Excuse me, but you’re stepping on my Canadian pride

An open letter to Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney:

I don’t ever remember a time when I did not feel proud to be a Canadian. It’s similar in fierceness to the pride I’ve always felt for my family. It runs right to the core.

I drink my Double-double’s at Timmys, I buy my backpack from MEC and I bite my nails to the quick when Canada’s hockey team is in the Olympic finals. But these are just outward expressions of pride. They are not actually the things I am proud of.

What I’m actually proud of is Canada’s long-standing history as a peace-keeping nation, the enormous natural beauty found in each of our provinces, the multi-cultures that fill our streets and the respect granted for all human rights.

But Minister Kenney, you stepped on my Canadian pride when you stripped gay rights from the guides that Canada provides to its new immigrants. Gay rights cannot be taken for granted; gay rights need to be in this guide. In dozens of countries around the world, homosexuality is illegal. So criminal, in fact, that some countries enact the death penalty.

Don’t you think that a newcomer to Canada would like to know that Canada is a forerunner in the protection of gay rights? That homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969. That the Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation. That same-sex marriage was legalized nationally in 2005.

Kind of important information, don’t you think? That here, in our country, it is not acceptable to discriminate based on race, gender, age, national origin, religion OR sexual orientation. Immigrants need to know their rights and the rights of their fellow citizens. It’s pretty basic, I would think.

And I would also think that without this information, the $400,000 spent on this guide will be a waste. Because if a guide to a new country doesn’t tell you what your basic human rights are, then it’s not much of a guide.

I’m not so much as disappointed about this arguably shameful waste of taxpayer money as I am disappointed that you stepped on my Canadian pride.

Sincerely,

Julie Harrison