LGBTQ apology will keep remedies separate from regret: PM special adviser
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will back up his promised apology for state-sanctioned discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community with reparations for the harm they suffered over the decades, says the Liberal MP handling the file.
But Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault says the remedies will be separate from the regret.
“The two are not linked,” the special adviser to Trudeau on LGBTQ2 issues said Tuesday.
Boissonnault has been consulting with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited people — a term used broadly to describe Indigenous People who identify as part of the community — on what the apology should entail.
He said the government is planning to introduce legislation by the end of December to expunge the criminal records of Canadians previously convicted of consensual sexual activity with same-sex partners.
The latest economic update set aside $4 million over two years to meet this goal.