Transgender Day of Remembrance arrives this year in the shadow of painful news from Alberta, where the provincial government has signalled its willingness to use the notwithstanding clause to restrict the rights of trans children and youth. This decision reflects a broader pattern across the country. It reveals a growing and coordinated effort to deny trans people their safety, dignity, and full participation in public life. These pressures are not new, but they are escalating. They are also being justified with rhetoric that pretends to protect children while in truth placing them at greater risk.

In this climate, Trans Day of Remembrance is not simply a moment to remember lives lost to transphobic violence. It is a reminder of the cost of indifference and the danger of policies that treat trans lives as political bargaining chips. Each name we speak belongs to someone who was loved. Someone who deserved the chance to grow old. Someone who should have been met with welcome instead of fear. Remembering them calls us to confront the systems that failed them, the narratives that dehumanized them, and the choices that made vulnerability a target.

Yet remembrance is not only grief. It is also an act of honour. It insists that trans lives carry beauty, courage, and wisdom that enrich our communities. All of us are responsible for creating spaces where trans people can breathe, imagine, and flourish. This responsibility is shared by families, churches, schools, and every public institution. It demands truth telling about the forces that threaten trans people and the willingness to act in solidarity even when it is costly.

At The Rainbow Well, we hold this day with tenderness and resolve. We remember those who have been taken from us. We honour those who are still fighting to be seen. We commit ourselves again to building communities where trans children and adults are safe, celebrated, and free to live their full truth. Remembrance guides us not toward despair but toward deeper dedication. Love has work to do, and we intend to keep doing that work with clarity, courage, and care.