Statement from Minister McLean on the International Day of Pink

Minister responsible for the Women and Gender Equity Directorate Jeanie McLean has issued the following statement:

“Today we observe the International Day of Pink, an opportunity for people in the Yukon and around the world to join together and take action against the bullying and discrimination that 2SLGBTQIA+ people too often face. At its heart, today is about choosing love and acceptance over hate, division and fear. I’m grateful for the many Yukoners who are wearing pink today – a small act that speaks to their ongoing solidarity and allyship with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

“This year’s International Day of Pink theme is Re-Emergence. Re-Emergence is about honouring 2SLGBTQIA+ activists who have fought, and continue to fight, for safer and more inclusive communities. As a part of this year’s Re-Emergence theme, I encourage Yukoners to learn about and celebrate the significant milestones in Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ history. Milestones that – in the face of systemic homophobia and transphobia – were achieved through the determination and courage of 2SLGBTQIA+ people and their allies and have transformed Canadian society for the better.

“Today we recognize and honour people like Michelle Douglas, who in 1990 launched a landmark legal challenge against the Canadian military, which had discharged her for being a lesbian. Douglas’s case was part of the LGBT Purge – the Canadian government’s systematic effort from the 1950s to the 1990s to identify and remove queer people from Canada’s military, RCMP and civil service.

“We recognize activists Martine Roy, Todd Ross and Alida Satalic who led the 2016 LGBT Purge class-action lawsuit that brought justice for hundreds of Purge survivors.

“We also recognize and celebrate the milestones that Canada’s Two-Spirit community has helped achieve:

• 35 years since the term Two-Spirit was formally adopted by Indigenous leaders;
• 10 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report and its 94 Calls to Action; and
• six years since the release of the Final Report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Peoples and its 231 Calls for Justice.

“We recognize Cheri DiNovo, former Ontario NDP MPP, who in 2015 introduced a bill to end the practice of conversion therapy for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in Ontario and remove it from healthcare coverage.

“We recognize and thank the many Yukon 2SLGBTQIA+ activists who have fought for change here in our territory. Their work has been extensive and has led to such milestones as legalizing same-sex marriage, updating the Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and expression, banning conversion therapy in the Yukon and the proclamation of Two-Spirit Day.

“On this International Day of Pink, I hold my hands up to the activists and advocates across Canada and the Yukon who stand up to inequality and I reconfirm our unwavering commitment to 2SLGBTQIA+ equity and inclusion. Let’s continue to work towards a Yukon that is accepting and inclusive. Where all Yukoners can know their rights are respected and protected.”