Kids who don’t see a Pride flag in their schools should know there’s one flying for them on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, condemning the sharp rise in laws restricting children’s rights. rights of transgender people in the United States.
Trudeau raised the flag that celebrates the LGBTQ+ community at an event where he was joined by MPs from all political parties, marking the eighth time he has done so since being elected to power in 2015.
“We all thought things would get easier after this moment,” he said, referring to the first time the flag was raised on the Hill in Ottawa.
“But the rise of anger, hatred, ignorance and intolerance has reminded us that things don’t automatically get easier. »
The Prime Minister echoed other speakers who warned of the discrimination faced by people from the LGBTQ+ community, both online and in their daily lives.
The situation has worsened in recent years as conservative groups, particularly in the United States, protest against drag queen performances and fight to suppress gender-affirming care for transgender people, especially minors. .
Speakers emphasized that Canada is not immune to such sentiments, given that such protests are also occurring in the country. Mr. Trudeau said that “transphobia, biphobia and homophobia are all on the rise”.
The Higgs government criticized
Among the issues raised by the speakers were changes proposed by the government of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, which seek to change some school rules regarding LGBTQ students. Such a change would mean that students under the age of 16 who identify as transgender and non-binary would not be allowed to officially change their name or pronoun without parental consent.
Mr Higgs’ Progressive Conservative government defended the move as responding to parents’ wishes, but it was met with backlash.
NDP MP Blake Desjarlais, co-chair of the newly created Parliamentary Pride Caucus made up of federal lawmakers from the LGBTQ+ community, said Thursday that Canada is witnessing extremism driven by individuals who try to deprive others of their rights.
“We will not accept to go back,” said Blake Desjarlais, himself two-spirited.
“We are not here to queer children. We’re here to make sure queer kids don’t become dead kids. That’s why raising this flag today is not only a symbol of our love for the community, it’s also a symbol that we will be unwavering in our discovery of who we are. »
During his remarks, the Prime Minister said that attempts had been made to stop Pride celebrations and noted that over the past few weeks Canadians have seen people trying to remove books on the subject from schools. gender and sexual identity.
It’s cruel to children who struggle with questions about their identity or who live in homes where those questions aren’t lovingly addressed, Trudeau said.
The Brandon School Division in southern Manitoba recently voted against a call to remove books with LGBTQ content from its libraries.
Poilievre justifies his absence
Trudeau also pointed out that students are often the ones fighting to have the Pride flag flown in their schools, and in some places those efforts have been rejected.
Such was the case for the York Catholic District School Board, which last week voted against flying the flag outside its main office.
Addressing students who do not have a Pride flag, the Prime Minister said: “I am here to say that even if the flag does not fly in your school, please know that it flies proudly here, in your seat of government. »
New Democratic Party (NDP) Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May both attended the ceremony. Melissa Lantsman, Deputy Leader of the Conservatives and a lesbian, was also present.
At a separate press conference on Parliament Hill, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre explained that he had stayed up late filibustering the Liberals’ budget in the House of Commons the previous night when he was asked why he hadn’t come.
“I believe that every Canadian, no matter who they are, no matter their race, sexuality, gender, deserves to be safe,” he said Thursday, adding that if a Canadian commits acts of violence against another, “he should be thrown in prison”.
Mr. Poilievre sees his role as a Conservative leader as promoting freedom for all Canadians. Speaking in Winnipeg last week, he wished Canadians “a happy Pride month”, saying that “our freedom is something we can all be proud of”.
He, however, did not respond when asked if he was planning to attend an event, as festivities take place across the country until the end of the month.
On Twitter, the Minister of Sports, Pascale St-Onge, said of Mr. Poilievre that he “talks, but does not act” and denounced that “we did not see him anywhere” during the morning event.
“The greatness of a leader is measured by his ability to rally everyone. His absence speaks volumes. Now more than ever, we must fight against the rising hatred towards 2ESLGBTQ+ people, ”wrote Mme St-Onge on Twitter.