Over the last week, thousands of people have joined protests over LGBTQ policies in Canada. The first protests to emerge were tied to the ‘1 Million March 4 Children’ whose motto is to protect kids from ‘indoctrination and sexualization.’ Other protest groups have emerged to counter them. Consequently, competing protests have developed across Canada. A difference of opinion exists between opposing groups concerning the way transgender youth and identity issues should be discussed in schools. At the core of these protests are policies, arising across Canada, that require students to get parental consent before teachers can use their preferred names and pronouns. Those who are opposed to parental consent rules claim that the policies violate children’s rights and believe teachers should not ‘out’ students to their parents. A number of parents and social conservative groups claim parental rights to protest LGBTQ-inclusive education policies in school settings. However, an argument can be made that the usage of the term “parental rights” is inaccurate since it doesn’t address the concerns of LGBTQ parents or parents of LGBTQ children.
British Columbia was one of the many areas that saw protests and counter-protests. B.C. (a province in Canada) school curriculums do not include materials centered on gender and sexual orientation, but they do teach their students about human rights, diversity, and discrimination. B.C.’s human rights commissioner, Kasari Govende, said she is disturbed by hate-filled marches and that erasing trans people from the school curriculum amounts to hate. B.C. Conservative Party leader John Rustad expressed support for the protests against gender ideology in schools, declaring that if elected, he would end the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum in schools. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim gave a statement conveying solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
“Today, we are being confronted by ignorance and bigotry, and we must always call it out and stand with those who are impacted. We can never allow ourselves to let hate win the day.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/rallies-gender-schools-1.6972606