Conservative MPs launch fundraiser for LGBTQ+ refugees

2026/06/26 Leave a comment

A reminder of the Conservative Party’s inclusiveness and that overall concerns regarding large numbers of refugees and government management of immigration also have a softer side. Happened during my time when representation by Egale and others resulted in revision of Discover Canada to be more inclusive of LGBTQ:

Two Conservative MPs say leading a fundraising cruise for LGBTQ+ refugees is a tangible way for the party to advance the rights of gender and sexual minorities.

“We’re all God’s creatures and we’re all loved, and we all deserve to be loved and we all deserve to feel safe and secure,” Scott Aitchison told The Canadian Press.

“I believe that it’s important for all of us to — not to preach that, but to demonstrate that.”

Aitchison is MP for Parry Sound—Muskoka, a riding popular with Torontonians who own cottages.

Last Friday, he announced a July 15 fundraising boat cruise for Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps resettle persecuted LGBTQ+ people from around the world in Canada and other countries.

In a social media video, he and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, who is lesbian, urged members of the public to buy $150 tickets.

The video drew a mix of praise, grumblings about the affordability crisis and criticism of the party’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

Source: Conservative MPs launch fundraiser for LGBTQ+ refugees

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Critics say Canada’s new immigration and border law puts LGBTQ+ people in danger

2026/06/15 Leave a comment

Of note:

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and MPs from other political parties came together to raise the Pride flag on Parliament Hill.

But an advocacy group that helps LGBTQ refugees come to Canada and the U.S says the federal government’s new border law is putting people at risk of being sent back to countries where they face persecution.

Devon Matthews, Rainbow Railroad’s chief program officer, said her organization is concerned about its working relationship with Ottawa as the federal government reduces the number of refugees it admits and cuts the organization’s funding.

She said it’s also alarmed by a new law requiring that refugee claims be made within a year of the claimant’s first arrival in Canada.

“It has nothing to do with the reasons why someone may have waited or why someone doesn’t meet the one-year bar,” Matthews told The Canadian Press…

Source: Critics say Canada’s new immigration and border law puts LGBTQ+ people in danger

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