June 21st, 2019

Slurs are more than just 'hurtful,' says NDP LGBTQ Issues critic

QUEEN’S PARK — NDP LGBTQ Issues critic Terence Kernaghan released the following statement in reaction to Doug Ford’s media comment on Tyler Albrecht’s social media:

“I understand Doug Ford has quietly called the slurs used by his agent-general appointee to New York ‘hurtful and unacceptable.’ While it’s true that the words ‘homo’ and ‘fag’ are hurtful and unacceptable, I think what the LGBTQIA+ community needs to hear Doug Ford say is that these words are homophobic.

This past spring, Minister Lisa Thompson refused to acknowledge that homophobia and transphobia are real, saying ‘those words don’t exist in my vocabulary.’ Last year, Ford’s government tried to erase LGBTQIA+people and families from Ontario’s sex-ed curriculum.

LGBTQIA+ people living in Ontario know that homophobia and transphobia are real, and that they impact members of our community in profound, sometimes dangerous ways. We need more than soft statements – we need action to make the lives of our community members better, and safer.

I don’t know why Mr. Ford agreed to give a golden ticket on his gravy train to a man whose social media feed was homophobic. What I do know is that, time and time again, the Ford government refuses to do the right thing until they get caught.”