As Jamaica faces the threat of a boycott, brandished by Eagle Canada, a human rights association, Prime Minister Bruce Golding (of the Jamaica Labour Party) reaffirmed on 23 April the government's position on homophobia.
The Canadian pressure group had issued an ultimatum for 12 May to the Jamaican government, asking it to set up an official campaign denouncing homophobia and demanding the repeal of the laws that prohibit sexual relations between people of the same sex. Otherwise, the association pledged to call for a boycott not only of the island's tourist industry, but also of all the goods and services it produces.
Despite the concerns of economic players, Bruce Golding stood firm, refusing even the idea of a revision of Jamaican morality law, the "Jamaican offences against the person Act" dating from 1864. "There is a path down which I will not allow this country to go during my term of office," he declared. The Prime Minister also made known his opposition to same-sex unions, recalling the sacred and heterosexual nature of marriage in the eyes of the law.