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"A
homeless man died on the streets this morning, a few steps from 558 Gerrard. If
you remember, that's the same building that Dennis Mills put his job on the line
for when he said he'd turn it in to social housing within 30 days. It's been well
over six months. Further, 10 homeless people have died on the streets so far this
spring."
Join email listserve to defeat Mills
Mills' most recent statement IFeb. 3, 2004) in the House of Commons against equal marriage.
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Adovcacy News - Dennis Mills Dennis Mills - Liberal MP Toronto-Danforth Earlier
this month, gay-rights advocates demonstrated in front of Mills' Danforth Ave.
campaign headquarters to vocally oppose his position against same-sex marriage.
Mills, a devout Catholic who helped orchestrate the World Youth Days celebrations
in 2002 that bought Pope John Paul II to Toronto, appeared caught off guard by
the move. He told an all candidates' meeting last week that his position on the
subject was unchanged. The demonstration reflected the changing face of the riding,
where the gay and lesbian population has increased in recent years. June 29, 2004 Dennis Mills was defeated last night, by a margin that falls within the gay representation of the total voters:
Thanks to all who contributed to this victory for equality. June 21, 2004 MP Mills laughs over charges of bigotry & lies Increasingly, residents of the Toronto-Danforth riding have been speaking out against the cavalier manner in which anti-gay MP Dennis Mills responds to charges of bigotry and lies. Same-sex marriage advocates gathered on June 19, outside the campaign office that Mills has set up on the Danforth. The protest was covered by national tv and print media, to the delight of both sides. Read "MP Mills laughs over charges of bigotry & lies" June 19, 2004 Toronto: Picket Liberal MP Dennis Mills Toronto: As Member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto-Danforth, Dennis Mills (Liberal Party) has consistently opposed equality for gays and lesbians and his current campaign platform includes his support for marriage discrimination. Residents of the riding have organized a day to picket at Mills' campaign office. We must not let Mills go through this election without being confronted with his record. Support same-sex marriage. Bring signs (or we can provide some for you in advance), noise makers, etc., to 607 Danforth Avenue (west of Pape Avenue) at noon on Saturday June 19. Please contact us for further information, or to reserve your protest sign. May 27, 2004 A deathbed conversion for Dennis Mills? Member of Parliament Dennis Mills (Liberal Party) is fighting for re-election in the hotly contested Toronto-Danforth riding. Mills, who opposes gay marriage, is being challenged by the gay-positive leader of the New Democratic Party, Jack Layton. Last night, in a chance encounter, Mills confirmed he is "struggling" with his opposition to equality. But instead of asking for votes he asked for prayers. Read "A deathbed conversion for Dennis Mills?" January 22, 2004 (Updated Feb. 4, 2004) Dennis Mills breaks promise - must resign "It's
time Mr. Mills...are you going to keep your promise! No housing = no seat! I may
(or may not) approve of the rest of your preformance but you went out on a limb
and the branch broke." " ... another tall
tale from Mills ... my questions would be is Dennis a liar and does he use groups
like OCAP as political tools often, its stuff like this that make people dismiss
politicians as fools and self serving users." The erratic, anti-gay (see below), Liberal Member of Parliament, Dennis Mills has not kept his promise to convert a derelict building into social housing. Last November, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty occupied a building in the Toronto-Danforth federal political riding in an effort to secure social housing. Mills arrived on location and issued a written promise to the Coalition in exchange for an end to the squat. Mills' commitment was to meet the Coalition's demand within 30 days or he would resign. On Dec. 5, 2003, 28 days after making his promise, Dennis Mills claimed the deal was done. "Based on what he says, it seems that this is pretty well a sewn-up deal," John Clarke of the OCAP told the Toronto Star (Dec. 6, 2003). But to-date, the issue has progressed no further than the seemingly empty promise of a politician fighting for relevancy in a riding where he ignores constituent's concerns (Mills represents a large gay population, including the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, as well as both couples, and their lead lawyer, who were married there in the 2001 weddings that launched the current drive for equal marriage in Canada). According to Karen Ras (National Post, Jan 21, 2021), a spokesperson for the provincial keepers of the abandoned house (it is a heritage property), Mills has not been in touch with province about the matter since "before Christmas." "The man engaged in a political manoeuvre," Clarke told the Post. "And if he has not been able to do what he said, then I think the decent thing is come clean and acknowledge that and take the political consequences." Dennis Mills remains silent. But you can tell him what you think by posting a message on his discussion board. November 10, 2003 (Updated Dec. 10) Will Dennis Mills resign within a month? Three months ago, gays and lesbians in the federal riding of Toronto-Danforth began calling for the resignation of Liberal Member of Parliament Dennis Mills. The M.P. has a long record of supporting the Vatican's Catholic dogma in public policy and ignoring human rights and Charter protections for gays and lesbians. He has refused to support same-sex marriage in a political riding that is home to the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto and the two couples that were legally married there in 2001. As a result, a number of campaigns have sprung up to remove Mills from office, including Liberals for Layton (see Aug. 19 report, below) . In the past week, another group called Riverdale For Equality distributed flyers in his riding stating "Dennis Mills is willing to defy the will of his Riverdale Constituents, and the nation's courts and Human Rights legislation, in favour of his own personal biases and religious beliefs ... Dennis Mills has consistently voted against human rights for the LGBT community" including:
Last weekend, Mills may have delivered a major boost to those who want to send him into a long-deserved retirement. On Saturday, November 8, Mills signed a statement promising the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty that he would resign his seat in the House of Commons within one month if he was unsuccessful in getting a derelict building converted into social housing. With a newly elected provincial Liberal party in power in Ontario, Mills may have been counting on cronyism when he made the pledge to the Coalition, in front of media. "But members of the newly elected provincial government ignored the MP's proposal today," the Toronto Star reported (Nov. 10), "including Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, whom Mills mentioned specifically Saturday as one of the friends who would help him come to the rescue of the homeless ... Premier Dalton McGuinty was not available to comment on Sunday or today ..." Meanwhile, on Nov. 13, Canadian Press reported Greg Sorbara said, "A commitment that he [Dennis Mills] makes is obviously not going to bind the provincial government." Mills has not answered calls for comment. George Olds, a member of Liberals for Layton, is skeptical of Mills' promises. "Seven years ago, Mr. Mills also said he would have a meeting with the gays and lesbians in his constituency to discuss equal rights within six weeks," Olds told equalmarriage.ca. "More than six years later, we're still waiting. Joey Slinger of the Toronto Star has written a column [June 26] about how Mr. Mills 'will get back to him on that', over the situation of exactly where the money went from the SARS [Rolling Stones] concert. He's still waiting too ... so the folks at OCAP will just have to get in line, I guess." We wish OCAP success in their important effort to acquire housing. We hope they won't have to join us in our call for Dennis-I'll-get-back-to-you-Mills' resignation. Advocacy Events - Dennis Mills August 19, 2003 Liberals
for Layton declare Toronto-Danforth a "line in the sand" against homophobia Call for Dennis Mills' Resignation "I
think that if Dennis Mills ignores the views of a significant majority of his
constituents and in particular, the gay and lesbian community, he'll have lots
and lots of time after the next election ...", [said M.P. Svend Robinson regarding
the possibility of Mills losing his seat to NDP leader Jack Layton]. Mills has
said he opposes his government's plan to change the definition of marriage to
include same-sex unions, despite a high concentration of gay and lesbian voters
in his riding." Dennis Mills is the MP in the riding that holds the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, the church that launched the Ontario marriage case to force the registration of the marriages of Kevin Bourassa & Joe Varnell and Anne & Elaine Vautour. Bourassa/Varnell and the Vautours also live in Mills' riding, as does their lawyer Douglas Elliott. The following is an announcement received from Liberals for Layton: News
Media Announcement Equal marriage activists, environmentalists and disgruntled Liberal voters in Toronto-Danforth have launched Liberals For Layton. They're calling for anti-gay MP Dennis Mills' immediate resignation and will work to defeat the homophobic gadfly in the next election. "Mills likes to call himself a Trudeau Liberal. (Former Prime Minister Pierre) Trudeau would weep at Mills' anti-gay record," says L4L founder Ian Taylor, 53, a Toronto author, professional speaker and lifelong liberal. "Mills showed his true colours by voting with the Reform party against extending us human rights protection in bill C-33. With his record, he should move to Alberta and run as an Alliance candidate. "Jack Layton is a true small "l" liberal. He's open to change and has always stood up for equality, respect and liberal democratic principles. Mills should fight for justice, not casinos along the waterfront or lame-brained ideas like the flat tax or draining the water from Hudson Bay. The list is long." L4L will extend their work to about 50 other ridings held by anti-gay fundamentalist MPs like Pat O'Brien, Tom Wappel, Dan McTeague, Roger Galloway and John Bryden. They'll target the national Liberal leadership convention in November in Toronto. Last
Feb. 14, Taylor and his spouse, George Olds,
For more information contact Ian Taylor: 416-466-1560 Issued by: Liberals For Layton
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demonstrated
at Toronto City Hall for federal action on equal marriage rights. They'll be married
at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto Feb. 14, 2004 in the middle of
Toronto-Danforth riding, which Liberals for Layton have declared "a line in the
sand" on the issue of Canadian equality. 
"This
is an issue of freedom of religion. Mr. Mills has a hidden agenda. He wants special
rights for his church. He mustn't stop us from the right to get legally married
in ours," says Taylor.
