John Baird, Canada's foreign affairs minister, on Thursday blasted
Russia's anti-gay law.
Russia's “gay propaganda” law, signed last month by President
Vladimir Putin, prohibits the public promotion of gay rights in
venues where minors might be present, effectively shutting down Gay
Pride marches and similar demonstrations.
In an interview with The
Canadian Press, Baird said that the Canadian government had
lobbied Russian lawmakers not to enact the law.
“This mean-spirited and hateful law will affect all Russians 365
days of the year, every year,” Baird said. “It is an incitement
to intolerance, which breeds hate. And intolerance and hate breed
violence.”
He added that Canada, along with its allies, would pressure Russia
to repeal the measure.
Referring to the possibility that the law could be applied to athletes
and spectators at next year's Olympics in Sochi, Baird said that the
law “flies in the face of the entire Olympic spirit.”
(Related: Gay
rights activists dump Russian vodka outside consulate to protest new
laws.)