On November 28th, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau read a formal apology to Canada’s LGBTQ community addressing the “gay Canadians who had been fired from their jobs and the military during the cold war” (Zillman). People across the world listened and watched his speech. Justin Trudeau’s use of rhetorical devices in “I Am Sorry. We Are Sorry” outlined the history of oppression of the LGBTQ community in Canada, apologized to those oppressed, and reminded the world that “[we] are all worthy of love and deserving of respect” (Trudeau as quoted in Zillman). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined the Canadian history of oppression of the LGBTQ community using a series of rhetorical devices. He begins with a thought experiment. He describes how important and noble the choice to serve your country is; but, suddenly shifts into a darker tone: “Now imagine … being told that the very country you would willingly lay down your life to defend doesn’t want you. Doesn’t accept you. Sees you as defective. Sees you as a threat to our national security.” This statement is especially powerful because of the two sets of parallel structure. These pieces of parallel structure are parallel to one another also. They describe the way Canada viewed the LGBTQ community. Through using parallel structure, Trudeau accents each way Canada reacted and viewed them. If he had just listed the reactions and feelings towards the LGBTQ community, some of the…show more content… In his speech, he not only apologized for the oppression of LGBTQ people, he also encouraged a fostering of love and acceptance, and reminded young people that they are not alone. People around the world watched his speech and were grateful for the ending message of love and acceptance. Trudeau’s apology accepted the fact that his government was wrong, apologized, and vowed to never let it happen again. Through his speech, Trudeau finally allowed a nation to