The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has announced that Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, has been named Special Advisor on LGBTQ2 issues.
Mr. Boissonnault’s principal role will be to advise the Prime Minister on the development and co-ordination of the Government of Canada’s LGBTQ2 agenda. This will include working with LGBTQ2 organizations from across the country to promote equality for the LGBTQ2 community, protect the rights of its members, and address discrimination against them – both historical and current.
This kind of discrimination was documented in a report recently released by Egale Canada Human Rights Trust (Egale) on June 10, 2016, entitled “The Just Society Report”. The Government of Canada welcomed this report, supports the values, principles, and objectives it espouses, and will work with Egale and other partners to take action against the discrimination the report describes.
Another measure Canada took in May 2016 was tabling historic legislation (Bill C-16) to recognize and reduce the vulnerability of trans and other gender-diverse persons to discrimination, hate propaganda, and hate crimes, and to affirm their equal status in Canadian society. The Government also intends to repeal section 159 of the Criminal Code.