Trudeau takes his concerns about Poland’s LGBTQ record behind closed doors after publicly admonishing Italy

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he raised concerns about Poland’s record on LGBTQ rights with the country’s Prime Minister behind closed doors, after his public admonishment of Italy’s Prime Minister was ill-received on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting last month.

On Day Two of Pride Month, Mr. Trudeau was in Toronto Friday for meetings with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the leader of a country with one of the worst records in Europe for LGBTQ rights. Meantime, in Winnipeg Friday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dodged a question about whether he will march in any Pride parades this year.

Canada and Poland have strengthened their ties during Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Poland serving as a logistics hub for allies sending aid to Ukraine. Some Canadian Forces members are also in Poland for a training mission with the Ukrainian army.

Mr. Trudeau heralded the two countries’ work on Ukraine but was muted when it comes to Poland’s treatment of queer people, which human-rights groups say has worsened significantly under the leadership of President Andrzej Duda and Mr. Morawiecki.

This year, the European chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, known as ILGA, ranked Poland as one of the worst places in Europe to live for queer people. The organization ranked the country 42 out of 49 – behind Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, but ahead of Belarus, Russia and Turkey.

Mr. Morawiecki’s political party has called LGBTQ rights “an attack on the family and children,” a cabinet minister said LGBTQ people “are not equal to normal people,” and the government has turned a blind eye to municipalities and regions that declare themselves “LGBT-free zones.”

According to Amnesty International, at the end of 2022, 79 Polish administrative units still declared themselves “LGBT-free zones.” More had previously made the same declaration but were forced to revoke those positions after pressure from civil society and the European Commission.

Kyle Knight, a senior LGBTQ researcher with Human Rights Watch, told The Globe and Mail on Friday that the Polish government has systemically attacked queer people and vilified them to gain traction with some voters. The effect is an “incredibly hostile environment” for LGBTQ people.

The government has whittled away at support for queer people in Poland by persuading citizens that “the rights of LGBT people are an outrageous and invasive ideology instead of something quite basic and fundamental,” Mr. Knight said.

Last month, Mr. Trudeau publicly challenged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on “some of the positioning that Italy is taking in terms of the LGBT rights.” That comment during a photo-op with Ms. Meloni was slammed in Italy, with one newspaper splashing a picture of Mr. Trudeau in blackface on its front page with the headline: “this buffoon wants to teach us lessons.”

Poland ranks behind Italy in its treatment of LGBTQ people but Mr. Trudeau made no similar comment at the top of his meeting with Mr. Morawiecki. Asked about his silence at a press conference on Friday, Mr. Trudeau said that he privately “raised concerns that we have around some of the reports coming out of Poland, around LGBT rights, around democracy.”

He gave no specifics and did not challenge Mr. Morawiecki when the Polish Prime Minister told the same press conference that his government has not jeopardized LGBTQ rights and that “there are no problems whatsoever.”

Mr. Knight called Mr. Trudeau’s comments a “missed opportunity” and said they were out of step with the Canadian government’s own policies on LGBTQ rights and condemnation from other governments, including the European Parliament.

“Poland is ferociously going after LGBT people,” Mr. Knight said. When governments like Canada don’t proactively raise the issue, he said “it can send the signal that Poland is getting away with it.”

In the meantime, Canada’s Official Opposition Leader declined to say Friday whether he will march in any Pride parades this summer. At a Friday press conference, Mr. Poilievre condemned a harsh new anti-gay law with death-penalty provisions in Uganda and pledged to uphold LGBTQ rights in Canada and ensure “freedom from bigotry and bashing.”

“That’s why I wish everyone Happy Pride month because our freedom is something in which all of us can take pride,” Mr. Poilievre said without answering the reporter’s question about whether he would participate in a Pride parade.

His office did not respond to The Globe’s subsequent requests to clarify whether he will march in a Pride parade.

Spokespeople for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Mr. Trudeau said the two would take part in Pride events.

With a report from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press.