The federal government unveiled what it described as a historic first on Sunday as it announced a five-year, $100 million plan to support LGBTQ, two-spirit and intersex communities across the country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the strategy, dubbed B次元官网网址淐anadaB次元官网网址檚 first Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan,B次元官网网址� at a news conference on Sunday ahead of the pride parade in Ottawa B次元官网网址� the first in-person march after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Trudeau touted the plan as the first such federal initiative of its kind and said it demonstrates the governmentB次元官网网址檚 commitment to fighting discrimination and supporting diversity.
B次元官网网址淭his B次元官网网址� will guide our ongoing work to fight discrimination, break down barriers, to advance rights, and to build a future where everyone in Canada is truly free to be who they are and love whom they love,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said on Sunday.
Trudeau said 75 per cent of the funding will go toward community organizations focused on diversity and inclusion because thatB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渨here the real work of support comes from.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he strength and resilience of your communities should inspire everyone,B次元官网网址� he said.
The strategy proposes to adopt and encourage the use of the 2SLGBTQI+ acronym, B次元官网网址渨hich is more inclusive and places the experiences of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ communities at the foreground as the first 2SLGBTQI+ peoples in North America.B次元官网网址�
The acronym stands for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse people.
Marci Ien, minister of women and gender equality, welcomed the action plan alongside Trudeau, saying the funds are for B次元官网网址渁ll of those people who are fighting to be heard B次元官网网址� and accepted.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭his is for the people B次元官网网址� who are discarded by their family and friends after they came out B次元官网网址� to everybody trying to live their truth in rural communities where they feel isolated B次元官网网址� this is for the Black queer people who are fighting every day to justify their place in this country, and the trans-women who are afraid sometimes to walk home alone in the dark B次元官网网址� this is for you,B次元官网网址� Ien said.
She said the strategy was created following several years of consultation and research with members of the LGBTQ and two-spirit communities.
Ottawa received more than 25,000 responses in 2020-2021 to a national online survey on how to better serve diverse communities, Ien said.
B次元官网网址淭he resounding answer was that they needed more direct support B次元官网网址� to offer programs B次元官网网址� to continue educating the wider public because, again, we canB次元官网网址檛 legislate kindness,B次元官网网址� Ien said.
More than $5 million of the funding, she added, will go toward the launch of a public awareness campaign.
The government also pledged through the plan to launch consultations on additional criminal law reforms, with $7.7 million earmarked for data collection and community-led policy research to support federal action on LGBTQ issues.
The Canadian Press
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