GAY DADS CANADA

GDC works to develop partnerships, affiliations, and other undertakings which will further society's knowledge and understanding of gay fathers involvement in their families and their communities.

 GDC seeks to:

• be responsive to the needs and concerns of gay fathers
• build upon existing and emerging support groups for gay fathers while affirming their contributions to the healthy development of gay fathers and their children
• be inclusive and transparent in its involvement with community wide gay fathers support and/or discussion groups
• acknowledge the diversity of background and experience of gay fathers in Canadian society

GDC works to:

• generate support for gay fathers community involvement
• develop, initiate and implement new community support groups
• design strategies aimed at sharing new knowledge and support services for gay fathers and the general public
• promote strategies for community development, practice and systemic change in how gay fathers are supported
• link to and engage a broad range of interested individuals, organizations and institutions presently supporting gay fathers
• elicit the concerns/issues of Canadian gay fathers from the standpoint of their children, partners and children

About Our Vision           

GDC Vision, Objectives and Guiding Principles

GDC Vision

We envision a Canadian society

• Which supports a culture of responsible gay father involvement based on the understanding that responsible gay father involvement, in its many forms, contributes to healthy child development of their children;
• Where communities are pro-active in the development and implementation of supportive programs and policies and other actions that enable responsible gay father involvement in family and community;
• Where gay fathers and their children are supported and enabled to develop close, caring relationships which enhance healthy child development and enhance the well-being of both children and fathers.
  

GDC Objectives

1. Establish a national gay fathers’ support network that provides an information foundation for the development of service and support groups and community programs by:

engaging the collaboration of new and established support and discussion groups with other stakeholders and partners in the community to identify the needs of gay fathers.

2. Establish an on-going alliance among community stakeholders by:

creating a vital and a sustainable national Canadian network of individuals and service and support groups interested in enhancing gay fathers rights and family involvement;

developing the support capacity of those stakeholders who wish to collaborate on service and support;

and developing the capacity of existing support groups to provide service and support to gay fathers that is grounded in, and justified by, gay fathers needs and community experience.

3. Develop a national strategy that emerges out of the needs of gay fathers - from a gay fathers first principle - and designed to produce outcomes that serve the needs of gay fathers and their children by:

engaging gay fathers and families in all aspects of the strategy. GDC will provide gay fathers and those who support or are involved with them with information, tools, resources and programs that enhance responsible involvement and help to make various societal services and institutions more gay father-friendly.

4. Shift public policy, attitudes and practices regarding gay fathers by:

being a catalyst in support of a public agenda and culture of responsible gay father parenting;

establishing and maintaining an information centre focused on Canadian Gay Father parenting to inform public policy development and decision-making;

heightening public awareness of the evidence and benefits of Gay Father parenting in relation to healthy child development and resiliency;

and developing practical ways to support gay fathers and their children.

GDC Guiding Principles

1: Child Development First

• GDC acknowledges the well-being and healthy development of the children of gay fathers as our primary consideration.
• GDC promotes the right of children to benefit from the positive parenting of their gay fathers.
• GDC encourages positive communication between gay and straight parents for the best benefit of children, regardless of family structure.

2: Diversity

• GDC recognizes that gay fathers require unique supports that address their needs rather than adaptations of strategies designed for childless gay men.
• GDC encourages the promotion of gay father parenting, taking into consideration the diverse realities and family structures in which gay fathers assume their family roles and that children are sometimes raised without the involvement of a gay father.
• GDC recognizes that healthy child development can occur in all of our society's diverse realities and family structures.

3: Importance of Co-Parenting

• GDC supports and encourages effective communication among children's parents to enhance their parenting.
• GDC recognizes the unique contributions and responsibilities of gay fathers and straight mothers in children's lives and the benefits for children in having positive interaction with their parents and other significant caregivers, regardless of family structure.
• GDC recognizes that a key component of being an involved gay father is supportive and effective teamwork with partners/spouses, ex-partners/spouses and other caregivers for the benefit of children.

4: Responsible Gay Father Involvement

• GDC supports gay fathers in developing close and supportive relationships with their children.
• GDC supports gay fathers in the expansion of their understanding of and commitment to the many facets of their gay fathering roles.
• GDC recognizes that in addition to the biological gay father, other men may assume a fathering/care giving role.

5: Social Responsibility

• GDC promotes the idea that children are the collective responsibility of all adults.
• GDC works to help gay men develop greater awareness of the way in which their actions and decisions make societal roles inside and outside their families create an impact on the well-being of their children in general.
• GDC advocates for the availability of social supports to any gay man who assumes a fathering role.
• GDC supports and encourages open communication concerning the evolving diversity of gay family structures and gay parenting roles.

6: Empowerment

• GDC recognizes the importance of valuing the varied dimensions of gay fathers' roles and that facilitating active and responsible gay father parenting can help gay fathers to reach their full human potential.
• GDC encourages community development and social marketing approaches based on strengths, talents and capacities of gay fathers and of gay communities, aiming to work with and for gay fathers.

7: Collaboration

• GDC will collaborate, consult and share information with stakeholders at all levels including (but not limited to) gay fathers and straight mothers, academics; social, health and other service providers; educators; employers and the business sector; gay community, professional and labor groups, government and the media.

8: Sustainability

• GDC will explore current and potential sustainable practices and opportunities to support gay father parenting strategies and efforts.