LGBT Inclusion In Canada

In the 65-year history of LGBTQ activism in the United States, the present moment stands out on the basis of gay marriage being legalized. At no other time would an observer have imagined that the LGBTQ movement was likely to succeed in such a manner that any gender can marry any other gender with the permission by the law (Stewart-winter

Different races, sexual orientations, and genders are all encompassed by a single word, diversity. Diversity is defined as a variety or range of different things. Organizations, employers, and companies are looking to include minorities and multiculturalism into the work place in order to become more diverse. In the past decades the police services have made significant efforts to achieve a status as an employer of choice and increase the recruitment of minorities. Police services in Canada and around the world are starting to respond to the realities of diversity in the societies which they live. By using laws, policies and mandates employers are starting to get an accurate depiction of their community representations. Under and over-policing methods by police against minorities is one of the few issues minorities face due to lack of diversity in the police service.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for decades of state-sponsored laws and policies that led to discrimination and violence that ruined the lives of many Canadians. Trudeau expressed sorrow, shame, and guilt to the civil servants, military members, and criminalized Canadians who were victimized and mistreated based on their sexual orientation. This heartfelt apology shed many tears, in the audience and for Trudeau himself. Trudeau recounted on how the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Canadians were ruined, shamed, and silenced. “Our laws made private and consensual sex between same-sex partners a criminal offence, leading to the unjust arrest, conviction and imprisonment of Canadians”. These laws and policies enforced by the government legitimized and provoked hatred and violence towards the LGBTQ community, and impacted employment, volunteering and even travel. For many decades in the 1900’s, the Canadian government exercised its authority in a cruel and unjust manner, as those who admitted they were gay were fired, discharged or intimidated into resignation; they lost dignity, lost careers, and had their dreams and lives shattered. From this day forward, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encourages Canadians to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community, and promotes equality amongst all.

The nation of Canada has strived to be recognized as a long-standing picture of equal democratic rights and freedoms for all. Although mistakes and occasional aberrations do occur, we must always endeavour to be a nation that promotes equality and shuns discrimination, even if it means changing our laws in the process. Equality for all is a constitutionally entrenched law and we as citizens, lawmakers, and judges must uphold the constitution and ensure our nation evolves to demonstrate, in practice, the intent of words outlined in the constitution. In Vriend v. Alberta, the appellant Delwin Vriend was working as a laboratory coordinator in Alberta when he was terminated after revealing his sexual orientation (Vriend v. Alberta, [1998] 1 S.C.R. 493 2). It was well known that Vriend received positive reviews on his work and throughout the course of his employment he enjoyed the benefits of his hard work (Vriend v. Alberta 11). However, this all changed when Vriend shared with his employers that he was homosexual. Due to the fact Vriend refused to comply with the request to leave his position because his homosexuality offended the views of his employer, he was unceremoniously terminated solely on these grounds (Vriend v. Alberta 2). Vriend was understandably upset with this decision and moved to file a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission (Vriend v. Alberta 2). Vriend was informed due to the fact sexual orientation was not included as a prohibited grounds for

Here in Canada, this issue has been brought forward in both communities and provincial level of concerns. To take a look closer to home, the city of Toronto had witnessed the complexity of this issue in the past years. A Toronto transgender teen who identifies as a male, was banned from using his high school boys restroom, and was forced to leave school grounds and search for a public bathroom at a gas station. Concerns were mentioned for the safety of Spencer, and also how he felt uncomfortable being forced to use the women’s restroom; however, several parents and students agreed with how the school was taking action to this problem. After a petition was enacted by fellow supportive students, Spencer was allowed to freely use the restrooms at his high school.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms embody the ideals of our nation and present a series of fundamental freedoms so that citizens are enabled to receive equality and can feel safe and included within their society. One of the main things that the Charter has promoted is that the enforcement of a law does not necessarily make it fair for everyone. Different people require different treatment in order for full equality to be attained. However, at one point the Charter failed to recognize the needs of a very prevalent group – homosexuals. The Charter was approved in 1982 and devised a list of protected cases such as gender, race, religion and etcetera, but it failed to acknowledge sexual orientation. However, in 1985 a report titled

Throughout the past twelve weeks of taking Women and Gender studies, I have learned extensive amounts of information and will be able to take all of the ideas and concepts learned into action outside of the classroom. Each class, we had various conversations about what was going on in the world around us and how that affects each and every one of us. With the knowledge that I now have, I feel as if I am a much better citizen in Canada since I acquire the knowledge of the history in Canada and the conditions of women’s lives, and also how factors such as race, class, and sexual orientation come into play in daily life. In class, we talked about oppression very often which is, unjust treatment of control. Oppression is a major issue in Canadian society and has many aspects to it. One of the most important pieces of information that I got from taking this course was how destructive power systems function to maintain their

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (2)“reflect the fondest dreams, the highest hopes and the finest aspirations of Canadian Society” and although “Sexual Orientation” is not recorded under the sections protected from discrimination, it was deemed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Egan v. Canada, 1995 case to be an equivalent ground to make claims of discrimination; Gay men and women are all

Ever since 1965 when Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau said the historic words: “the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation,” Canada has been steadily increasing its acceptance of the LGBT+ community. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, with the plus extending to those who are intersex and anyone who does not identify as straight (having sexual and/or romantic attraction to another gender) or cisgender (having one’s gender identity match the one in which they were assigned at birth), the two “norms” of our society. The country’s first strides in equality came in the arrest of Everett Klippert, a gay mechanic in the Northwest Territories, in 1967. This act brought a long series of protests that lead to several

In 1967 homosexuality was legalized in Canada by Pierre Trudeau. This was the first step towards creating a better environment for the LGBTQ community. By making homosexuality legal, taking pills and using other methods believed to change a gay person straight is no longer ‘required’. Equally important, In, “1999, Supreme Court of Canada expanded gay spousal rights; also ruled that while Quebec cannot secede unilaterally, Canada must recognize a clear ‘Yes’ vote.” Although this idea was not popular all over Canada, the rights of gay couples were changed to behave like the spousal rights of a hetrosexual couple. As a matter of fact, In 1976, the New Democratic Party(NDP) “became the first political party to support the gay movement”. This is important because it lets those in the LGBTQ community know that there is someone in the government who is on their side and that they are not alone. Over all, there has been small steps bringing our community together in acceptance, including those who were outcasted in the past. Homosexuality is no longer illegal, and more rights are given to the LGBTQ

This essay will examine Canada’s Human Rights record since 1914 through the reactions of the Canadian government and Canadian peoples. From the example of the government reaction to the LGBTQ community through 1910 to today, one can see Canada’s human rights record through domestic policies that both excluded and later included those of differing sexualities. From the example of the Canadian people’s attitude to the LGBTQ community through 1910 to today, one can see Canada’s human rights record through social attitudes that both excluded and later included those of differing sexualities. From the example of employer’s reaction to the LGBTQ community through 1910 to today, one can see the economic impact of Canada’s human rights record

There are many religious organizations that are against homosexuality; however, the separation of church and government still exists and that makes an argument discretionary in terms of legality. Since Canada was not, in any sense, founded on Christian religion we should not tie Christian beliefs to our government. Citizens should not expect their government to express and defined Christian beliefs. As a Christian, I may not be a strong believer but I believe that there should be a great distance between the church and the government because I do not want others to be governed by laws who does not believe in religiously and there are many religions than just Christianity that have different beliefs and values. When it comes to homosexuality,

​Canada is often seen as a leader in the gay rights movement and it has a long history of providing rights to those that identify as homosexual (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016; Cotler, 2015). As far back as 1969, Prime Minister Trudeau passed Bill C-150 which amended the Criminal Code to decriminalize “gross indecency” and “buggery”; if committed between two consenting adults if they are over 21 (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016). The Code was further amended to drop the age of consent for anal sex from 18 and 14 for other sexual activity and it was recognized that a higher age for consent of anal sex was unconstitutional (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016). Since then there have been many changes to the political and social system in Canada to be able to improve the rights not only individuals whom are part of the LGBTQ community, but also for those whom are in same sex relationships (BC Teachers’ Federation, 2016). As of 2005, same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada; however, there is still debate of whether or not same-sex legalization has legitimized same-sex partnerships within society (Colter, 2015). Many cases that have come before the court regarding homosexuality and same-sex marriages have argued that the actions of society are a direct violation of people’s s.15 rights in the Constitution; which allows for every person to be treated equally and bear the freedom of religion (Supreme Court Judgements, 2004). It will be argued that Canada has created equal rights for

In Journal of Human Rights published in 2014, after the Equalities Act of 2010 enacted, the United Kingdom sees sexuality and gender identities as “protected characteristics,” with legal imperatives to address discrimination, and in Canada in the early 1990s, there were an opposition against gays and lesbian rights, but after sexual orientation recognized in 1995, gradually by 2013, gays and lesbians have equality rights. (Browne, 2014)

Looking back throughout history at the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals, it isn’t hard to see that we have made the majority of our strides in the past 10 years. As a society we have decided the time is now to put an end to the lack of rights for people of different sexual orientations. Accepting LGBT individuals and providing them the same rights and protections as all other Americans makes us a more united, respectable Country. Everyone deserves equal treatment and opportunities regardless of what their sexual orientation may be.