Supporting 2SLGBTQI+ Students Bill 7 Award Apply Now Scholarships for 2 Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (2SLGBTQI+) students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing a first degree, diploma or certification in any Ontario post-secondary institution Submit your application Annual Awards Presentations Bill 7 Award hosts an annual awards presentation to recognize its recipients See Past Events

About Us

Honouring Our Queer History by Supporting Queer & Trans Students

The Bill 7 Award Trust was established in 1987 to provide post-secondary education scholarships to 2 Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (2SLGBTQI+) students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing a first degree, diploma or certification in any Ontario post-secondary institution.

The Bill 7 Award is named after the 1986 Ontario legislation that extended the protection of the Human Rights Code to lesbians and gays.

The Trust was founded by six community groups, predominantly led by women: the UofT Women’s Centre, the Lesbian and Gay Community Appeal (now the CommunityONE Foundation), Lesbians of Colour, The Black Women’s Collective, Zami, and the Toronto Counselling Centre for Lesbians and Gays.

Today, Bill 7 Award trustees are appointed by our two current partner organizations, Supporting Our Youth (SOY) and theCommunity One Foundation, successors to the original founding groups.

Since 1987, the Bill 7 Award Trust has granted over $400,000 in scholarships to over 150 students to help them with the cost of post-secondary education.

All scholarship funds are raised through donations. We have been working hard to increase both the number and size of the available scholarships. Since 2021, we have been able to award around 20 scholarships of $4500 each, as well as supporting two additional students with continuing scholarships.

Trustees

The Bill 7 Award Trust is directed by a volunteer Board of Trustees, appointed by our current partner organizations: Supporting Our Youth (SOY) and the Community One Foundation.
Paul Ray

Paul Ray

Trustee, Chair

Biography

Paul works in the financial services industry with a focus on risk management and compliance. As a trustee and the Chair of the Bill 7 Award Trust, Paul brings experience as an auditor for Ernst & Young LLP. Paul obtained his Bachelor of Commerce from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and has been a Chartered Accountant since 2010. He is a long-time supporter of charitable organizations that make a difference in the lives of young people in his community.

Stacey Petersen

Stacey Petersen

Trustee

Biography

Stacey is a senior leader at RBC Direct Investing and has been a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the financial services industry for her entire career.  As trustee of the Bill 7 Award, she is delighted to be able to support her community in such a meaningful way.  As a mother, ensuring the next generation has opportunity and a voice is critically important to her.  Stacey obtained her Bachelor of Science from Bishops’ University and her Master of Business Administration from the Rotman School of Management.

Ana Qarri

Ana Qarri

Trustee

Biography

Ana is the first recipient of the Bill 7 Award to sit on the Board of Trustees. She is currently pursuing a JD/BCL degree at the McGill Faculty of Law. Before law school, she held a variety of legislative and public policy positions in Toronto, including as a non-partisan intern to the New Democrats’ Critic for LGBTQ+-issues. Ana is interested in making law accessible and welcoming for queer and trans lawyers-to-be; during her time at McGill Law, she has served as an editor for Contours, a journal for gender minorities in law. She was awarded the 2020 Women General Counsel Canada scholarship for her commitment to the advancement of women in law. Ana’s interest in law is primarily at the intersection of law and technology, including privacy issues that impact marginalized communities. As a first-generation Albanian-Canadian, she is excited to expand outreach efforts for the scholarship to reach a wider diversity of LGBTQ+ students across Ontario.

Tatsuya Aoki

Tatsuya Aoki

Trustee, Treasurer

Biography

Tatsuya currently works in Finance at an operating entity of Brookfield’s Insurance Solutions business group. He previously worked at EY and was involved with EY’s LGBTQ+ professional network, Unity, from which he first learned about and became a supporter of the Bill 7 Award Trust. He was recently (in 2023) appointed as a trustee and treasurer of the Trust, bringing his financial reporting skills and technical accounting knowledge as a Chartered Professional Accountant. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Tatsuya came to Canada for his undergraduate studies at UBC, where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree.

Michael Turco

Michael Turco

Trustee

Biography

Michael is a higher education professional with 20 years of student-facing and leadership experience in the sector, working in the US, UK, and Canada. He currently works in Equity and Operations at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he co-chairs the Faculty and Staff 2SLGBTQ+ network, and was a recipient of the Alan Shepard EDI Award. He previously worked at the Royal College of Art, The University of East Anglia, The UK Ministry of Justice, the British House of Commons, and The Ohio State University. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Art, with an MA from King’s College London, and a double BA from Ohio State, where he was the recipient of the Harold MacIntosh LGBTQ Service Scholarship. Michael is a life-long volunteer and maintains a commitment to social justice and equity-deserving causes. He brings with him to the Bill 7 Trust a deep understanding of the social and economic needs of 2SLGBTQ+ students, as well as years of experience navigating the post-secondary industry.

Apply

2024 Applications are now closed

Who Can Apply

The Bill 7 Award is a scholarship for students with a demonstrated financial need who already accessed available public financial support.  To be eligible to receive a Bill 7 Award scholarship, individuals must also meet ALL of the following three criteria:

  • You are attending or accepted by a Post-Secondary Educational Institution in the Province of Ontario
  • You are pursuing your FIRST post-secondary program of study
  • You identify as2 Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer (2SLGBTQI+)

2024 Key Dates

2024-2025 Applications have now closed, but the dates below indicate the timelines for coming years.

2024-25 Application Form Available: Thursday, April 18, 2024
Application Deadline:  Friday, August 2, 2024
Successful Recipients Notified: Late September
Awards Ceremony: Monday, November 4, 2024

How to Apply

What you will need to submit your application:

In addition to your application form, we require the following documents. These may be attached in .pdf, .docx (.pdf format is preferred.)

  • copy of your OSAP estimate (or other provincial support estimate)
  • Proof of registration / acceptance from the post-secondary institution. Acceptable proof could be a copy of the confirmation of your offer of acceptance; proof of registration in the program; proof of payment of tuition; or a copy of your offer of admission. If you are selected as a recipient, you must provide proof of active enrolment in your program before payment is issued.
  • Reference letter from a teacher, guidance counsellor, coach, employer, community or social worker, doctor, religious leader or similar professional who can support your application. The reference letter should indicate how long and in what context the writer knows you and explain why you would be a good candidate for the Award.
  • personal statement, 250 words or fewer, detailing why you should be selected as the recipient of the Bill 7 Award. You may wish to consider how your studies or future work will contribute to the improvement of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and/or provide us with any other information you feel we should know about you that will make you a good candidate, such as children, family, relationships, disabilities, experiences of discrimination, living situation, geographic context, etc.

Events

See our past event presentations

Contact

Bill 7 Award
c/o Supporting our Youth
Sherbourne Health Centre
333 Sherbourne Street, 2nd floor
Toronto ON, M5A 2S5

info@bill7award.ca

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