OTTAWA—Navdeep Bains’s announcement that he will be marching in this weekend’s Toronto Pride parade for the first time comes with a confession — the federal cabinet minister admits he should have done it sooner.Bains says it took a conversation with his young daughters about discrimination and bullying to jar him into the realization that as MP for Mississauga-Malton and the minister of innovation, science and economic development, he could be doing more to advocate for equality.“I was talking to my girls and they were asking me questions about what did LBGTQ2 stand for. They were talking to me about bullying, all those challenges that still exist among young kids,” said Bains, father of Nanki, 10, and Kirpa, 7.The conversation was around the fact that people can face discrimination for many reasons that include background and sexual orientation.“I take enormous pride telling my daughters, ‘Be proud of who you are. Be proud of your culture, your religious faith, your identity,’” Bains said in an interview in his Parliament Hill office.“When they talk about what they hear and see at school, it dawned upon me that those challenges still exist today, that kids are still bullied and picked on for a variety of reasons,” he said.“They reminded me that I need to do more. I just can’t be a silent observer and watch the Pride parade. I need to actively participate.”Bains calls himself a “Charter child,” growing up in the era of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the resulting landmark court rulings that enshrined rights in this country.“For someone who wears a kirpan, someone who wears a turban, someone who practises their faith outwards and be a proud Canadian, it meant a lot,” he said.By his own admission, Bains is a latecomer to the Toronto Pride festival, which has grown into a major annual event in the city, with backing of high-profile corporate spo ...
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