OUR BLOG

The Queer Atlantic Business Hub is a new Atlantic-wide initiative designed to support 2SLGBTQIA+ people who want to start, grow, or sustain a business. The Hub is launching its new bilingual website, welcoming a newly formed board, and opening membership to the public. While Sea Change is helping to bring this work to life, the Hub is a collaborative project shaped by community voices and delivered in partnership with others across the region.

Every day we encounter language in websites, forms, signs, emails, policies, job postings, and conversations. When that language is confusing, too technical, or overly long, people can feel frustrated, overwhelmed, and excluded. Plain language removes those barriers so more people can access the information they need.

Earlier this year, I wrote about how different generations inherited different beliefs about disability and work: what felt safe to say, what counted as “professional,” and who quietly endured challenges without support. Many people, especially those with disabilities, chronic conditions, or caregiving responsibilities, learned to stay silent to avoid judgment, job loss, or being seen as less capable. These generational experiences shape how safe people feel speaking up today.

Earlier this year, I wrote about how different generations inherited different beliefs about disability and work: what felt safe to say, what counted as “professional,” and who quietly endured challenges without support. Many people, especially those with disabilities, chronic conditions, or caregiving responsibilities, learned to stay silent to avoid judgment, job loss, or being seen as less capable. These generational experiences shape how safe people feel speaking up today.

For two years I had been free of it…this condition that steals my life without warning. There was never a warning; that’s what I’ve hated the most about it. When I got that familiar feeling in the front of my head while sitting at my desk in the middle of a work day in March of this year; I just knew. I said nothing to my team in the room. I got up, snuck into the hallway and silently tested my walking and movement, but there was no need. I knew. This time, I didn’t recover until June. 

September 30th, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR), asks us to pause and remember the children who never came home, the Survivors, and the ongoing impact of residential schools. The very next day, October 1st, Treaty Day in Nova Scotia, reminds us of the living treaties between the Mi’kmaq and the Crown, and opens Mi’kmaq History Month, a time to learn from Mi’kmaw history and celebrate Mi’kmaw culture.

Something big is taking shape across Atlantic Canada. From Halifax to St. John’s, from Charlottetown to Moncton, queer and trans entrepreneurs are coming together to build something we’ve never had before: a dedicated home for 2SLGBTQIA+ businesses in our region.

We interviewed two accessibility leaders, Henk van Leeuwen, Director of Dartmouth Adult Services Centre (DASC) and Thivjan Tharmaratnam, Director of Inclusion Nova Scotia, as part of the Accessibility Ally podcast. They are reshaping the way we think about disability and inclusion. Through their work, they offer powerful insights into what it means to be an “accessibility confident” leader.

On the Accessibility Ally Podcast, Corrie Melanson spoke with Michelle Mahoney and Morgane Evans about navigating post-secondary education with a physical disability. Both women shared their experiences of what worked, what didn’t, and what still needs to change to make education truly accessible.