Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cried out Italian the government’s attitude towards LGBTQ rights during a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni at The G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japanese.
“Obviously, Canada is concerned about some of the (positions) that Italy is taking on LGBT rights,” Trudeau told Meloni at the start of the meeting.
“But I look forward to talking to you about it.”
The comments were made at the beginning of the meeting, before the media were ushered out of the room.
In March, gay rights activists condemned as homophobic moves by Meloni’s far-right-led government to limit the recognition of parental rights to the biological parent only in same-sex parent families.
In a move that would affect hundreds of families, the government told the city of Milan to stop automatically registering both parents of same-sex couples in city registries.
It was the last major city to continue the practice briefly adopted in Rome, Turin, Naples and elsewhere after Italy’s top court in 2016 made it easier for homosexuals to adopt a partner’s biological child.
A readout of the meeting released by the prime minister’s office said the leaders “exchanged views on the importance of protecting and defending human rights, including the rights of 2SLGBTQI+ people.”
“Prime Minister Meloni responded that her government is following court orders and not deviating from previous administrations,” the summary said.
Trudeau met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida earlier in the morning, where both leaders discussed increased cooperation among the G7 countries to promote peace and economic prosperity.
The G7 summit takes place between Friday and Sunday.
The summit is expected to focus on geopolitical and economic threats from Russia and China.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
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