From Canada, with love

Canada has long been assumed to be a safe haven for queer folks. When gay marriage was legalized, we saw torrents of "marriage tourists" flood our lightly policed borders in order to take advantage of our hippy-dippy marriage laws. We even developed a niche tourism industry for gay marriages and honeymooners. But, shockingly, not everything is bouquets and garters. Jane Okojie, a bisexual woman and mother from Nigeria, is awaiting her deportation decision by the Immigrant and Refugee Board. According to xtra.ca, she has been living here for the past 5 years, working for the Canadian government while making her refugee claim. Although homosexual behaviour is punishable in Nigeria by up to 14 years in prison, the IRB still feels as though she is not at enough risk to be allowed to stay in Canada on humanitarian grounds.

I could wax and wane on the ethics behind sending a family back to a country that will inevitably leave the children without a mother, but that is pretty obvious. What we also need to talk about is the harsh reality that Canada is selective in its "toleration" of gay people—that is to say, if you are a queer woman of colour from Africa, don't assume that Canada welcomes you. We'll let you get married, have your honeymoons and your parades, but don't you dare try to move here to escape the oppressive and violent state in which you were born. Okojie was working for the Canadian government, most likely paying taxes, and contributing back to the state … but unlike the niche tourist, she didn't go back "home".

Public gay-friendly policies, like legalizing gay marriages, do wonders for our international PR. Canada benefits economically and socially from being presented as an open and tolerant nation—being ranked as one of the top three nations for human development definitely has its pluses. But they also hide the very real material and emotional consequences felt by people like Jane Okojie, who are slammed head-first into a bureaucratic machine that still operates as if it were 1959.

These policies do not mean that Canadian bureaucrats have suddenly realized their heterosexist ways. No, they allow us to wash our hands of the responsibility to deal with the homophobia that is experienced by already marginalized peoples. This is the national equivalent of that guy who demeans his little brother by calling him gay, and justifies it later by saying, "It's okay, I have gay friends". For realz Canada, that's pretty pathetic.

Contact Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and share your mind.