After all the years of struggle to have the GLBTQ community seen as "just" another group of citizens, to attain the rights and responsibilities enjoyed and demanded of any other group in society, I suppose there is no better indication of having finally attained that: the recent study guide used by the Federal Government to prepare immigrants for the citizenship test, Discover Canada.

In the guide, published by the Department of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism headed by Jason Kenney, Member of Parliament for Calgary Southeast, those seeking to become Canadian citizens are instructed to leave "violent, extreme, or hateful prejudices" behind and that, in Canada, same-sex marriages are legal and permitted and forced marriages are not.  An earlier version of the guide, released in 2010, omitted any reference to same-sex marriage and GLBTQ rights for which Kenney and the Conservative Party came under attack in the House of Commons from NDP Immigration Critic, Olivia Chow, wife of NDP leader Jack Layton.  Chow and the NDP successfully introduced a motion in the House calling for a reference to same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian rights in Canada to be included.

Given Kenney’s record when it comes to fighting against same-sex marriage and equality rights, the inclusion of these in the guide could be seen as a major coup, even though it makes no mention of how those rights came about.  Of course, the government has put a different spin on such inclusion.

"We expect people who want to become Canadians to have a good understanding of their rights and responsibilities, and the values and institutions that are rooted in Canadian history," Kenney said when announcing the revisions in Vancouver in March.  "This study guide has strengthened the value of Canadian citizenship."

According to the government, the citizenship test for which the guide is designed will also be updated with questions that reflect the new information including, it is assumed, questions regarding GLBTQ rights in Canada.  However, the guide’s website currently states "Discover Canada was updated on March 14, 2011. You do not need the updated version to prepare for the citizenship test. The test does not contain questions on the new material. To prepare for the citizenship test, you can study any copy of Discover Canada issued by the Government of Canada since November 12, 2009."

However, the guide has not been without controversy.  Justin Trudeau, Liberal Immigration Critic, took exception to the use of the word "barbaric" when describing cultural practices that "tolerate spousal abuse, ‘honour killings,’ female genital mutilation (or, as it is sometimes euphemistically called, ’female circumcision‘), forced marriage or other gender-based violence."

Trudeau was of the opinion that while these acts were, in fact, barbaric and that in private conversation he may even describe them as such himself, he felt that "in an official Government of Canada publication, there needs to be a little bit of an attempt at responsible neutrality." Within days, he had issued an apology and clarification, stating he, "[p]erhaps...got tangled in semantic weeds in my comments, particularly in view of the Conservatives’ cynicism on these issues, [however] I want to make it clear that I think the acts described are heinous, barbaric acts that are totally unacceptable in our society."

He had earlier stated during a series of posts between himself and subscribers on Twitter that his problem "with the use of the word barbaric is that it was chosen to reassure Canadians rather than actually change unacceptable behaviours." He also expressed surprise that his comments generated such a reaction. "I didn’t expect people to react to this: I said the same back in 2009 (when the original guide was published) about Barbaric [sic] and no one picked up. Election-time now."

Interestingly, what has not been placed on the public discussion is Kenney’s own history and views when it comes to GLBTQ rights and same-sex marriage.

In 2005, in the midst of heated debate both within Parliament and across Canada, Kenney stated that fellow MPs Libby Davies and Svend Robinson, both of whom had opposite-sex relationships before publicly coming out as lesbian and gay respectively, stood as proof that the existing marriage law was not in fact discriminatory; gay and lesbian individuals could still marry members of the opposite sex and were not being denied the right to marry at all.

It will come as no surprise that Kenney’s political background is heavily socially-conservative.  In his early years of political involvement he served on the boards of the Catholic Civil Rights League as well as the National Foundation of Family Research.  He was a member of the Reform Party of Canada (1997–2000), which became the Canadian Alliance (2000–2003), both known as strong socially-conservative parties opposed to any inclusion of GLBTQ rights in Canadian jurisprudence. Yet, despite his opposition to same-sex marriage and other GLBTQ equality rights issues, Kenney has a strong record in human rights activity and is active in promoting human rights and religious freedoms in what one might charitably refer to as "autocratic countries".  He is heavily pro-Israel, and has compared the Lebanon-based right-wing terrorist organization Hezbollah, whose mission statement includes calling for the ‘final obliteration’ of Israel, to Nazis.

That the new version of Discover Canada now includes direct reference to same-sex marriage and to gay and lesbian (but not trans) rights in Canada after heavy opposition by Kenney’s department in 2010, and Kenney’s own active involvement in pulling any reference to same-sex marriage in the 2010 version, is an example of how Parliament should work.  When all federal parties work together for the benefit of all Canadians, both "new" and established, good things can be accomplished.  The study guide is a federal publication and, as such, should reflect a national perspective, separate from any partisan bias.  Such publications should not be Conservative or Liberal party propaganda machines but, rather, beyond party politics; operating, if you will, on a higher level than partisan politics.

However, it does need to be remembered that Kenney, in his capacity of Minister, originally ordered key sections noting the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the legalizing of same-sex marriage in 2005, be removed when his office sent its comments to the department in June of 2010.  When that version of the study guide was released November 12, 2010 he brushed off a reporter’s question about why it lacked any reference to same-sex marriage.

"We can’t mention every legal decision, every policy of the Government of Canada. We try to be inclusive and include a summary. I can tell you that if you were to read the old book, you wouldn’t even know that there are gay and lesbian Canadians," he said, and noting a picture of Mark Tewksbury with a caption mentioning he is "a prominent activist for gay and lesbian Canadians."

Predictably, socially-conservative and right-wing groups such as LifeSite and Canada Family Action Coalition condemned even the brief inclusion afforded gay men and lesbians in the current version.  LifeSite criticisms focused on the "omission" of religious institutions not having to "marry" (their quotes) same-sex couples in the guide.  Brian Rushfeldt, President of CFAC, is apparently of the opinion even a one-sentence mention of lesbian and gay equality under the law is an "inappropriate promotion of homosexuality," adding "The government has caved to homosexual pressure and puts in a picture of a homosexual," he said, referring to Tewksbury’s photo.

"Will the guide include pictures of heterosexuals announcing they are activists promoting one man/one woman marriage?" asked Rushfeldt.  "Will they use a picture of a priest as an activist promoting opposition to abortion? What about a doctor opposing euthanasia?"

Rushfeldt was further quoted by LifeSite as saying, by promoting homosexuality above "normal sexuality" [sic], the government was engaging in "discrimination against heterosexuals and [giving] an unfair picture of Canada as a whole. If they discriminate against heterosexuals then the government should be challenged also."

Current changes to the 2011 guide include more information about Canada’s democratic and government institutions and their role, increased information about the War of 1812 (the only war Canada engaged in against the US and one which we won), and a restyled "Modern Canada" section with new headings, more detail regarding trade and economic growth, and includes more information about national cultural figures.

The citizenship test requires applicants to successfully answer multiple choice questions in the areas of rights and responsibilities of being a Canadian citizen, including the right to vote, voting procedures, and the right to run for elected office, Canadian political, social, and cultural history, and geography.

The section which now includes reference to gay and lesbian rights and same-sex marriage is found under the section entitled "Who We Are", which includes a brief oversight of Canada’s three founding peoples (Aboriginal, French, and British) and a discussion about the diversity of Canadian culture which includes the sentence stating "Canada’s diversity includes gay and lesbian Canadians, who enjoy the full protection of and equal treatment under the law, including access to civil marriage."