Six gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) Canadians have filed a human right complaint against Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) alleging both federal departments discriminate against GLB Canadians. The complaint has been filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The six individuals from across Canada have come together to jointly file the complaint that outlines in a ten page document the many areas they believe they are discriminated against by both agencies. Together the six complainants: Phillip Banks from Vancouver; Charlotte Rochon and Gens Hellquist from Saskatoon; Art Zoccole from Montreal; Daniel Lanouette from Montreal and Sheri McConnell from St. John’s have more than 100 years of experience working to address health and wellness issues in the GLB community.
“Both Health Canada and PHAC claim they have a responsibility for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health,” said group spokesperson Gens Hellquist, “However, we see little sign that they take their responsibility seriously when it comes to helping GLB Canadians maintain and improve their health.
“Health Canada and PHAC have dedicated policies, strategies and funding initiatives for most other populations in this country but they seem unwilling to do the same for GLB Canadians even though we have one of the poorest health statuses in this country,” Hellquist added. “Any funding that our community receives is largely by accident not as part of a dedicated strategy that seriously wishes to address the issues our community faces.”
Over the past ten years both agencies have contracted with experts on GLB health to produce studies on the many health issues endemic to the GLB community and asked for recommendations on how to address those issues. To date none of those reports have been acted on and none of the numerous recommendations have been acted upon.
A 2001 and 2003 literature review suggested that as many as 5,000 GLB Canadians die prematurely each year as a direct result of homophobia and neglect on the part of those who claim responsibility for helping to make Canada’s population “among the healthiest in the world.” The studies also suggested that the economic cost of homophobia and disregard could be as high as $8 billion a year in Canada.
“As someone who’s worked with both agencies over the past two decades it astounds me that they continue to remain so homophobic and fearful of getting serious about addressing our health issues,” Hellquist said. “The Constitution of this country guarantees equality to all Canadians in all areas but that still does not hold for GLB Canadians when it comes to our health. We’re tired of watching the many senseless premature deaths occurring in our communities that are a result of homophobia while government health agencies sit on the sidelines. It’s time both agencies lived up to their missions and visions when it comes to GLB Canadians. This complaint is about holding Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada accountable.