Ahead of World Refugee Day, coalition urges the Carney Government to strengthen protections for queer and trans refugees
Coalition of refugee advocates, service providers, and community leaders warns that recent policy changes could undermine access to asylum, healthcare, and settlement support for LGBTQI + refugees
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ahead of World Refugee Day, The 519 and Rainbow Railroad, alongside a coalition of community partners, are launching Defend Refugees, a new advocacy campaign urging Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government to strengthen protections for refugees and asylum seekers; in particular, queer and trans people fleeing persecution.
Defend Refugees launches on June 19, the eve of World Refugee Day, with the publication of an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney. The letter urges the federal government to address the impacts of Bill C-12; protect access to refugee healthcare; strengthen settlement supports; and ensure that Canada's refugee protection system remains fair, accessible, and responsive to the realities faced by LGBTQI+ refugees. The letter is enclosed below.
"Canada has long maintained a reputation as a defender of human rights and refugee protection on the international stage," said Latoya Nugent, Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer at Rainbow Railroad. "At a time when anti-LGBTQI+ persecution is rising globally and more people are being forced to flee because of who they are, Canada should be stepping up and strengthening protections - not weakening them."
Around the world, queer and trans people continue to face criminalization, violence, state-sponsored persecution, family rejection, and displacement. For many, seeking refuge is a matter of survival.
The Defend Refugees campaign argues that refugee protection extends beyond the right to seek asylum. Meaningful protection requires access to healthcare, housing, legal support, settlement services, and community support that enables people to rebuild their lives with dignity and safety. The open letter raises concerns about recent and proposed changes impacting these areas of protection for refugees, as well as ongoing pressures on organizations providing settlement and support services.
"Refugee protection is not a symbolic value - it is a responsibility," said Karlene Williams-Clarke, Project Director, Community Organizing at The 519. “Queer and trans refugees are part of our communities. Their safety and dignity must remain a priority."
The campaign is anchored by DefendRefugees.org, which serves as a platform for individuals and organizations to access campaign resources and support advocacy efforts aimed at strengthening refugee protections in Canada.
The launch of Defend Refugees coincides with a broader Pride season mobilization through The 519's Army of Lovers advocacy platform, including community-led visibility actions, public engagement activities, and the distribution of campaign materials carrying the message: Defend Refugees.
Community members are invited to The 519 this Friday, June 19, from 2 to 5 p.m. for PRINT. MARCH. DEFEND., a community silk screening and Pride prep pop-up in support of the Defend Refugees campaign.
Interview Availability
- Karlene-Williams Clarke, Project Director, Community Organizing, The 519
- Latoya Nugent, Chief Communications and Advocacy Officer, Rainbow Railroad
About Defend Refugees
Defend Refugees is a joint initiative of The 519 and Rainbow Railroad, supported by community partners, advocates, and individuals committed to protecting the rights, safety, and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers. The campaign seeks to strengthen public support for refugee protection and advance policies that ensure refugees - including queer and trans refugees - can access safety, healthcare, housing, and the support they need to thrive.
About The 519
The 519 is Canada’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ community centre. Since 1976, we have served hundreds of thousands of 2SLGBTQ+ people and the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood. The 519 is committed to the health, happiness and full participation of the 2SLGBTQ+ communities. A City of Toronto agency with an innovative model of Service, Space and Leadership, we strive to make a real difference in people’s lives, while working to advance equity, justice and community strength.
About Rainbow Railroad
Rainbow Railroad is an international human rights organization that creates pathways to safety for at-risk LGBTQI+ people and strengthens policies and systems that support their protection and integration. We are one of few organizations that work as direct service providers, advocates, thought leaders, and movement strategists to address global queer forced displacement. Our mission is guided by a commitment to becoming a refugee-led organization that centres the experiences, leadership, and authority of LGBTQI+ refugees.
DEFEND REFUGEES: An Open Letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney
The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister Carney,
This letter comes from Defend Refugees, a coalition of queer and trans refugees, advocates, frontline organizations, and community partners convened by The 519 and Rainbow Railroad.
At Davos, you spoke about a world in rupture. You said that Canada must stop pretending, name reality, build strength at home, and act with both principle and pragmatism.
As queer and trans refugees, advocates, and allies, we agree. So let us name the reality facing our community right now.
Around the world, over 60 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy, and many more punish queer and trans people through violence, public humiliation, forced conversion, and social exclusion. This is the global context many of us are fleeing.
We know what it means to flee home because of who we are and who we love.
We know what it means to arrive in Canada hoping to find safety and belonging, only to face another system that is becoming harder to navigate, harder to trust, and harder to survive.
Many of us have survived years of hiding, sexual violence, police brutality, torture, or threats from our own families and communities.
We come to Canada because survival leaves us no choice.
When Canada signed the Refugee Convention, it made a global promise to protect people fleeing persecution. But for queer and trans refugees, that promise is becoming harder to believe when new barriers are added to an asylum system that already asks us to explain persecution that is intimate, traumatic, and often shaped by years of hiding and shame.
The passing of Bill C-12, cuts to refugee healthcare, housing instability, delayed work permits, and rising anti-refugee rhetoric are not just abstract policy issues. They shape whether queer and trans refugees can disclose who we are, access care, avoid exploitation, and rebuild our lives without being forced back into hiding.
When refugee healthcare is cut, post-trauma counselling, HIV care, gender-affirming care, and other forms of critical support are pushed out of reach.
When we are priced out of the housing market, we end up in shelters that are unsafe.
When work permits are delayed, we are pushed into poverty, exploitative work, or dependence on unsafe relationships for housing, food, or protection.
When public leaders treat refugees as a burden, misinformation spreads, fear deepens, and people are dehumanized.
On the frontlines, we are seeing the consequences already. Your government’s decisions are pushing us deeper into crisis and leaving frontline services and community organizations to respond to preventable harm.
Prime Minister, you have said that Canada must be principled and pragmatic. These government decisions are neither. They create more crises, more cost, more disorder, and more harm for people Canada has promised to protect.
There is nothing principled about weakening protection for people fleeing anti-queer and anti-trans violence.
There is nothing pragmatic about cutting preventive healthcare and pushing people into overcrowded emergency rooms.
There is nothing efficient about making queer and trans refugees sicker, poorer, more isolated, and less able to rebuild our lives.
There is nothing strong about a country managing political pressure by pushing harm onto people with the least power to absorb it.
When you raised the Pride flag on Parliament Hill, you signaled that Canada’s commitment to queer and trans safety is not seasonal. But symbols carry responsibility. A flag raised in June must be matched by decisions that protect queer and trans people, including refugees, when our safety and dignity are under threat.
We urge your government to take three immediate actions:
- Protect queer and trans refugees in Bill C-12 regulations. Bill C-12 will hit queer and trans refugees differently, because our claims often involve delayed disclosure, persecution that is hidden from public view, and evidence that can be dangerous to gather. Do not let new timelines unfairly deny protection to people fleeing anti-queer and anti-trans persecution.
- Restore refugee healthcare and reverse IFHP cuts and co-payments that put this care out of reach. Healthcare cuts disproportionately impact queer and trans refugees because we often need trauma counselling, HIV treatment, gender-affirming care, and sexual health support to recover and rebuild.
- Fund safer shelter and housing access for queer and trans refugees. For queer and trans refugees, safety is not guaranteed in shelters, housing, or other frontline services. In the next federal budget cycle, protect and expand federal housing and shelter funding so municipalities and community organizations can prevent displacement and provide safer options.
Prime Minister, the decisions you make now will demonstrate whether Canada’s values can survive contact with political pressure.
We urge your government to meet this moment with courage, clarity, and principled action.
Sincerely,
Defend Refugees
Timothy Chan Rainbow Railroad (647) 501-8963 media@rainbowrailroad.org Emma Reid The 519 (416) 991-1870 media@the519.org
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