"We try to be inclusive and include a summary. I can tell you that if you were to read the old book, you wouldn't even know that there are gay and lesbian Canadians."
Thus spoke our Immigraition Minister, The Right Honorable (and at least a tad homophobic) Jason Kenney, on attempting to defend his decision to remove all mention of gay rights in a publication intended as a study guide for new immigrants to Canada, released last November.
Well Jasey Kay, you certainly are trying to stick your head in the sand on this issue, as there have been gay Canadians in the past, there presently are gay Canadians, and there probably will be gay Canadians for a long time in the future, whether you happen to like it, or in your case, not!
Perhaps the Honourable Member could do some research on, say, Egan v. Canada, and Vriend v. Alberta, in which the courts determined that 'sexual orientation' should essentially be used in addition to 'sex' in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Heck, if I happened to be a gay or lesbian immigrant, I might be interested in knowing what my rights as a new Canadian include! Perhaps the Minister thinks immigrants are pesky enough, and doesn't want the militant fags and dykes knowing they have rights at all!
It is painfully obvious that Kenney is not trying to be inclusive, as it was he who asked the references be removed, and he who held that position while the Deputy Minister asked for them to be reinstated. And to suggest that people need to read an outdated version of the guide to determine there was no mention of gays in an the previous millenia, well Jason Baby, That's Really Not Saying Much!
Perhaps the Honourable Member could do some research on, say, Egan v. Canada, and Vriend v. Alberta, in which the courts determined that 'sexual orientation' should essentially be used in addition to 'sex' in section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Heck, if I happened to be a gay or lesbian immigrant, I might be interested in knowing what my rights as a new Canadian include! Perhaps the Minister thinks immigrants are pesky enough, and doesn't want the militant fags and dykes knowing they have rights at all!
It is painfully obvious that Kenney is not trying to be inclusive, as it was he who asked the references be removed, and he who held that position while the Deputy Minister asked for them to be reinstated. And to suggest that people need to read an outdated version of the guide to determine there was no mention of gays in an the previous millenia, well Jason Baby, That's Really Not Saying Much!
