MPM student Emile Scheffel writes in iPolitics today on the controversy swirling around Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney’s email newsletter on government programs for gay and lesbian refugees. Many recipients of the unsolicited newsletter wondered how the Government of Canada knew they were gay, and Opposition critics have denounced what they see as government intrusion into citizens’ private lives. But Emile argues there really is no controversy: Recipients were mailed the newsletter because they had already expressed an interest in issues pertinent to the gay community by signing their email addresses to an online petition to Kenney about gay rights and immigration. To those who wonder how the immigration minister knows their sexual orientation, Emile writes, “here’s the answer: he doesn’t.”
“There is no way of knowing which of the people who signed the petition to Kenney are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, or multi-spirited. All we know about them – all Kenney knows about them – is they care about GLBTQ issues.”
Read the full article here: http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/09/27/furor-over-kenneys-mailing-list-a-tempest-in-a-teacup/