Address by Parliamentary Secretary Goldsmith-Jones to the Plenary Working Session - International and Regional Diplomacy at Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference

Speech

July 13, 2016 - Montevideo, Uruguay

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

It is my pleasure to be in Montevideo, Uruguay, today on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion.

On behalf of the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, we thank the governments of Uruguay and the Netherlands for this invitation. I look forward to learning more about how we may collaborate to support the rights of LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex] persons domestically, regionally and internationally.

Canada is here in support of people who are simply asking for what most of us here take for granted every single day: the freedom to be who you are, freedom from fear, and the freedom to love whomever you choose.

It is a fundamental tenet of Canada's approach to domestic and foreign policy that diversity is strength, not a weakness.

When we embrace pluralism, we are stronger.

And so, two months ago, on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, Prime Minister Trudeau said:

“Far too many people still face harassment, discrimination, and violence for being who they are. This is unacceptable.”

On the same day, Minister of Justice [and Attorney General of Canada, Jody Wilson-Raybould] introduced government legislation to explicitly protect gender identity against discrimination and hate speech. This provides a clear legal confirmation of equal human rights and criminal law protections for transgender and other gender-diverse Canadians.

Six weeks ago, my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, Karina Gould, led a round table discussion in Ottawa organized by the Dignity Initiative, our Canadian national coalition of LGBTI activists, who support a strong role for Canada in the area of global LGBTI rights. As you know, Canadian activists have worked hard for decades to overturn unjust laws at home, and to combat discrimination and violence.

As Canadians, we have had to confront our own status quo. We have had to confront ingrained attitudes in our schools, our courts and on our streets.

And we have persevered.

In 2005, we became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, following the trail-blazing footsteps of the Netherlands.

There is still work to be done. The leadership role that citizens and human rights defenders play is not over. The step our government took to protect the rights of transgender people would not have been possible if human rights defenders in the LGBTI communities had not put these issues on the agenda and kept them there.

We are committed to working together, and to supporting the way in which we achieve that.

We support an annual program to allow many LGBTI activists to attend three-week training classes in Montréal, delivered by the Canadian NGO [non-governmental organization] Equitas, to ensure that education on LGBTI issues is integrated into the broad human rights curriculum.

Our brand new Office of Human Rights, Freedoms and Inclusion is an example of our renewed global efforts. The Office's mandate includes the promotion and protection of LGBTI rights, and collaborating with and reaching out to other countries.

Our embassies around the world work with NGOs to educate and inform communities. We support violence-prevention programs, facilitate training for law enforcement officials, and share our best practices for combatting homophobia and transphobia in education systems.

To further support this, all of our ambassadors now have entrenched in their mandate the commitment to make all human rights—including those of LGBTI persons—a central component of their work.

Canada is ready to do its part in the arena of regional and international diplomacy. Strengthening the UN human rights system and strengthening LGBTI rights go hand in hand.

We are proud to have co-sponsored the recent UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and we look forward to the appointment of an independent expert.

Thank you again for the opportunity to be here. I look forward to working with you all, together, to advance the promotion and protection of LGBTI rights.

Canada believes that the best way to move these issues forward is to lead by example. You may have seen a picture of Prime Minister Trudeau marching in the recent Canada Pride celebrations in Toronto, becoming the first Canadian prime minister to do so.

I myself have walked with our prime minister in Canada's Pride Parade in Vancouver in the past two summers and I will be there in two weeks once again!

It was an incredible day on Parliament Hill on June 1, six weeks ago, when for the first time parliamentarians from all parties gathered to raise the Pride flag. My parliamentary colleague Randy Boissonnault, a proud self-declared gay man, stood on a raised platform beside the flag, taking photos with his colleagues and tourists visiting our capital for two hours! Why? Because he could, and the country was with him: the flag was flying high in front of the seat of our national government.

Canada is engaged! Canada, the United States and Mexico have joined together to denounce the horrific Orlando massacre, and to pledge support for LGBTI human rights.

At the Organization of American States, Canada joined the Core Group in support of LGBTI rights. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta last November, Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Dion publicly endorsed LGBTI rights. Canada is active at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and speaks out against certain countries that criminalize same-sex conduct and obstruct Pride celebrations.

We are very proud to sign the Founding Principles today, which embody the values we all share. The achievement is not in the signatures, however, but in our ability to translate these principles into outcomes.

Canada believes that the best way to promote the equality of LGBTI persons is to strengthen the linkages between civil society, governments and multilateral organizations.

We will do our part.

I look forward to learning more from you all today.

Thank you.

Contacts

Chantal Gagnon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
chantal.gagnon@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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