Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joins supporters of the LGBTQ community in Toronto as they march in one of North America’s largest pride parades June 23, 2019. CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
The federal government unveiled what it described as a historic first on Sunday when it announced a five-year, $100 million plan to support LGBTQ, two-spirit and intersex communities across the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the strategy, dubbed Canada’s first federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, at a news conference ahead of the Pride Parade in Ottawa, the first in-person march since a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Trudeau said the plan is the first federal initiative of its kind and said it demonstrates the government’s commitment to fighting discrimination and supporting diversity.
“It will guide our ongoing work to fight discrimination, break down barriers, promote rights and build a future where everyone in Canada is truly free to be who they are and love who they love,” Trudeau said on Sunday.
Trudeau said 75 percent of the funding will go to community organizations focused on diversity and inclusion because “that’s where the real support work comes from.”
“The strength and resilience of your communities should inspire everyone,” he said.
Earlier, the government announced in this year’s budget that it would set aside $100 million for the benefit of LGBTQI+ people. The action plan includes details of where the money will go.
More than $5 million of the funding will go to launch a public awareness campaign, while $7.7 million is earmarked for data collection and community-led policy research to support federal action on LGBTQ issues.
Debbie Owusu-Akia, executive director of the Canadian Center for Gender and Sexuality Diversity, said the strategy is “long overdue,” adding that more support is needed, including in schools.
She said Canada lags behind many other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands, which already have government action plans.
She said Statistics Canada data shows a sharp rise in hate crimes against people from 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
The prime minister signaled the government would consider “further protections and support” for people who have undergone “conversion therapy,” which he called a “cruel and dangerous practice” that was criminalized earlier this year in Canada.
The government is facing calls to tighten the ban to cover practices designed to try to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity offered online from abroad, including the US
Wisdom2Action chief executive Faye Johnstone, who attended the launch, said there was a need to invest in mental health counseling for people traumatized by the discredited practice.
“Tens of thousands of people were subjected to this and it’s still happening today,” she said.
The federal government has also signaled it will consider further legislative changes as part of its action plan. It plans to launch a public consultation on whether to make it illegal to carry out cosmetic surgery on the genitals of intersex children until they are old enough to give consent.
The strategy proposes adopting the 2SLGBTQI+ acronym in government, “which is more inclusive and places the experiences of Indigenous communities at the fore as the first 2SLGBTQI+ peoples in North America.”
The acronym stands for Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Additional Sexually and Gender Diverse People.
Marcy Iain, minister of women and gender equality, welcomed the action plan along with Trudeau, saying the funds are for “all those people who are struggling to be heard and accepted.”
“It’s about people who have been abandoned by their family and friends after coming out to everyone, who are trying to live their truth in rural communities where they feel isolated. This is for black queer people who fight every day to claim their place in this country and trans women who are sometimes afraid to walk home alone in the dark, this is for you,” Ian said.
She said the strategy was created after several years of consultation and research with members of the LGBTQ and two-spirit communities.
Ottawa received more than 25,000 responses in 2020-21 to a national online survey about how to better serve diverse communities, Ian said.
“The overwhelming response was that they needed more direct support to offer continuing education programs to the general public because again, we can’t legislate kindness,” Iain said.
The plan promises to invest up to $10 million annually in 2SLGBTQI+ projects abroad.
Trudeau said Canada has welcomed thousands of LGBTQI+ people fleeing discrimination abroad and warned that “rights are moving backwards in many parts of the world — some closer than we’d like to admit.”
Michelle Douglas, who won a landmark lawsuit against the Canadian Armed Forces for discriminating against LGBTQ personnel, said there is more work to be done to eradicate such practices.
Douglas, a former member of the military police who was honorably discharged in 1989 as part of a “purge” of members of the LGBTQ community, said he also wants all records related to policies toward LGBTQ personnel to be released.
“We have about 10,000 pages and we know there are more,” she said.
Trudeau said he was pleased to see Pride return to the streets of Ottawa.
Capital Pride co-chair Genevieve Colverson said about 5,000 people are expected at Sunday’s parade, including many families and “allies” of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.
The event included a concert featuring singer Fefe Dobson, a float march and a street fair.
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a quick summary of the day’s top headlines. Sign up today.
Add Comment