Justin Trudeau raises Pride flag at Canadian parliament for the first time
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made history Wednesday when he raised a rainbow flag at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The ceremony marked the flag's first-ever appearance flying at the parliamentary buildings in Canada's capital city. The flag is commonly used as a symbol of pride in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and transgender communities and was displayed in honor of Pride Month.
"This is a great day for Canada and it's part of a long series of milestones this country has hit over the years," Trudeau said, according to CBC News. "It hasn't been easy, it hasn't been automatic, a lot of people fought for a long time for this day to happen."
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Trudeau, who attended Pride marches before assuming the nation's highest office, will become the first Canadian prime minister to participate in a parade later this summer. He is scheduled to attend the Toronto Pride Parade on July 3, and the Liberal Party is giving away a free trip to join Trudeau at the event — and fundraise against its political opponents.
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"While the Conservatives are still debating whether or not to even support equal marriage (note: it’s 2016), Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government have announced bold new steps to protect the rights, safety, and inclusion of transgender Canadians — and that crucial progress must continue," says a statement on the Liberal Party's website.
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Several openly gay Liberal Party politicians joined Trudeau at the flag ceremony, and celebrated the event's significance.
"We've seen such progress in our lifetime," Treasury Board President Scott Brison told CBC News. "People know that LGBTQ rights are human rights and this is a strong sense of who we are as Canadians, and that's a wonderful step forward.
H/t CBC News.
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Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.
