Canada issues warning to LGBTQ citizens about travel to the United States
"Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+' persons" the Canadian government has warned
A recent update to the Global Affairs Canada website warns members of Canada’s LGBTQ community that they may face discrimination if they travel to the Unites States.
The warning follows 18 US states passing laws that limit or ban activities and life-saving treatments that are relevant to the community including drag performances, gender-affirming medical care and even the mentioning of sexual orientation in schools.
The statement on the Global Affairs Canada website reads: “Some states have enacted laws and policies that may affect 2SLGBTQI+ persons. Check relevant state and local laws.”
There is no mention of which specific laws this warning is regarding or which states LGBTQ people may want to avoid.
Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, said during a press conference: “As someone who has had the real privilege of serving as Canada’s Foreign Minister, I know that our travel advisories are done very professionally. We have professionals in the government whose job is to look carefully around the world and to monitor whether there are particular dangers to particular groups of Canadians. That’s their job and it’s the right thing to do.”
She went on to say: “That’s because our government understands, as every Canadian government needs to understand, that one of the principal responsibilities of the federal government is to understand how to work with our US neighbour. I think our government has shown that that’s a priority for us, and that we work hard at it, and that we’re able to manage that relationship, regardless of the choices that the people of the United States make.”
“Our government needs to put at the centre of everything we do the interests and the safety of every single Canadian” – Canada’s Deputy PM
“Even as we work hard on that government-to-government relationship, every Canadian government very much including our government needs to put at the centre of everything we do the interests and the safety of every single Canadian and every single group of Canadians. That’s what we’re doing now. That’s what we’re always going to do.”
America’s neighbours to the north have not been the only ones issuing warnings, the US Department of Homeland Security warned in May that violence against the LGBTQ within America was on the rise.