The Trudeau government announced it will pledge $1.7 million to international groups that support LGBTQ people in the wake of criticism that it has not combatted anti-gay legislation in other countries.
Liberal MP Anita Vandenbeld made the announcement at a conference hosted by the Dignity Network, a coalition of Canadian groups that support LGBTQ people internationally.
The conference was attended by activists around the globe, who have called upon the Trudeau government to do more to protect sexual minorities abroad.
According to Global Affairs Canada, the delay in funding for these groups is the result of the COVID-19 lockdown as well as a lengthy consultation process, however, the department claimed it was now ready to ramp up spending.
Additionally, activists are urging Ottawa to disavow homophobic legislation in Uganda and Ghana, claiming it has a responsibility to prevent the erosion of human rights globally.
Of the new funding, $1 million will go to a research project led by the U.S. aid department on how groups in different countries can reduce stigma and also act in times of crises.
The remainder of the funding will go to Rainbow Railroad, a Toronto-based organization which examines the forced displacement of sexual minorities around the world by cooperating with local governments.
The new funding follows a trend in the Trudeau government’s commitment to spending money on LGBTQ causes internationally.
Canada’s foreign service spent thousands of dollars staging performances where seniors shared their sexual encounters on stage in Austria, Taiwan and elsewhere last year.
According to a press release by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the stage show by the Toronto theatre troupe Mammalian Diving Reflex was titled “All the Sex I’ve Ever Had’ and received $12,520 from Canadian taxpayers.
Global Affairs Canada paid for the trips to Austria, Taiwan and Australia via the Mission Cultural Fund.
The group spent five weeks in Taipei City in 2019 to select and train a group of elderly people who shared their sexual experiences with live audiences. The show, which cost $4,000, was supposed to promote the Canadian values of free speech and tolerance.
Global Affairs has also been involved in other controversial projects via the MCF fund.
In 2019, the MCF paid Canadian artist Peaches $8,813.70 for a sex toy art exhibit in Hamburg, Germany called “Whose Jizz Is This?”
