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THE CANADIAN EMBASSY
A sign at the front gate of the Canadian Embassy says
“No Cameras.” It’s spring in Warsaw, and the green
is new and bright. Inside, it’s basic — meeting rooms
and beige wood panelling. I grab a coffee (no fancy
espresso machine here — just a simple drip, in respect
of taxpayers no doubt!) and wait with the team for
Catherine Godin, the Canadian Ambassador to Poland.
Our delegation includes Executive Producer Doug
Stollery; Director, Stollery Charitable Foundation,
Scott Graham; Canadian Senator Dr. Kristopher Wells;
Executive Director of Dignity Network Canada, Doug
Kerr; Andrew Paul and me.
Ambassador Godin sweeps in with friendly energy
and sets the stage for our visit. The film was invited
to Poland, thanks in part to the Dignity Network, for
an eight-city screening tour as part of Canada’s work
as the current chair of the Diplomats for Equality
initiative, founded in 2019 in Vienna by diplomats from
35 countries. We are briefed in detail on the state of
equal rights in Poland — specifically about LGBTQ+
equality and the pivotal moment the community faces
as part of a contested presidential election.
THE NEXT GENERATION
We move to another room, one that feels much more
like I had imagined a room at the embassy would look
— large windows, sun streaming in through the green
space outside, and two long tables with place markers.
We are meeting with a group of Polish activists —
community group leaders, filmmakers and drag
performers. All of them are passionate about the world
they can imagine — the world they can see emerging
in other places. Poland still doesn’t recognize marriage
equality. But Canada and Poland share many common
concerns, like the rise of extreme-right politics, and its
accompanying baggage of anti-trans discrimination.
Canada is just about to elect a progressive government
which bucks the current drift to the right in many other
places; Poland’s Presidential election is imminent, and
there is a lot riding on it.
The Pride vs. Prejudice delegation meets with Polish LGBTQ+
advocates in the Canadian Embassy.
20 Together we thrive
The Pride vs. Prejudice delegation met with embassy officials
and members of the Polish Ministry of Equality to discuss the
advancement of equality rights for Poland’s LGBTQ+ communities
From L to R: Marie-Hélène Côté, Counsellor, Embassy of Canada
to Poland; Doug Kerr, Executive Director, Dignity Network Canada;
Senator Dr. Kristopher Wells; Katarzyna Kotula, Minister of Equality,
Doug Stollery, Magdalena Dropek, Advisor in the Polish Ministry
of Equality.
The flags of both nations hang on the wall … both
red and white. Blood and snow.
We are excited to share our own nation’s strategies
and wins, even as we acknowledge there are still
challenges. Pride vs. Prejudice shows that even
seemingly insurmountable odds can be beaten. The
message resonates, and we recognize that their battle
takes place in a different world.
In Canada, activists utilized the judiciary to gain
equality. In Poland, the Supreme Court was tainted by
autocratic regimes, forcing activists to consider other
means to change their world.
LAMBDA WARSAW
Our visit to the humble third-floor LAMBDA Warsaw
office and community gathering space reveals the
headquarters of the oldest LGBTQ+ organization
in Poland — with nearly three decades of positive
outreach to its credit. We are welcomed by Milosz
Przepiorkowski, who has been the head of LAMBDA
Warsaw for much of its existence.
Similar to our own Pride resources in Edmonton,
LAMBDA began as a phone-help line, gradually
expanding to offer an emergency intervention hostel, and
legal and psychological counselling. The meeting space
we are in hosts a myriad of Queer organizations in the
city including a students’ group, a seniors’ group and a
group called Faith and Rainbow for LGBTQ Christians.
The work is essential, positive and worthy… and
then Milosz brings us back to reality. “Warsaw is our
little rainbow bubble … In Warsaw I see young, same-
sex couples walking hand in hand in the streets. Very
colourful people, open people.”
But the reality is that much of the rest of Poland,
while evolving in the right direction, is still struggling
with the slow progress towards Queer equality.
We are introduced to the first trans MP ever elected
in Poland, Anna Grodzka. She was the only current
openly trans MP in the world when she was elected in
2011. An icon of the Queer community, she shared the
story of her political battle, and her insights about the
polarized politicization of trans rights. Grodzka became