Jamie Lee Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Jamie Lee Hamilton is a Canadian
politician and advocate of aboriginal
people, residents of the city's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside
, and sex trade workers. She was an independent candidate for the publicly elected Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in the city's 2008 municipal election
, after being controversially blocked from running on the Non-Partisan Association
ticket.
She previously ran for Vancouver City Council
in 1996, becoming the first openly transgender
person ever to run for political office in Canada.
Hamilton is also a writer, entertainer, and guest lecturer in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of British Columbia
and in Humanities at Capilano College
. She is working on a research project at UBC, "The Expulsion of Sex Workers from Vancouver's West End, 1975-1985", as she was one of those expelled by the court ruling.
She currently serves on the board of directors of the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society, which has served the aboriginal two-spirited community since 1978. Hamilton is a lifelong resident of the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona neighborhoods of Vancouver.
and Northern Ireland
. He was a union organizer with the Foundry Workers' Union.
Alice was from the Rocky Boy Band (Montana
, USA) and became a leader of the aboriginal community in Vancouver. She was a founder of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre in 1954. She was a cannery worker and member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union
(UFAWU). She was one of the Militant Mothers of Raymur who blockaded the Burlington Northern Railway tracks to demand an overpass for the children of Raymur housing project to attend school.
In 1967, Hamilton's parents co-founded the Unemployed Citizens Welfare Improvement Council (UCWIC) along with later-to-be Member of Parliament Margaret Anne Mitchell, tenants advocate Margaret Ellen Mitchell, and others. They also were among the first members of the Downtown Eastside Residents' Association (DERA).
Hamilton attended Lord Strathcona Elementary School
, Britannia Secondary School
, and Capilano College
. In 1968, in the Moccasin for Miles, she walked from Vancouver to Hope
. Beginning in her youth, Hamilton worked in the sex trade, transitioned to female, and became a strident advocate of the various communities of which she is a member. In 1970, she was the first youth to be treated in Canada for gender identity disorder. Her pioneering doctor was William Maurice of the Health Sciences Centre, University of British Columbia
.
In August 2008, Ms. Hamilton was preparing a human rights complaint against the Non-Partisan Association
, the city's governing party after it rejected her as a parks board candidate, which she alleges was due to an ad she had placed on ShemaleCanada.com, an online meeting place for transsexuals. This account conflicted with the NPA board's own explanation, stating explicitly that neither her gender identity nor her work in the sex trade were factors in her suitability for candidacy. In explaining the decision, NPA President Ned Pottinger stated: “We look at all aspects of a candidate—what they’ve been involved in politically, how they’ve represented themselves, and how they present themselves to us, what we get back from people who we’ve worked with in the past. We look at how they will interact with our team, our campaign messages, and we make a decision based on that."
Her complaint was supported by a number of prominent local figures, including former NPA city councillor Alan Herbert
, Little Sister's
founder Jim Deva and incumbent park commissioners Loretta Woodcock and Spencer Herbert.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
politician and advocate of aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
people, residents of the city's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
, and sex trade workers. She was an independent candidate for the publicly elected Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in the city's 2008 municipal election
Vancouver municipal election, 2008
The 2008 Vancouver municipal election was held on November 15, 2008, filling seats on the Vancouver School Board, the Parks Board, the Vancouver City Council, and the position of Mayor of Vancouver. It was held at the same time as municipal elections throughout the province...
, after being controversially blocked from running on the Non-Partisan Association
Non-Partisan Association
The Non-Partisan Association is a civic-level electoral organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There are, and have also been in the past, Non-Partisan Association political parties in the nearby municipalities of Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey.The NPA was established in 1937 to...
ticket.
She previously ran for Vancouver City Council
Vancouver City Council
Vancouver City Council is the governing body of the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.The city is governed by the Vancouver Charter, not the Community Charter and the Local Government Act which are used for other municipal governments...
in 1996, becoming the first openly transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
person ever to run for political office in Canada.
Hamilton is also a writer, entertainer, and guest lecturer in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
and in Humanities at Capilano College
Capilano College
Capilano University is an undergraduate-focused, public, coeducational, teaching-intensive university located in the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is enabled by the University Act...
. She is working on a research project at UBC, "The Expulsion of Sex Workers from Vancouver's West End, 1975-1985", as she was one of those expelled by the court ruling.
She currently serves on the board of directors of the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society, which has served the aboriginal two-spirited community since 1978. Hamilton is a lifelong resident of the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona neighborhoods of Vancouver.
Early life
She was born James Arthur Hamilton to parents Ralph Hamilton and Alice Hamilton. Ralph was an immigrant from Washington State, with Irish roots, who championed the unity of IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. He was a union organizer with the Foundry Workers' Union.
Alice was from the Rocky Boy Band (Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, USA) and became a leader of the aboriginal community in Vancouver. She was a founder of the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre in 1954. She was a cannery worker and member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union
United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union
The United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union was established in 1945 in British Columbia through the merger of the United Fishermen's Federal Union and the Fish, Cannery and Reduction Plant and Allied Workers Union. It survived raiding wars with the British Columbia Gillnetter's Association in...
(UFAWU). She was one of the Militant Mothers of Raymur who blockaded the Burlington Northern Railway tracks to demand an overpass for the children of Raymur housing project to attend school.
In 1967, Hamilton's parents co-founded the Unemployed Citizens Welfare Improvement Council (UCWIC) along with later-to-be Member of Parliament Margaret Anne Mitchell, tenants advocate Margaret Ellen Mitchell, and others. They also were among the first members of the Downtown Eastside Residents' Association (DERA).
Hamilton attended Lord Strathcona Elementary School
Lord Strathcona Elementary School
Lord Strathcona Community Elementary School is the oldest school in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1891 and is in the secondary school catchment area for Britannia Secondary School. It is located in the Strathcona neighbourhood and has a culturally diverse student body...
, Britannia Secondary School
Britannia Secondary School
Britannia Community Secondary School is a public community secondary school located in the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood on the east-side of Vancouver, British Columbia. The school educates its students using a district-wide block schedule program that alternates four blocks every two days....
, and Capilano College
Capilano College
Capilano University is an undergraduate-focused, public, coeducational, teaching-intensive university located in the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is enabled by the University Act...
. In 1968, in the Moccasin for Miles, she walked from Vancouver to Hope
Hope, British Columbia
Hope is a district municipality located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon...
. Beginning in her youth, Hamilton worked in the sex trade, transitioned to female, and became a strident advocate of the various communities of which she is a member. In 1970, she was the first youth to be treated in Canada for gender identity disorder. Her pioneering doctor was William Maurice of the Health Sciences Centre, University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
.
Achievements and awards
- Various positions, Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA), 1984-2004.
- Organizer, DERA demonstrations at inner-city hotels which were evicting long-term tenants in favour of Expo '86 tourists, 1986.
- Founding member, Coalition for Responsible Health Legislation, a group initiated in response to the push by the Socred government of British Columbia to quarantine gay males with AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, 1987. - Founder, George Ross Scholarship Fund, Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society; Vancouver, BC; 1988.
- Tenth elected Native Princess, Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society, 1988.
- Organizer and founding president of the Canadian Union of Public EmployeesCanadian Union of Public EmployeesThe Canadian Union of Public Employees is a Canadian trade union serving the public sector - although it has in recent years organized workplaces in the non-profit and para-public sector as well...
(CUPE) sublocal 15 at the Richmond Society of Community Living, c.1988. The union remains there. - Walk for Life, annual AIDS Walkathon, 1991: paid co-ordinator of volunteers; Vancouver, BC.
- XI elected Ms. Gay Vancouver, 1991. While reigning, performed with the New York traveling cast of A Chorus LineA Chorus LineA Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
. - Founder of the Hot Meal Programme and Food Bank for transsexual sex trade workers, First United Church, Vancouver, BC; 1993.
- Proprietor, Rainbow's End, a clothing boutique, food bank, and drop-in for sex workers and others in the Downtown Eastside, 1993-1997.
- Helped found the Four Corners Bank to assist people in the Downtown Eastside, 1994.
- First transexual to stand for public office in Canada, for Vancouver City Council, 1996. She came in 14th out of 58, with the first 10 being elected.
- Community Hero Award, Xtra West newspaper; Vancouver, BC; 1996.
- Founder, the 9 to 5 Working Society, which operated Grandma's House, a safe sanctuary for street-involved women; Vancouver, BC; 1997.
- Prominent leader in the campaign attracting international attention to shame the authorities into investigating the 67 missing women from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, 1998 to present. Media attention focused on her act of dumping 67 pairs of stiletto shoes on the steps of Vancouver City Hall. So far, Robert "Willie" Pickton has been convicted of murdering six of them. See articles "Twenty women missing, action demanded" and "Too many shoes"
- Keynote speaker at Resolutions and Ruptures: Sexual and Gender Diversity and the Spaces In-Between conference, University of British Columbia; 2004.
- A leader of the successful "No Trademark Campaign" opposing trademarking the word "pridePridePride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one's personal status or accomplishments, often used synonymously with hubris...
"; 2006. - Invited presenter, Canadian parliamentary subcommittee on solicitation; Vancouver, BC; 2006.
Controversies
Ms. Hamilton has been a somewhat controversial figure. Back in 2000 she was charged with running a common bawdy house when it was revealed she allowed some prostitutes to use an East End property as a brothel/safe house - charging them $15 per visit to cover expenses. Those charges were stayed. And a year later, The Vancouver Sun reported Ms. Hamilton used money from her government-funded drop-in centre to help finance her city council campaign in 1999. At the time, Ms. Hamilton said her campaign would repay some of those expenditures - which had been approved by the drop-in centre's board of directors.In August 2008, Ms. Hamilton was preparing a human rights complaint against the Non-Partisan Association
Non-Partisan Association
The Non-Partisan Association is a civic-level electoral organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There are, and have also been in the past, Non-Partisan Association political parties in the nearby municipalities of Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey.The NPA was established in 1937 to...
, the city's governing party after it rejected her as a parks board candidate, which she alleges was due to an ad she had placed on ShemaleCanada.com, an online meeting place for transsexuals. This account conflicted with the NPA board's own explanation, stating explicitly that neither her gender identity nor her work in the sex trade were factors in her suitability for candidacy. In explaining the decision, NPA President Ned Pottinger stated: “We look at all aspects of a candidate—what they’ve been involved in politically, how they’ve represented themselves, and how they present themselves to us, what we get back from people who we’ve worked with in the past. We look at how they will interact with our team, our campaign messages, and we make a decision based on that."
Her complaint was supported by a number of prominent local figures, including former NPA city councillor Alan Herbert
Alan Herbert (Canadian politician)
Alan Herbert is a Canadian politician and activist, who was an NPA member of Vancouver City Council from 1996 to 1999.A prominent gay activist in Vancouver, Herbert was instrumental in securing a liquor licence for the Fountainhead Pub, one of the city's primary gay bars, and in helping to develop...
, Little Sister's
Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium
Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, also known as Little Sister's Bookstore, but usually called "Little Sister's," is an independent bookstore in the Davie Village / West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a predominantly gay community...
founder Jim Deva and incumbent park commissioners Loretta Woodcock and Spencer Herbert.