The Vancouver Sun

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Canada a haven for persecuted gay Iranians
The Vancouver Sun

Canada has likely welcomed more than 100 gay refugees from Iran since taking on gay rights in 2009, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Friday after his government announced that standing up for gay rights on the inter-national stage would be among Canada’s foreign policy priori-ties going forward.

In a speech before the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird discussed a range of human rights topics, including Canada’s efforts to combat forced marriages among young girls and the global criminalization and persecution of homosexuals.

A week after severing relations with Iran by pulling Canadian diplomats from Tehran and sending Iranian diplomats in Canada packing, Baird also offered kudos to Kenney for « working to make Canada a safe haven for Iran’s persecuted gay community. »

Kenney said Canada’s efforts included getting about 800 resettled refugees a year out of Turkey, virtually all Iranian.

Homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran, and many gays and lesbians have fled to neighbouring Turkey. There they can file a claim with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which then works with countries like Canada on resettlement. For a little over a year, Canada has also been assisting sponsored gay refugees with resettlement costs, he said.

On voit bien que le gouvernement Harper n’a aucun respect pour les valeurs québécoises.

Trêve de sarcasme… Mentionnons simplement que bien peu de médias québécois ont jugé bon rapporter cette nouvelle…