By Canadian Press

Gay Liberal MP calls on O’Toole to disavow Tory MP’s remark suggesting he’s ‘unclean’

Apr 16, 2021 | 3:53 PM

OTTAWA — A gay Liberal MP is calling on Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole to disavow a remark by a Tory MP that appeared to suggest he and other LGBT people are “unclean.”

The exchange between Liberal MP Rob Oliphant and Conservative MP Tamara Jansen came during final debate today on a bill that would ban the discredited practice of conversion therapy.

Rob Oliphant, a United Church minister, kicked off the debate with a highly personal speech, arguing that objections to the bill are rooted in the belief that “God made a mistake” when he created people like him and that they should change who they are.

Jansen responded with a quote of her own from scripture, saying teachers of the law “look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”

Oliphant retorted that people like him are not unclean and that it’s “deeply offensive to play Bible baseball” with the issue, and he’s demanding that O’Toole disavow Jansen’s comment.

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Jansen and the Conservatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2021.

The Canadian Press