World

Trudeau To Offer Formal Apology To Gay Canadians

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
Font Size:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sunday that Canada will offer a formal apology to gay Canadians who were fired from government jobs or criminally charged for their homosexuality.

The Globe and Mail speculates that the apology may be the first such announcement by any national government in the world, if it is a comprehensive as expected.

Financial compensation is also on the way, according to the Globe and Mail, as well as a monument to commemorate the people who lost their jobs.

On Sunday Trudeau tweeted, “On November 28, the Government will offer a formal apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians in the House – for the persecution & injustices they have suffered, and to advance together on a path to equality & inclusion.”

Lawyer Douglas Elliot, who has pushed a class-action suit against the government of Canada for compensation for those identifying as LGBT, largely homosexual men, who were fired from government jobs and the military for their sexuality.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day,” Elliott told The Globe and Mail, adding that Trudeau will also be offering compensation along with an apology. The lawyer also said a monument to commemorate those fired from their government employment was also in the works.

But Gwen Landolt, legal counsel and Vice President of REAL Women of Canada, says Trudeau is again demonstrating “his acute inability to grasp reality.”

She told The Daily Caller on Monday that governments in the past fired homosexuals because their sexuality was illegal and overwhelmingly rejected by society and because they were susceptible to being blackmailed. “It is important to note that distinction,” said Landolt.

Landolt said people need to remember that some in the LBGT community might not have been able to work in the federal public service or serve in the military but that didn’t stop them from finding other jobs in Canada. “And now compensation?” Landolt asked. “Well, you know that Justin Trudeau gives money to all his friends.”

Follow David on Twitter