Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has appointed a special adviser on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues.
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Trudeau appointed MP Randy Boissonnault as the country on Tuesday began moves to repeal ‘discriminatory’ gay sodomy laws.
Section 159 of the Criminal Code makes anal sex involving youths who are above the age of consent but not yet 18 punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It was quashed as unconstitutional by lower courts in the 1990s but continued to be used to prosecute dozens of people in recent years, according to government statistics cited by rights group Egale.
“This section of the criminal code is discriminatory,” Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould told a press conference.
“Our society has evolved over the past few decades and our criminal justice system needs to evolve as well,” she said.
