Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Canada's Justin Trudeau spoke at the 49th annual G7 summit, which ran from May 19th to 21st, and saw leaders from the G7 member states – the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Japan – come together to coordinate global policy. Held in Hiroshima, Japan, it provided an opportunity for Trudeau to hold the Italian government to account for its anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislative direction. British prime minister Rishi Sunak was also urged to use the G7 summit to champion LGBTQ+ equality and advocate for same-sex marriage. Host country Japan is the only member of the G7 that currently doesn’t recognize equal unions. At a bilateral meeting on May 18, Trudeau told Meloni that Canada is “concerned” about Italy’s position on LGBTQ+ rights.
A summary of Trudeau and Meloni’s meeting, provided by Canada’s prime ministerial office, states that the leaders exchanged views on the importance of protecting and defending human rights, including the rights of LGBTQ+ people and PM Meloni responded by saying her government is following court decisions. However, before leaving Japan, Meloni spoke to reporters about Trudeau holding her to account on LGBTQ+ rights and accused him of being the victim of fake news. Meloni said that Trudeau was a bit rash in his comments. #Queer Up The World View