Justin Trudeau apologies to the LGBT community, calling it a collective shame
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has delivered a formal and historic apology in the House of Commons to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit Canadians (LGBTQ2), who are oppressed and discriminated by past federal legislation, policies and practices. Trudeau said on Tuesday "it is our collective shame that Canadians who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or two-spirit were unjustly treated - fired from jobs, denied promotions, surveilled, arrested, convicted, and vindictively shamed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity", Xinhua reported "People lost their livelihoods, their families, and, some, their lives. Today, we offer a long overdue apology to all those whom we, the Government of Canada, wronged. We are sorry. We hope by acknowledging our failings we can make the crucial progress LGBTQ2 people in Canada deserve, "he said "Those who admitted they were gay were fired, discharged, or intimidated into resignation. They lost dignity, lost careers, and had their dreams and indeed, their lives, shattered." "This is going to be an important day obviously, for the LGBTQ2 community. It's also an important day for all Canadians. We need to recognize ills of the past in order to be able to move forward and that' s what we're taking responsibility for," added the Canadian prime minister. Earlier on Tuesday, the Trudeau government introduced legislation - Bill C-66, the Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act - that will put into place a process to permanently destroy the records of convictions for offences involving consensual sexual activity between same-sex partners. Bill C-66 also allows for spouses, parents, siblings, children or legal representatives to apply for record expungement on behalf of deceased persons.
