It’s never been an actual secret that John Baird, Canada’s current Minister for the Environment, is gay. He’s just not openly gay; he doesn’t advertise it because, well. Tory.
Anyway, the Tory candidate running in a Toronto MP by-election was asked about the Tories’ record on gay issues, and was challenged to name one openly gay Tory MP, and she named John Baird. So he’s basically been outed.
This is almost entirely meaningless, except for the life-affirming fact that gay people can now take pride that they can be stupid dipshits just like straight people. And isn’t that a wonderful thing?
Related Articles
9 users responded in this post
I would’ve thought Canadians would be too polite to out someone like that. Kind of a dick move, even if dude man is a Tory. I’m so disappointed that the world is failing to live up to my poorly thought-out stereotypes.
She may not have seen herself as outing him. This is not the 1980s when the division between out and closeted was rigid. I don’t tell people unless asked, but plenty of people figure it out, and probably don’t think of it as an issue, so in turn wouldn’t think twice if asked by someone else.
In a sense, it’s probably a reflection on how little it matters to her that she didn’t think twice about making this statement. I think tho that this should be seen as a cultural shift not an individual action.
[As I remember, it’s what happened in the incident that inspired the movie, In and Out.]
The way many gay men have been making stupid political choices lately (eg. running for office as conservatives, or voting for that dipshit Scott Brown *solely* because he’s good-looking) makes me want to turn in my gay card.
Actually CBC’s “Metro Morning” isn’t national but Toronto-only.
I wondered about him! I always thought it was kinda weird that he’s, like, Laureen Harper’s best friend. I thought they were having an affair. I should have known! Gaydar fail.
@Doomed to be Fabulous: I don’t think Baird deserves that. For one thing, “lately” doesn’t describe him: he’s been involved in conservative politics since he was at least 16, when he acted as a delegate in a leadership convention.
For another, he’s never really done anything anti-gay. He voted against reopening the gay marriage question, for instance, and he was one of those who condemned Uganda when they were trying to pass that violently anti-gay bill. In no uncertain terms, either:
“Baird: Mr. Speaker, the current legislation before Parliament in Uganda is vile. It is abhorrent. It is offensive. It offends Canadian values. It offends decency.
We strongly condemn that and the Prime Minister will make that strong condemnation as well.”
I may disagree with him on other issues, but he doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with people who voted in Scott Brown because he was hot.
My law teacher at Bell used to tell us stories of ‘Rusty’ Baird bringing in posters of some Conservative leader (Mulroney?) He’s apparently been a bit of a twat since high school, anyways.
So I can’t believe I’m the first one to point this out but…
John Baird’s not the environment minister. Jim Prentice is. Baird’s the transportation minister, and has been since November 2008.
Maybe he’s still the environment minister on Earth-X or something. I dunno.
Pretty major Canadian politics FAIL actually.