2024 Welcoming Ottawa Ambassadors

David Pepper has a long history of activism on behalf of LGBTQI+ refugees. In 2011, he took a sabbatical from his work as Director of Community Development at the Ottawa Police Service to travel by bus to 23 cities across Canada as part of the North Star Triangle project.

Along the way, he met with LGBTQI+ community groups and individuals to discuss LGBTQI+ refugee issues and ways to mobilize individuals and community resources on their behalf. “Some of the best meetings during my tour of all ten provinces were in places that had a perceived stigma,” remembers David.

The timing was ripe for change. The previous year, the Immigration Minister had urged Canadians to use the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program to support LGBTQI+ refugees fleeing their country of origin.

David’s best friend from their days as Carleton University students was Nicole LaViolette. Along with Nicole and others, David helped co-found Capital Rainbow Refuge and he actively volunteered with the organization for 10 years.

Nicole went on to become an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa and wrote an article in the Globe and Mail, calling for members of Canada’s queer community to form refugee sponsorship groups as a tangible way to help sexual minorities facing persecution abroad. Sadly, Nicole passed away in 2015, but her legacy lives on through her activist and academic work on refugees and generous endowments to refugee groups.

Along with Nicole in 2010, David helped co-found Capital Rainbow Refuge and actively volunteered with them for 10 years. Now Ottawa has some 14 groups that privately sponsor LGBTI+ refugees and there are many more in other cities across the country. One of the main goals of the North Star Triangle Project was achieved.

Beyond his activism, David’s compassion, kindness and generosity, he has personally touched the lives of many LGBTQI+ refugees who have come to Ottawa over the years. One such newcomer is Mohamad, one of the first LGBTQI+ Government Assisted Refugees supported by CRR.

After fleeing Syria, Mohamad spent a year as a refugee in Istanbul, Turkey before coming to Canada in November 2016. “I was lucky to be able to leave, unlike so many of the forgotten refugees in Turkey,” remarks Mohamad. “When I arrived, I knew I had to leave the past behind and move forward with confidence. The enabling environment David provided has really helped me find the path forward in my future.”

“At first he showed me practical things like how to navigate the Ottawa transit systems,” remembers Mohamad. Not a surprising role for David, as he worked for OC Transpo at the time.

“Later on, we clicked as friends, practicing English and sharing food and culture,” explains Mohamad. “He gradually became my mentor, generously sharing advice and listening to me when I wasn’t sure what to do.”

David admires Mohamed’s strength and personality traits. “We formed a very good connection,” explains David. “He is fearless and has such a great demeanor, vibe and sense of humour. Yet at the same time, he is also profound.”

“David and his partner, Michael, were the first people to introduce me to other Canadian cities,” says Mohamad. “Their openness and support made me feel more comfortable in my new home. I discovered the kindness of strangers and how to never stop believing in the power of human connections.”

David brought Mohamad to Montreal for a weekend, showing him the sights, with a customary trip to Schwartz’s Deli, Mount Royal, the Leonard Cohen mural and more. 

“This first trip showed me how well Mohamad absorbed everything,” remembers David. “There was a depth of interest and willingness to look at this new country with such openness. Since then, we have shared an incredibly deep friendship. He is a close part of my family. I’ve met his sister, niece and nephews and he’s met mine.”
David chuckles when reflecting on how Mohamad has grown. “He has more friends and a larger network in Montreal than I do. Now I go to him as a source of information on Montreal!”

Mohamed fondly remembers another trip to Montreal during Gay Pride Week when he competed in a running race which started on Mont Royal and ended in the Gay Village. He glanced up at the large crowd, only to see David and Michael proudly cheering him on at both the beginning and the end of the race!

David even taught Mohamed how be a bargain hunter and collect reward points towards trips and other perks, something that reminds Mohamed of his own parents.

Sometimes Mohamad reflects on how his settlement journey would have been if he had not known David. “I would be lost and disoriented without his friendship,” he remarks. “I’m still curious to know him more and maintain an ongoing connection. My life would have been different. He was a total stranger and yet he somehow became like family.”

Although Mohamad is quite humble, he has achieved so much in a short period of time. He has worked at the YMCA of the National Capital Region’s Newcomer information Centre and Max Ottawa. Last October, began a job in the program and partnerships section of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

After achieving many milestones through LGBTQI+ activism which began in the 1980s, David has realized there was still so much more work to do beyond Canada’s borders. That is partly why he shifted his focus towards newcomers like Mohamad.
According to CRR, “In more than 70 countries, LGBTQI+ communities are criminalized. Alongside state or police actions against LGBTQI+ people, sexual and gender minorities often face unimaginable human rights violations perpetrated by families, institutions and communities.”

It’s been 13 years since he took that bus trip across Canada. In some ways, even with the advent of social media, he worries about being able to connect at the grass roots level. He fears a sense of complacency on the horizon and that the pendulum is swinging back as LGBTQI+ rights gradually become eroded.
“A lot of my generation has stepped back,” reflects David. “I am concerned that our successes are fragile. Sadly, I see that some people are blaming immigrants for economic downturns and the housing crisis. Although I am proud of our amazing work in Ottawa, we still need to be vigilant.”

What does offer him a sense of hope for the future, is the extraordinary strength and resilience of newcomers like Mohamad.