Pride Marshals named for this Saturday's march

The North Bay Pride Committee has selected their grand marshals for this Saturday’s Pride March.

They are North Bay’s Nick George and Xica Rodriguez from Toronto.

Officials say both have been selected because of their committment to advocate for the LGBTQI2+ community and those affected by HIV.

In a release, officials say Nick George is a two spirited Trans person with over 20 years of advocacy for the LGBTQI2+ community.

Nick describes himself in the following way, “I am in transition, which means that although my body is female I am male in every other sense. I am out at work and in my personal life, which I hope encourages others who struggle with their sexuality to be true to themselves. Being openly Trans has its challenges but being accepted by my family and friends makes this easier. Being selected to be one of the grand marshals is a true honour especially understanding the work that has been done in North Bay for Pride events.”

Xix Rodriguez also known as “Xica DaDiva” on stage is a Trans person who lives with HIV. Xica has been an advocate for several years and will always stand for the rights or Trans persons and those affected by HIV.

“When I finally accepted myself for who I am, that was like a weight lifted from my shoulders. I do live with HIV, but it does not define me and that is why it is so important to spread the message that there is no shame in being HIV+. As an advocate we need to spread the message of U=U because this science based information could change HIV forever. I am very honoured by North Bay Pride to acknowledge the advocacy I have done”, Xica said.

“U=U stands for undetectable=untransmitable. Basically, it means that someone who is living with HIV is on effective treatment and has a suppressed viral load (cannot find the virus in their body through blood tests) has a ZERO chance of passing on HIV to their sexual partners. This is based on science, and has been endorsed by organizations like the CDC in the USA,” said Jason Maclennan, North Bay Pride Media / Sponsor relations.

He goes on to say, “Canada is lagging behind with this information, and for unknown reasons some within the LGBTQI2+ community are having difficulty accepting this information. That is a big reason for North Bay Pride to get behind this message like Barrie Pride and Pride Toronto, because we all recognized the need to get this information out there. It is a chance to stop new HIV infections and fight HIV Stigma. Many are demanding that our governments commit to ending all new infections by the year 2026, which is possible understanding U=U but sadly this demand has gone unanswered. HIV is just an illness, Stigma is the disease.”