Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that his government will "formally" issue an apology to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer and Two-spirited (LGBTQ2) people "for the persecution and injustices they have suffered" over the years in the country.
Reports state that apology will be dedicated to all those people who have been criminally charged or fired from government jobs or the military just for being homosexual. Canada's leading news outlet The Globe and Mail said that this will be a historic apology and "the most comprehensive ever offered by any national government."
Douglas Elliott, a lawyer who spearheaded a class-action lawsuit on behalf of LGBTQ people who were persecuted and removed from their jobs for being homosexual, said, "I never thought I'd live to see the day."
Thousands of Canadians in the military and across the civil services were fired for their sexual orientation from the 1950s till 1992, according to CTVnews. The news network said that the Canadian government back then had devised a "homosexuality test", which was called "fruit machine."
"It measured arousal to pornographic images in order to provide proof of sexual orientation to back up the reason for firing, or denying someone a promotion," the Canadian TV network said.
Reports state that Trudeau will offer pardons and expunge the records of those who were convicted because of their sexual orientation. The Canadian Prime Minister, a year ago, had indicated that his government will apologise for the injustice brought to the LGBTQ2 community.
Trudeau had made the statement after Egale Canada, a group that advocates for the rights of sexual minorities, released a report on the heinous discrimination. The report had recommended several redressal methods, among which a formal apology from the government was also included.
"Because we have been shut out for so long, and because being recognised is something we have fought for so long, to have the Prime Minister of our country stand up and publicly acknowledge that on behalf of everyone in Canada is huge," said Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale, to the Globe. "I'm really quite emotional," he added.
