The file contains speaking notes for the Minister of National Health and Welfare Perrin Beatty at the 81st Annual Conference of the Canadian Public Health Association.
The file contains speaking notes for the Minister of National Health and Welfare Perrin Beatty at the 81st Annual Conference of the Canadian Public Health Association.
The fonds contains the organizational records of the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention dating from 1984 to 2016. Records reflect the administration, governance, support services, prevention education, and partnerships that ASAAP took part in. The fonds has been organized into 3 series: Admin…
1.33m of textual records
ca. 450 photographs: col. 5 x 7cm to 11 x 20cm
6 data cartridges
63 floppy discs
12 CD-Roms
1 videocassette
4 betacam tapes
2 puzzles
5 posters
Physical Condition
Records are in good condition.
History / Biographical
Born out of community activism, the South Asian AIDS Coalition, later known as the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention was founded in 1989. A gap in AIDS services was identified after a South Asian man was unable to access services and information at the AIDS Committee of Toronto. ACT contacted ALOT, Asian Lesbians of Toronto and Khush, the South Asian Gay and Lesbian Association to see whether someone could help him. His wife and daughters had already died and he was very ill. ALOT and Khush were able to connect the man with a member’s mother who spoke the same language as him, and she acted as a translator and counsellor.
Following this event, ACT, ALOT, KHUSH and the Toronto Counselling Centre of Lesbians and Gays established the South Asian AIDS Coalition. A needs assessment was conducted, finding that mainstream AIDS organizations were not connecting to the local South Asian community. Brochures were rarely available in South Asian languages and there were never South Asian faces on posters or brochures. The needs assessment also revealed that HIV/AIDS was largely seen as a western problem.
The South Asian AIDS Coalition was established as a AIDS service organization that provided cultural and linguistically relevant information for self identifying South Asians. It was established as a sex and queer positive not for profit, community organization that offered prevention education, outreach, advocacy and support services to South Asians infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Its first employee was Kashalia Banergy who worked as a summer coordinator. Anthony Mohamed was hired on as SAAC’s first full time coordinator in 1989, and became the organization’s first Executive Director, a role that he stayed in until 1993.
In 1995, the South Asian AIDS Coalition became the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention and the organization was incorporated as an independent AIDS service organization. It is managed by a Board of Directors who is elected from the membership by members at the Annual General election. ASAAP has employed a 3 pronged approach focusing on outreach and prevention education, PHA support services, and networking and advocacy with other AIDS Service and South Asian organizations.
Over the years, a variety of partnerships, support groups and programs have been established by ASAAP to support its mandate. The following list of support groups and programs do not encapsulate the work of ASAAP in their entirety, but reflect some of the initiatives documented in the fonds. As a part of ASAAP’s Men’s Health Program, Dosti was established as the first South Asian Men’s support group. The group’s objective was to provide culturally appropriate space for self identifying South Asian MSM, where they could access multilingual resources and build community. In 2005, Snehithan, a support group for queer Tamil speaking men was established. The group provided its members a space to socialize, where they could also access Tamil language resources. The Desis Against HIV/AIDS project was another ASAAP initiative that aimed to increase knowledge of levels of HIV/AIDS and sexual health among South Asian youth, women, and newcomers. HIV/AIDS and sexual health workshops and outreach events were organized in priority neighbourhoods including Thorncliffe, Flemingdon, Jane and Finch, and North York. In 2011, ASAAP established the Women’s Health and Support group to fill an identified gap in services for South Asian clients who identify as women. This support group aimed to provide its members with a supportive and knowledge sharing environment. In addition to support groups, ASAAP regularly organized educational workshops and events. A variety of outreach events were held at schools, bathhouses, bars and cultural spaces. ASAAP also offered Individual and anonymous telephone counselling services, practical assistance, and referral services to counsellors, doctors and Eastern health practitioners.
The development and distribution of HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual health resources has also been an important aspect of ASAAP’s work. Material has been developed in a number of South Asian languages from Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil and Urdu. Topics from HIV/AIDS prevention, therapies and treatment were covered in these resources. ASAAP has also partnered with other agencies to produce and translate resource material into South Asian languages.
As a way to support their prevention education efforts, ASAAP established a Resource Centre which held a vast collection of information on HIV/AIDS, sexual health and Eastern health and wellness systems including Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines. Resources were made available through videos, books, pamphlets and articles. The Resource Centre has also provided ASAAP clients access to computers and the internet. ASAAP established the brownkiss.ca website, as a creative medium in which South Asian women could access resources online. As a way to keep clients updated on HIV/AIDS, ASAAP put out a monthly mail out to their clients.
A number of collaborations and partnerships were formed between ASAAP and South Asian serving organizations and AIDS Service organizations. These partnerships include, but are not limited to ACT, Black CAP, ACAS, CSSP, CATIE, and the Hassle Free Clinic. Through a variety of community development programs, ASAAP has coordinated with partners and other South Asian serving organizations to build an effective response to HIV/AIDS. ASAAP partnered with the Hassle Free Clinic to provide anonymous HIV and STD testing and counselling. ASAAP has worked to eliminate barriers for South Asians living with HIV/AIDS and has worked with other AIDS service organizations to better serve people of diverse cultural backgrounds. In collaboration with mainstream agencies, ASAAP has advocated for the need for inclusion for South Asians living with HIV/AIDS on various community advisory panels at local hospitals, community centres and regional HIV/AIDS networks in Ontario.
Through television, radio appearances and contributions in a variety of South Asian language newspapers and magazines, ASAAP has advocated for healthy support environments within the South Asian community. ASAAP has also sought to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and how it affects South Asians.
Scope and Content
The fonds contains the organizational records of the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention dating from 1984 to 2016. Records reflect the administration, governance, support services, prevention education, and partnerships that ASAAP took part in. The fonds has been organized into 3 series: Administration and Governance, ASAAP Projects and Support Groups, and Resources. It includes annual reports, strategic plans, Board meeting minutes, audited financial reports, grant applications, activity reports, brochures and flyers, newsletters, magazines and news clippings.
Contains series:
1- Administration and Governance
2- ASAAP Project and Support Groups
3-Resources
The collection is open to researchers. Researchers interested in seeing the files listed below, must be granted permission from the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention.
F0181-01-072
F0181-01-073
F0181-01-074
Copyright
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in writing from The ArQuives as the
physical owner. Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holders of any copyrights in the
materials. Note that The ArQuives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we
hold the copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other
materials directly from the copyright holders.
Conservation
Records were removed from plastic folders and placed into acid free file folders. Some staples and
paperclips were removed.
Arrangement
Original order was kept where possible. The fonds was arranged into 3 series: Administration and
Governance, ASAAP Projects and Support Groups, and Resources. Resources were grouped together
and mostly organized by date.
The fonds contains records pertaining to the life of gay activist, teacher and writer, Bernard Courte. The records found in the fonds reflect aspects of Courte’s personal life, his career in education, and his fight for gay rights, french language rights, and for the rights of people living with HI…
1.13m of textual records.-30 photographs: 13 b&w; 17 col.
Physical Condition
Records are in good condition
History / Biographical
Gay activist, teacher, and writer, Bernard Courte was born in Weir, Quebec on June 22, 1949. Located 75 miles north of Montreal, Weir’s population was made up of approximately 100 people, most of whom were anglophones. Courte’s family was one of two francophone families who lived in the town, which forced Bernard Courte to become fluent in english. Growing up, he was told by anglophones to “speak white”. This language based discrimination would later inform his activism. The events of the 1977 Truxx Bar Raid acted as a galvanizing moment in Courte’s life, as he began advocating gay rights, Franco-Canadian rights, and for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. He marched, wrote, and spoke with an infectious enthusiasm and dynamic energy.
At the age of 17, Courte moved to Montreal to attend teacher’s college. After a year of enrollment, Courte quit school and came out through the bar scene. He eventually went back to school and received a Bachelor and Master of Arts in Linguistics from the Université de Québec à Montréal. He also completed a Degree in Education from McGill University. In 1976, Courte started teaching english as a second language at the Cégep Saint Jean sur Richelieu.
Courte was present at the 1977 Truxx Bar Raid. The Raid served as a galvanizing moment in Courte’s life. Shortly after, he became a member of the Association pour les Droits Gais du Québec, a Quebec gay rights association. He went on to contribute to the ADGQ’s publication, Le Berdache. In addition to writing pieces for the publication, he also translated and adapted The Body Politic and other gay news articles from english to french for Le Berdache readers. In 1982, Courte and other co-founders established the new monthly Sortie, a major North American french language gay publication, where he served as editor for 14 months.
Courte was an early champion of AIDS awareness in Quebec. Beginning in 1982 or 1983, he wrote extensively on the disease for publications including Sortie and RG. He also appeared on radio and television to talk about the emerging AIDS crisis. He served as a spokesperson for an AIDS walk-a-thon, which he considered as a second coming out. Courte was involved with the Comité Sida Aide Montréal.
In 1986, Courte relocated to Toronto with his then partner of 18 years, Keith Russell. The move was brought on by Russell’s work transfer. Courte found employment at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. His focus on HIV/AIDS, gay rights, and journalism did not slow down after his move to Toronto. He continued writing for Sortie as their Toronto correspondent and had his own column, La Chronique Courte. Once Sortie folded, Courte went on to write for Xtra! And eventually had his own monthly french column XtraCourte.
Following his move to Toronto, Courte began advocating for the rights of Franco-Ontarians and their need for linguistically and culturally relevant resources and services. This was evident through his work spearheading and coordinating various translation projects with AIDS Service Organizations and gay and lesbian groups. Courte served as a volunteer for the AIDS Committee of Toronto and helped prepare and translate french language flyers and brochures. He was also involved with AIDS Action Now! In 1988, he founded the Équipe Francophone and helped launch the french version of the AAN! Treatment Update newsletter, Traitement Sida in 1989. He served on the AAN! Media Committee. Courte also started a French-language index of medical data relating to AIDS treatment, a resource unique in North America. He helped found a francophone AIDS support group in Toronto, organized safe-sex workshops, and was involved with nine AIDS conferences in six years. Additionally Courte translated material for various other lesbian and gay groups.
His push for access to french language resources and services, extended beyond the lesbian and gay community. He frequently wrote for educational and francophone journals, which included his column À La Page in Orbit, OISE’s quarterly magazine. He often sent articles to L’Express de Toronto- Toronto’s french language weekly paper and served as a consultant at the Centre Médico Social Communautaire, where he prepared french resources. Additionally, Courte served on the Communications Committee of the ACFO- Toronto, the Toronto Chapter of the Ontario French Canadian Association and the Newsletter Committee and Negotiations Committee of the Research Officer’s Union at OISE. As a recovering alcoholic, Courte was involved in gay and lesbian and french Alcoholics Anonymous Groups.
Bernard Courte died of AIDS related complications in Toronto on October 19, 1991.
Scope and Content
The fonds contains records pertaining to the life of gay activist, teacher and writer, Bernard Courte. The records found in the fonds reflect aspects of Courte’s personal life, his career in education, and his fight for gay rights, french language rights, and for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. The majority of the records were created in Montreal or Toronto, and date from 1972 to 1991. The fonds has been arranged into the following 4 series: Personal Life, Teaching, Activism, and Subject Files. It contains correspondence, coursework, course material, articles penned by Courte, article drafts, meeting minutes, brochures, flyers, and clippings.
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Access Restrictions
The fonds is open to researchers.
Copyright
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in writing from The ArQuives as the physical owner. Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder of any copyrights in the materials. Note that The ArQuives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials directly from the copyright holder.
Conservation
Records have been rehoused in acid free file folders and boxes. Most paper clips have been removed.
Arrangement
The accessions were partially processed by archivists Paul Leatherdale and Harold Averill using an accession based descriptive standard. The records were reprocessed in 2020 to reflect The ArQuives’ institutional RAD compliant standards. Original order was kept where possible. Order was imposed in some cases to facilitate accessibility.
