September 15, 2020

Support the All Blood Is Equal Campaign

COPE Local 343 joins COPE National in calling on its members to support the All Blood Is Equal campaign.

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While science has come along way and all blood in Canada is tested and safe, discrimination against gay, bi and pan men, as well as men who sleep with men, continues when it comes to blood donations.

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Only since May 2019 have men who sleep with men been able to donate blood and even then, there’s still a discriminatory policy in place that says that they have to have been celibate for three months before donating – whilst their straight counterparts aren’t required to do so.

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The time to end this discriminatory ban is well overdo and Local 343 adds its voice to the chorus of folks who are calling for the ban to end. You can add your voice, as well as learn more about the campaign, by heading on over to allbloodisequal.ca.

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For more information on the continued ban, check out this article “Explainer: Canada’s Blood Donation Dan Policy (from The Runner Mag).

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To read COPE National’s Letter calling for support for the All Blood Is Equal campaign, click here.

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Ethiraju Ramachandar - Treasurer

Ethiraju has been a member of COPE Local 343 for the last 25+ years with an
extensive accounting and financial background. A friend and colleague once
told him that if you want to see change, you need to get involved, and so he did. Ethiraju has been a steward,  a bargaining committee member, and sits on multiple committees at Local 343. Advocating for those who are not able to and helping others and social justice has always been a strong value of his, and he will continue to do that at the board level! Ethiraju believe in a more just world. In his spare time, he love to spend time with his family, his dog Maya, enjoys gardening, talking about politics, and making the best biriyani in town!