Canada’s LGBTQ promises under spotlight during Vancouver Pride celebrations
Posted August 2, 2018 5:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — A fresh call has gone out for Canada to better protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and it’s coming as Vancouver gets ready to host a global human rights conference.
More than 20 civil society organizations including Amnesty International have banded together as the Dignity Network to advocate for dedicated funding and action.
The group’s Doug Kerr says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland need to back up verbal promises they’ve already made and there’s no better time to do that than at the three-day Equal Rights Coalition conference which starts this Sunday.
“Right now, the major countries are the Netherlands, Sweden, the USA, the United Kingdom and we’re hoping that Canada can become one of those countries in the future,” he says. “Currently, we’re not and we’re concerned that we talk about being supportive of LGBTQ rights and gay rights, but we’re not following through with action and money.”
Kerr adds stronger support is needed to fight state-sanctioned hate in other parts of the world.
He says they are hopeful the conference will help establish some clear commitments around support for the LGBTQ community.
“Vancouver has one of the best pride’s in the world, but we have to go beyond simply marching in the parade,” he says.
The conference, co-chaired by Canada and Chile, is dedicated to the protection of the rights of LGBTQ people around the world.
This year marks the first time Vancouver will be hosting delegations from nearly 40 countries. The theme of the conference is Leaving No One Behind.
