This text is part of the special edition Pride Montreal
LGBTQ+ communities are concerned about a decline in their rights, both in Canada and abroad, with the advent of bills and public policies in several provinces. They also fear a rise in hatred and are now fighting hard to maintain their gains in an open and inclusive society.
The rise of intolerance, elsewhere in Canada and around the world, does not spare Quebec, where we are seeing more homophobic or transphobic remarks in an uninhibited manner, believes James Galantino, executive director of the Quebec LGBT Council. “In the last few decades, we have won rights, we were moving in the right direction. But now, we feel a step backwards,” he says.
Between 2018 and 2022, hate crimes related to sexual orientation have also quadrupled, according to Statistics Canada data. This increase in violence against LGBTQ+ people adds to the inequalities already experienced by these communities in terms of mental health, poverty and access to community services, estimates Fae Johnstone, executive director of Society of Queer Momentum.
A reality that is making its way into schools, observes GRIS-Montréal (Groupe de recherche et d’intervention sociale), whose mission is to demystify knowledge surrounding sexual and gender diversity in the city’s educational institutions. “We are indeed seeing that the climate in the classrooms is more tense. There are also expressions that are more virulent,” cites Marie Houzeau, the organization’s executive director, as an example.
Quebec and Canada not spared
According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), 62 UN member states still criminalize consensual same-sex relations. And at least 59 countries restrict freedom of expression on issues of sexual and gender diversity.
Abroad, several bills have made headlines regarding the rollbacks of LGBTQ+ rights. This is particularly the case in Uganda, which last year enacted a law severely criminalizing homosexuality. In November 2023, the Russian Supreme Court banned the LGBTQ+ “international movement” as “extremist.”
LGBTQ+ people in Canada are also seeing their freedoms diminished through various measures across the country, experts say. In Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, governments have announced bills and policies targeting transgender or non-binary minors.
Closer to home, Education Minister Bernard Drainville banned new mixed-gender toilets in Quebec schools in May. This decision came before the government’s committee of elders on gender identity had ruled on the issue.
The province has also seen anti-drag rallies, Galantino said. “We see groups that are mobilizing to protest us and they’re also spreading a lot of misinformation. They have this idea that LGBTQ+ people brainwashing children or seek to recruit them in order to increase our numbers. And that is completely false,” he insists.
While he believes that the hypotheses that could explain this resurgence of hatred towards minorities, including LGBTQ+ communities, are varied, he believes that the pandemic has played a role in the rise of radicalization. “At the same time, we are still lucky here. We do not yet have laws that have been overturned, while this is the case in neighbouring provinces, in the United States or in other countries in Europe. We are very vigilant to avoid having bills that would be harmful to our lives in Quebec,” he adds.
For Marie Houzeau, these laws and uprisings show the politicization that now surrounds the realities of LGBTQ+ communities. “It’s not at all an issue that should be politicized, but a human rights issue,” she argues.
This decline would be precisely due to the speeches of more conservative politicians, according to Fae Johnstone. “They use language and political interventions where they imagine a problem with the social acceptance of trans and queer youth. They use our community as a vehicle to normalize hate,” she deplores.
Avoid further setbacks
Faced with rising homophobia and transphobia, LGBTQ+ communities fear that federal and provincial governments will adopt other laws restricting their freedoms. “We could imagine in the near future that there would be a risk of backsliding on rights and access to health services, for example hormones. We don’t know where it will stop,” fears Fae Johnstone. The activist also fears a similar situation regarding the protection of gender identity and the ban on conversion therapy, in effect since 2020.
For Marie Houzeau, one of the solutions is for LGBTQ+ communities and their allies to speak out in the public space while depoliticizing the issue. “We will continue to hammer home this message that it is all together that we must regain our place in public expression. And this, to bring these issues back to the ground where they should be, that is to say, that of defending the rights of minorities,” she argues.
For his part, James Galantino hopes that Quebec will renew its action plan. Radicalization in Quebec. Act, prevent, detect and live together. “I think that’s the root of this rise that we didn’t necessarily expect. An initiative that would specifically target the polarization in our society would be really helpful in reversing the trend.”
Some laws and measures in the country
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