Gender Equality & LGBTQ Rights

#4 Trudeau forms Canada’s 1st gender-balanced cabinet

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has, for the first time ever in Canada, developed a gender and ethnically balanced cabinet. Fifteen male, and 15 female, mostly aged under 50. Trudeau believes that the cabinet finally ‘looks like Canada’ and will better represent the younger generation. In my opinion, I believe the cabinet shouldn’t just just be based on equality, it should be based on qualification and how fit you are for the job. If a person is more qualified for the job, but is removed just so there can be an even amount of each gender, then I believe it is unfair and not smart. However, having younger people in the cabinet, in my opinion, is a good idea because they can most likely better govern the younger generation.

#9 Half of Canadian girls notice gender inequality between ages 10 and 13, Girl Guides poll finds

According to a poll of about 1200 boys and girls, 54 per cent of girls said they first experienced gender inequality between the age of 10 and 13. The CEO of Girl Guides of Canada, Jill Zelmanovits, said she was shocked about how early girls start to experience inequality. 27 per cent of girls said they were treated worse in sports or gym class, while only 15 per cent of boys said they were treated better. In my opinion, discrimination against women would be almost impossible to stop, only decreased. It is a fact that most women are physically not as strong as men which is a major factor in gender inequality. Some men believe that just because they are stronger, they should get better salaries and have more rights than women. All men need to realize that we are all equal and deserve the same opportunities. 

# 12 Comply with gay-straight alliance legislation or lose funding, education minister tells Alberta schools

Last week, Alberta Education Minister David Eggen emailed 61 Alberta schools that haven’t complied with the province’s gay-straight alliance legislation, threatening to cut their funding and accreditation. The province voted in favour of Bill 24, an act that makes it easier for gay-straight and queer-straight alliances to form at school, in November of 2017. The act also prohibits teachers and school administrators from outing students to their parents and families. In my opinion, I believe that the schools must comply with gay-straight alliance legislation no matter what. It is 2018 and any person no matter who or how they present themselves should be given the right to a safe and supported environment. The less discrimination in Canada, the more people will be united and happy together.

#16 Senate passes bill C-16 which defends transgender rights

Canadian senators have passed a new law which explicitly prohibits discrimination against transgender Canadians and offers them protection against hate crimes. Bill C-16 passed third reading in the Senate on Thursday, more than a year after being introduced. In my opinion, I believe this bill is very important but should have been passed a while ago. Canada is known as an accepting country and should have given transgender people the same rights as others from the start. However, now that this bill is in place, there will be less discrimination towards others and the LGBTQ community will feel more at home in Canada.

What I learned:

By exploring different news articles related to gender equality and LGBTQ issues, I have discovered that Canada strongly values a supportive environment towards every person. Due to our democratic society, according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability. More recently, bill C-16 has passed which explicitly prohibits discrimination against transgender Canadians and offers them protection against hate crimes. All in all, Canada is a very accepting country and is constantly improving one step at a time.