Republicans Want LGBT+ Protections Removed From US-Canada-Mexico Trade Deal
Republican lawmakers are attempting to get LGBT+ protections written out of a trade deal between the US, Mexico and Canada, reports the Toronto Star.
The current draft of the deal includes a pledge for all countries to have “policies that protect workers against employment discrimination on the basis of sex, including with regard to pregnancy, sexual harassment, sexual orientation, gender identity.”
40 Republicans have signed their name on a letter to President Donald Trump claiming this deal would undermine American sovereignty “to decide when, whether and how to tackle issues of civil rights, protected classes and workplace rights.
“We are deeply concerned… by the unprecedented inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity language for the first time in a Free Trade Agreement.
“A trade agreement is no place for the adoption of social policy.
“It is especially inappropriate and insulting to our sovereignty to needlessly submit to social policies which the United States Congress has so far explicitly refused to accept.”
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, has no qualms with the pledge.
“We got to a good agreement that I think represents Canadian values, Canadian approach, but also values that are broadly shared amongst citizens of our three countries,” he said.
“In any trade deal, there are going to be people who would like this or like that or not want this or not want that.”
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