Mr. Speaker, today is International Day Against Homophobia.
In some ways there is much to celebrate. Canada has made great strides in ensuring equality under the law for gays and lesbians.
I am proud to have played a role in bringing about these significant legislative changes under the last Liberal government.
However, much of the credit must go to the activists within the GLBT community itself. They fought long and hard to bring the bitter realities of their inequality to the attention of Canadians, using the court challenges program to demand their minority rights under the charter.
Today, other minority groups such as transgendered persons, who still face discrimination in law, have no such recourse.
The new Conservative government, like the old Conservative government, cancelled the Liberal initiated court challenges program, effectively denying disadvantaged groups in Canada access to justice.
On this International Day Against Homophobia, we need to remind ourselves that in today's Canada minority groups can no longer take their rights for granted.