Over the past several decades, Canada has made considerable progress in recognizing the rights of the LGBTQ2+ community. Thanks to the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and many other pieces of legislation, the systemic discrimination previously experienced by this segment of Canadian society has diminished. The Senate of Canada, which ensures that bills forwarded to it from the House of Commons respect the rights of minorities, has played an important role in this regard. Indeed, the Senate recently reaffirmed and strengthened these rights during its debates on both Bill C-16, which prohibits discrimination against transgender people, and Bill C-66, which establishes a procedure to expunge certain historically-unjust convictions of members of the LGBTQ2+ community.
