A privately funded, socially conservative group charges Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has abused his position by promoting the rights of homosexuals abroad.
REAL Women lambasted the minister for awarding $200,000 to special interest groups in Uganda and Kenya to further what it calls “his own perspective on homosexuality.” It further castigates him for trying to dissuade Russia from passing anti-gay laws.
“Just who does John Baird think he is, using taxpayers’ money to promote his own personal agenda and endeavouring to set standards of the laws of foreign countries,” asks Gwendolyn Landolt, National Vice-President of REAL Women in a news release. “He argues that homosexual rights are a ‘Canadian value’, but this applies only to himself and his fellow activists and the left-wing elitists. These are not conservative values and that of grass roots Canadians, who after all, pay the bulk of the taxes.”
A spokesman for Baird’s office replied in a statement, “The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canada’s foreign policy.”
Rick Roth compared the criminalization of homosexuality to the suppression of fundamental rights such as freedom of speech and expression. He continued, “This is not a left versus right issue. This is a position that is supported by a vast majority of Canadians.”
The press release argues that Baird’s “actions are destructive to the conservative base in Canada and causing collateral damage to his party.” Baird is a member of the currently ruling Conservative Party of Canada.
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