As many are looking at the future of the United States being altered with every hint of Trump's new appointments, we all here in the US rise our gaze to the north for inspiration and hope. Thank you Canada and Trudeau for being good beacons of sanity for us Americans.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has named Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, Special Advisor on LGBT+ issues.
Boissonnault’s will advise the Prime Minister on the development of Canada’s LGBT+ agenda, including working with equal rights organizations and addressing both historical and current discrimination against the community.
Trudeau has been a long-standing supporter of LGBT rights, famously attending a number of Pride marches in the country.
Speaking about the new appointment, he said: “We have made great strides in securing legal rights for the LGBTQ2 community in Canada – from enshrining equality rights in the Charter to the passage of the Civil Marriage Act.
“But the fight to end discrimination is not over and a lot of hard work still needs to be done. Canadians know our country is made stronger because of our diversity, not in spite of it.”
Boissonnault added: “It is an honour and a privilege to be named to this role. I will work hard with the Prime Minister and the LGBTQ2 community to advance and protect their rights and address historical injustices they have endured.
“I look forward to collaborating closely with Egale and other organizations in the coming months to advance the government’s agenda for equality.” – attitude.co.uk
We'll let you know when we will be able to celebrate a cabinet appointment or a special Advisor here in the US. Can we say check back in 2020?
What may be shocking is that one of his first actions in his new role, Boissonnault will have to apologize.
In his new role as special adviser to the prime minister on LGBTQ issues, Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault said he will address the wrongs of the past while working to protect and advance the righs of sexual and gender minorities.
Part of his role includes defining the scope and nature of an apology from the federal government for years of discrimination.
"We have to address the historical wrongs because the government did some terrible things to really good people," said Boissonnault.
In an interview with CBC News Tuesday following the announcement of his appointment, Boissonnault said he believes the apology will go "a long way" because "it's an official recognition of the government that the state did something that we no longer find acceptable."
Boissonnault pointed to upwards of 9,000 federal public servants driven from their jobs between the 1950s and 1990s because of their sexual or gender identity or orientation.
He said many were questioned, or even interrogated, by agents of the government and then discharged from the government, military and RCMP.
– cbc.ca
For more on why this apology is necessary, head over to cbc.ca.
We Americans make fun of Canadians for being too polite all the time and poke fun at their accent when they say "sorry" or "sourry." No poking fun here. This is an apology that we applaud.
Thank you our friends to the north. We wish we were a little more like you every day.
h/t: attitude.co.uk, cbc.ca