This Pride Month marks the third anniversary of the “Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act,” which allows people to clear their record of past offences involving consensual same-sex activity, convictions now considered unjust.

The act was a centrepiece of the federal government’s apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians in 2017. But figures obtained from the Parole Board of Canada indicate that in the three years since the act came into effect, only 41 applications have been received and, of those, only nine people have successfully had their convictions cleared.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Steven Maynard from Queen’s University brings to our attention the problems with this legislation, that these small handful of expungements fall far short of the act’s intent and calls into question the apology’s substance.

Also today:

All the best.

Haley Lewis

Culture + Society Editor
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wipes his eye while he is applauded while making a formal apology to people harmed by federal legislation, policies, and practices that led to the oppression of and discrimination against LGBTQ2 people in Canada on November, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Pride and prejudice: With only 9 LGBTQ criminal record expungements, what’s to celebrate?

Steven Maynard, Queen's University, Ontario

The Expungement Act was a centrepiece of the federal government’s apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians. But figures indicate only nine people have successfully had their convictions cleared.
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La Conversation Canada
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