Commemorative loonie marking ‘progress’ for LGTBQ2 people to be unveiled today

A new commemorative loonie will be unveiled to the Canadian public today.

The new one-dollar coin pays tribute to Parliament’s passing of legislation that “initiated the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada.”

The Royal Canadian Mint calls it a key milestone for the LGTBQ2 community, which includes lesbian, gay, transgender, queer and two-spirited people.

It will celebrate “50 years of progress of LGBTQ2 Canadians” when it’s presented in Toronto today, but there are some concerns.

Some advocates are saying that the loonie suggests equality has been achieved and largely as a result of the federal government’s actions.

As a result, a group of activists and academics will hold a press conference near the mint’s event today, which will challenge myths surrounding the 1969 Criminal Code reform.

One member of that group is Tom Hooper, a York University historian, who says the LGTBQ2 community faced continued criminalization for decades after those legal changes.

Hooper says the mint "could have consulted people who have knowledge of this history but they didn’t.”

"As a historian, I’m hoping to inform as many people as I can about our history. So in some ways the coin is opening up that opportunity.”

Discrimination against LGBTQ2 people persists today, says Hooper, while acknowledging that their campaign can’t compete with roughly three million coins but still wants there to be a public conversation about LGBTQ2 history.

Meanwhile, the mint has said it’s largely informed by the Department of Canadian Heritage and its “anniversaries of significance” when it comes to selecting themes for commemorative coins.