purple for a boy in Nova Scotia.

It was pink and well I didn't have somebody stand up for me at the time that boy did Travis, Price, David, Shepherd and soon an entire school came together to stand with him for the day of pink a moving day where they united to say diversity in all its wonder, is something we value, whether United to say no to homophobia and toxic masculinity.

The idea that pink was somehow feminine and a boy should not be allowed to enjoy pink, because that was somehow shameful, so they united to do that and that sparked change across this entire country and continues to this day, as noted earlier today, in the day of pink celebrations here in this legislature, that day was twelve thirteen years ago, and now an entire cohort of students have gone through the school system celebrating that day marking that change thanks to the leadership of those students. So many years ago, Thank You honorable speaker.