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June 2nd, 2018

NDP Statement on Pride Month – Celebrating Courage and Hope

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh made the following statement:

“As Pride celebrations begin across Canada, I am proud to stand in solidarity with members of the LGBTQ2 community, alongside New Democrats from coast to coast to coast.

Pride month is a time for celebration and solidarity, but it is also an important opportunity for reflection and a renewed commitment to activism.

In fact, the origins of Pride are rooted in activism and courage.

That is what makes Pride Month such a beautiful, and important time of the year – it’s an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the advocacy that has helped us progress to this point, together.

But it’s also a reminder of the work we have ahead of us. Injustices remain for the LGBTQ2 community. For example, the ongoing discrimination against gay and bisexual men from donating blood within a year of being sexually active – preventing them from taking part in the beautiful act of giving blood, despite scientifically backed calls for us to end the blood ban and move towards individual risk assements. This ban must end, and New Democrats will continue to call for the government to follow through on their promise to end the ban in 2015.

This is why we celebrate Pride, and why we work towards righting these historic and ongoing wrongs – so that every single Canadian can celebrate their own self worth.

This Pride Month, let us honour all Canadians who take action every day to transform the medical, social, and political environments that help advance LGBTQ2 rights.

Let us also celebrate the organizations that have and continue to grow out of this struggle – who work tirelessly to build a more inclusive Canada. And let us also remember LGBTQ2 communities around the world who suffer from prejudice, discrimination, violence and persecution.

New Democrats will continue to advance the issues of importance to LGBTQ2 Canadians, and together, we will build a more just and inclusive society, where we all rise."