Canadian feminism vs. U.S. family values at UN

OTTAWA — The contrast between the feminist brand of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is on display at a United Nations gathering on the rights of women and girls, where the Americans brought socially conservative organizations along for the talks.

The U.S. State Department included the Center for Family and Human Rights — which opposes abortion and the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in human rights policies and laws — as part of its official delegation to the New York meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

It also brought the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has said any anti-discrimination laws meant to protect the LGBTQ community should also protect the right of those who do not believe in transgender identities or same-sex marriage to act on their convictions.

Groups pushing to advance the rights of women, girls and the LGBTQ community on both sides of the border say they are outraged by the choice to include these groups in the official U.S. delegation and they worry about what this means for future U.S. policy at home and abroad.

Helen Kennedy of Egale Canada says it is “a bit of the slap in the face” to the work that is happening at the UN conference on women.

A spokesman for Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef, who led the Canadian delegation in New York, says the Liberal government has no control over who another country decides to invite to the meeting, but the minister made gender equality a key priority during her trip.