Homosexual activists have long enjoyed the free flow of money handed to them by the now defunct Court Challenges Program. They have used this taxpayer money to bring court challenges, that have given them such gifts as same-sex benefits and same-sex marriage by left-leaning judges.
Now that these funds have dried up – the Conservative government shut down the Court Challenges Program in September 2006 – homosexual activists have turned to other faithful friends, namely those working in the 14 Human Rights Commissions across the country.
Homosexual activists’ latest request for assistance to protect them from so-called “discrimination” is a complaint laid before the federal Human Rights Commission, in February 2009, by six homosexuals and lesbians. They claim that Canada’s health care system is discriminating against them and causing premature deaths of members of their community because of “homophobia,” particularly in Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Complaint
The activists argue that the health issues affecting homosexuals/lesbians are not being addressed. These issues include lower life expectancy than the average Canadian, a high suicide rate, and high rates of substance abuse, smoking, and depression, inadequate access to care and HIV/AIDs treatment – cancer, both anal and those caused by the exposure to human papillomavirus which leads to head, throat and neck cancers – violence and bullying and problems with blood donations, which prevents a homosexual or bisexual male from donating blood if he has had sexual intercourse with another man since 1977, (which policy they claim has “no basis in science”). They allege these problems have all been caused by discriminatory policies by health officials.
In effect, these activists are claiming that it’s all the government’s fault that they are facing health problems and that their health problems have absolutely nothing to do with their own behaviour. In short, these homosexual activists want to continue their harmful behaviour and lifestyle. They expect the government (i.e., the taxpayers) to give them, as their entitlement, special funding to deal with these resulting medical problems. Naturally, no one should expect them to change their behaviour.
In their complaint, the activists recount how they formed a national organization in 2002, called the Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition, to focus on their health issues. They had approached politicians and bureaucrats to favour them with money. The then Minister of Health, Liberal Anne McLellan, set them up to meet with officials in four departments under her jurisdiction: the Assistant Deputy Minister, Population and Public Health Branch; the Executive Director, Women’s Health Bureau; a representative of the Director, HIV/AIDS Division; and a Senior Policy Advisor of the Mental Health Promotion Unit. These representatives assured the Coalition that they would investigate their concerns.
When nothing happened, the Coalition then wrote to the next Liberal Health Minister, Ujjal Dosanjh, who obligingly set them up with a meeting with two representatives from his office. Nothing happened.
In August 2005, the Coalition then met with Carolyn Bennett, Minister of State (Public Health). However, the government fell the following week and again nothing happened.
In February and August 2005, the Coalition met with Dr. David Butler – Jones, Chief Public Health Officer, who was “aware of the many health issues endemic in their community,” but expressed no willingness to do anything to address the issues.
This saga, if nothing else, points out the remarkable access that homosexual activists had with government officials under the Liberals. The Coalition finally did hit the jackpot when it received a one-time contribution of $2.3 million from the Health Department’s Primary Health Care Transition Fund, Rainbow Health-Improving Access to Care, to address their care issues. This funding ended after two and a half years, and no further funding was made available to the Coalition. The complainants stated that this mere grant of $2.3 million was inadequate, as it was a “one off” initiative, rather than the strategic funding they’ve demanded in order to address their issues methodically and systematically.
In their complaint to the Human Rights Commission, the activists also demanded that Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada prioritize effective programming and sufficient levels of funding to meet their “needs”. They also demanded that these agencies apply “a sexual orientation lens” to all future policy and program development and ensure a broad and meaningful consultation with them.
What these activists lack in common sense, they certainly make up for in gall. What will the federal Human Rights Commission make of their complaint? Don’t ask!
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