UPDATE: In a heated conversation with Xtra this afternoon Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky explained the second he learned homosexuality remained on the list of the Alberta government's mental disorders he acted to have it removed. Asked why it remained on the list long after its removal from China's list four years ago, the minister demanded, "Don't go there with me. I'm not going to be pointing fingers at the past. That's the end of the story."

Zwozdesky advised us to confirm the removal on the Alberta Health and Wellness site for ourselves: "Take a look because it was done in eight minutes."

A comparison between the revised Alberta Health and Wellness Diagnostic Codes pdf hosted on their site, and the old version below, reveals the ministry deleted the page listing "homosexuality," specifically page 66, though that move also eliminated bestiality, paedophilia, frigidity and impotence, alcohol dependence syndrome and drug dependence. 

As for an apology to gay and lesbian Albertans, Zwozdesky is curt: "you'd better ask the World Health Organization."

______________________________________________________________ 

One day a popular trivia question will read: name the country with the province where homosexuality continued to be included on a list of mental disorders four years after China removed it from their own. Answer: Canada!

Thanks to the work of activist Rob Wells and journalist Karen Kleiss it was revealed Tuesday the province with the highest GDP in Canada not only continues to list homosexuality as a mental disorder, but doctors in the province billed using the diagnostic code for homosexuality 1,782 times between 1995 and 2004.

^{Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky}

While the latest reports say Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky has vowed to remove homosexuality from the list (a move in accord with declassifications by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 and the Canadian Psychiatric Association in 1982), documents show the same promise was made in 1998 by then-health minister Halvar Jonson.

In a letter dated July 27, 1998, Jonson assures Liberal Heath Critic Gary Dickson the classification will be updated:

"A new coding structure has been developed which Alberta Health is considering. This new coding will address the concerns regarding the classification of the diagnostic code for homosexuality."

Following this week's public disclosure, Zwozdesky made the same promise: "It is simply an incorrect and unacceptable classification and I’ve ordered it to be removed immediately.”

We'll believe it when we see it.

Xtra has contacted the office of the Alberta health minister to confirm its removal but has yet to receive a response. 

Perhaps the broom closet dedicated to the struggle for gay rights at the nearby Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg can reserve a space beside the mop buckets for commemorating this pivotal moment in Alberta's history.

A 14-year-old male has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with an attack on an Edmonton lesbian, but police say it wasn't a hate crime.

"After conducting numerous interviews with witnesses and persons of interest, EPS Hate Crime Unit officers concluded that while an assault occurred, it was not determined to be a hate crime," says an Edmonton Police Service press release. "We have confirmed that the incident was random and that the victim was not specifically targeted," says constable Patrick Ruzage.

Shannon Barry, 31, says she was walking home from a bar with friends when a group of men yelled homophobic slurs at them. She told CBC that one of the men kicked her in the face. Barry suffered a broken jaw, a crushed left eye socket and facial nerve damage. In an interview after the incident, she criticized police for not immediately filing a report.

CBC Edmonton has more:

"[Edmonton Police Service chief Mike] Boyd apologized for the error on Saturday, saying the officer failed to file an internal report the day the assault occurred and didn't finish the report until he returned from his scheduled days off on Thursday.... He said the office is looking into the incident, and the officer may face disciplinary action." (read more at CBC Edmonton)

Shannon Barry was interviewed by CBC Edmonton after the attack. Watch CBC's interview here.

"Obviously the incident was random, but that doesn't change the fact that they called me a faggot and kicked me in the face," said Barry. "Maybe I don't understand how to define hate crimes, but to me that speaks loud and clear." (read more at CTV Edmonton)

Meanwhile, Edmonton's queer community has rallied in response. Stay in the loop on the Community Response Project Facebook Group. A kiss-in is planned for Saturday, May 15 at the Alberta Legislature. See more details on the Facebook Event.

Read more:

• Attack on Edmonton lesbian not investigated by police until five days later

Activists are rallying behind a substitute teacher who was fired from an Alberta Catholic school board because he is transgendered.

In an Oct 14, 2008 letter from the board's deputy superintendent, Jan Buterman was told that his “gender change is not aligned with the teaching of the Church and would create confusion and complexity with students.”

Read the deputy superintendent's full letter to Buterman.

Buterman filed a human rights complaint on Oct 1, 2009 -- the day that Alberta’s controversial Bill 44 came into effect. That legislation formally adds sexual orientation (but not gender identity) as a prohibited grounds of discrimination in the province’s human rights act. Bill 44 comes 11 years after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Alberta teacher Delwin Vriend, who was fired because he is gay. 

Julie Lloyd, an Edmonton lawyer who was involved in the Vriend case, notes that the Catholic school board is a publicly-funded institution. As such, it must adhere to Alberta’s human rights legislation, she told the Edmonton Journal.

Activist and researcher Kris Wells told CBC News that the firing sends a message to students that it’s not okay to be different, and that those who differ from the norm will “face consequences.”

Buterman is a vocal trans activist in Alberta. In May, after the province announced it was cutting coverage of gender reassignment surgery, he spoke at a rally at the Alberta legislature. Watch his speech below:

Look for an Xtra.ca interview with Buterman later this week.

Political pundits are speculating wildly at newly minted Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff's demand that the party have a platform in place by June.  Is he calling an election??? 

Please.

Don't these people know that the last Sunday in June is Pride Day?  Why would Ignatieff want to work on an election campaign when there are giant street parties to go to?  His only decision should be mimosa over sangria and his only platforms should be his shoes!

The provoince of Quebec is going to spend half a million dollars to improve the lives of gay seniors. I wonder how...

Strip bingo?  Pleated leather pants?  "Matlock" on Blu-ray? Paying me to stop making such cheap and obvious jokes?  Now you're talking...

The government of China has had a health freak-out, believing you can contract flu from meat, and they've banned exports of Alberta pork. Gerald Hauer, chief provincial veterinarian for Alberta Agriculture, says, "We would hope the science wins out over the emotion." 

Spoken like a man who's never had to listen to anti-gay bigots -- welcome to my world, Gerald!

Fortunately, one of America's premier online magazines The Huffington Post has scooped up Canada's own Michael Rowe as an esteemed columnist and today, he's delivered the final word on homophobe pin-up girl Carrie Prejean: "There is no shortage of bigots. They just usually don't wear tiaras."

While Alberta slowly, painfully shuffled its way into the 20th century yesterday, the big story was the defection of five-term Republican Senator Arlen Specter to the Democratic party. Apparently, his man-crush on Barack Obama proved irresistable.  I smell a bromance!

There were, of course, other theories.  Lots of them.  All day.  How, how, they cried, could Specter abandon his conservative principles?  Well, here's three reasons:

1)  Republicans are out-of-touch

A new CBS poll reveals that 42% of Americans approve of same-sex marriage -- an increase of nine points in just one month!  Republicans can cry all they want but the majority of the US public likes the gays:

2)  Republicans are dumb

How else to explain a study that found conservatives believing that satirist Stephen Colbert is only pretending to pretend to be conservative?  Apparently, Colbert's celebrations of FOX News designed to mock FOX News are secretly celebrating FOX News!

3) Republicans are absolutely full-on batshit insane

Their "arguments" against gay marriage...

So if you want to know why Specter jumped ship, there it is -- he knows he will never be elected again so as long as he's teamed up with the kind of people who think two men at a wedding will bring about the coming of the Sumerian shape-shifting god of destruction Gozer the Traveler. 

But yes, that is of course insane!  No real Republican is going to make such a wild leap between hypothetical disasters and US politics, right?

Oh.  Nevermind.