Windsor LGBT community leaders say Trudeau apology 'powerful and heartfelt'
'I think it was more than I even expected'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a historic apology Tuesday for discrimination by the government against Canada's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
Leaders in in Windsor's LGBT community were watching along, describing Trudeau's apology "powerful and heartfelt."
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"I don't think for me there was anything missing," said Jayce Carver, executive director of W.E. Trans Support. "I think it was more than I even expected."
Speaking to a packed and emotional chamber, Trudeau expressed shame, sorrow and deep regret to the civil servants, military members and criminalized Canadians who endured discrimination and injustice based on their sexual orientation.
Carver said she's seen those changes, as someone who grew up in the LGBT community in the 90s.
"To come to a day where finally our government is saying 'we've done the equal marriage thing, we've done the equal rights thing, we've done the trans rights thing and now we're going to say we're sorry moving forward and this will never happen again' – that promise resonated with me," she said.
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Recounting how lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit Canadians were ruined by irreparable pain and grief, Trudeau said they were discriminated against by laws that "bolstered and emboldened" those who weren't heterosexual.
"The fact that he even brought up things such as the ban on gay men donating blood for instance, the fact that they're willing to address that issue ... he touched on far more than I ever thought he would," said Robert Vitella, vice-president of Windsor-Essex Pride Fest.