A Canadian lawmaker is facing widespread reaction after using an extended acronym during a live press conference while criticizing federal budget cuts affecting Indigenous programs.

Leah Gazan, 53, a member of Canada’s Parliament, drew attention after referencing the acronym MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ while speaking about funding reductions tied to Indigenous services.

The moment was captured in footage shared by Juno News.

Gazan was addressing reported cuts totaling $7 billion between two federal agencies, Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations.

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During her remarks, she said, “When the Budget was released, I was shocked to find out that Prime Minister Carney is cutting $7 billion between Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations.”

She continued, “They provided $0 to deal with the ongoing genocide of MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+.”

Gazan added, “This is abhorrent. This is callous.”

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The acronym referenced in her remarks stands for “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual,” with the plus sign indicating additional identities not explicitly listed.

The term has been used in Canada to describe and bring attention to cases involving violence against Indigenous women, girls, and other groups.

Following the press conference, Gazan addressed the issue again on X, where she uses the handle “Leah ProudLakota (she/her).”

In her post, she used a shorter version of the acronym, “2SLGBTQQIA+,” which is more commonly referenced in Canadian government communications.

Gazan limited replies to her post, a move that came as social media users began reacting to the original footage and her use of the longer acronym.

Some users responded critically. One wrote, “She is so serious and has zero self-awareness of how ridiculous she sounds.”

Another added, “New super strong password just dropped.”

A third user commented, “So, if I understand this correctly, straight people are now included as long as they’ve been murdered?”

The online reaction follows previous controversies involving Gazan.

In 2022, she faced criticism for a post on X in which she claimed that U.S. aid being sent to Ukraine was being directed to “antisemitic, neo-Nazi & fascist militia.”

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress called for a retraction and apology. According to reports, Gazan did not issue one.

The use of long acronyms to reference gender and identity groups has surfaced in Canada before.

In 2017, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario circulated a flyer promoting an inclusiveness training session that used the acronym “LGGBDTTTIQQAAPP.”

That acronym stands for “lesbian, gay, genderqueer, bisexual, demisexual, transgender, transsexual, twospirit, intersex, queer, questioning, asexual, allies, pansexual, polyamorous.”

Efforts to reach Gazan for further comment were made, but no response was immediately received.

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