The page also links to broader advice about how LGBTQ people are subject to local laws at their travel destinations, “even if those laws infringe on your human rights.”
Although the notice does not mention any specific state laws or policies, Jérémie Bérubé, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, pointed to legislation passed this year in some U.S. states “banning drag shows and restricting the transgender community’s access to gender-affirming care and participation in sporting events,” among other restrictions.
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, told reporters On Tuesday, the travel advice was updated because Ottawa prioritizes “the interests and safety of every Canadian.”
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“We have professionals in government whose job it is to look carefully around the world and monitor whether there are particular dangers to particular groups of Canadians,” she said, adding that it was “ the right thing to do.”
In May, U.S.-based human rights groups issued a recommendations for travelers for Florida, noting that the state had passed bills including limit discussion of gender and sexual orientation in classrooms and ban transgender people to use many toilets and changing areas.
US state lawmakers have introduced nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, according to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union. “While not all of these bills will become law, they all cause harm to LGBTQ people,” the ACLU said on its website.
A Washington Post analysis in April, revealed that four months into this year's state legislative sessions, more bills targeting LGBTQ rights — with a focus on transgender rights – had become law more than at any other time in American history.
Logan S. Casey, a senior fellow at the Movement Advancement Project, which tracks the legislation, said at the time that the increase in these laws was “part of a very clear and identifiable national effort in state legislatures that is and This has been going on for years – and it's really peaking this year.
This month, North Carolina rod transgender athletes to compete on female or female sports teams and limit gender-affirming care for minors, while a bill ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth passed in Louisiana.
In Texas, a law that would prevent young people from changing their gender for medical reasons and ban the use of Medicaid to pay for such treatments is close to passage. take effect this week.
In Canada, those seeking to target LGBTQ rights through legislation have had much less success. But they often use the same language and tactics as their American counterparts, LGBTQ advocates say.
The province of New Brunswick was rocked this year by changes to a policy that would prohibit teachers from identifying students under the age of 16 by the pronouns and names of their choice without their parents' consent.
Advocates for LGBTQ students argue the change risks leaving children with parents who may be unsupportive and jeopardize their safety. Blaine Higgs, the province's premier, defended the changes as necessary to protect parents' rights.
He told the provincial legislature that gender dysphoria was becoming “popular and fashionable” because there is “such an acceptance of 'Okay, it's okay,'” and he denounced “story time” for young students, echoing the language of the United States. legislators.
New Brunswick's child and youth advocate said in a report released this month that the changes violate rights protected by the Canadian Constitution. The province of Saskatchewan has a similar policy in place.
Amanda Coletta contributed to this report.
