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Ottawa's Lyra Evans says she is the first openly trans school board trustee in Canada
Lyra Evans, 26, will become the school trustee for a downtown Ottawa district after garnering 55 per cent of the votes cast Monday as part of Ontario’s municipal elections.
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Faces of change: Lyra Evans pushes for progressive policies as an Ottawa public school board trustee
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Biography
Lyra Evans is an activist, an openly LGBTQ person, and an advocate for progressive change. She was a student at the OCDSB for 12 years, and came out as trans while still in high school. This was an incredibly difficult experience for Evans, and while her school had a policy of acceptance, this did not translate into an accepting or inclusive school environment. In addition to the discrimination she faced as an openly trans student, Evans became homeless while still attending high school. She has years of experience advocating for the homeless and organizing around LGBTQ issues.
Evans was angered by the Ontario provincial government’s decisions to revert to the outdated 1998 version of the sex-education curriculum, halt progress on the incorporation of Truth and Reconciliation into classroom learning, and cut funding for necessary school repairs. With experience teaching sex education in schools with Planned Parenthood, working as a community organizer, and attending school in the OCDSB, Evans is qualified to advocate on behalf of students whose needs are being neglected.