May 17, 2007 - House of Commons
The Honourable Member for Vancouver-Centre:
Mr Speaker, today is National Day against Homophobia.
In some ways there is much to celebrate. Canada has made great strides in ensuring equality under the law for gays and lesbians.
I am proud to have played a role in bringing about these significant legislative changes under the last liberal government.
However much of the credit must go to the activists within the GLBT community. They fought long and hard to bring the bitter realities of their inequality to the attention of Canadians using the Liberal-initiated Court Challenges Program to demand their minority rights under the Charter.
Today other minority groups such as transgendered persons who still face discrimination in law have no such recourse. The New Conservative government like the old Conservative government, canceled the liberal initiated Court Challenges program, effectively denying disavantaged groups in Canada access to justice.
So on this national Day against Homophobia, we need to remind ourselves that in today's Canada, minority groups can no longer take their rights for granted.
