Counter protest to the "1MillionMarch4Children" anti-trans children protests are being organized. "Amost two-thirds of LGBTQ students don't feel safe at school, compared with 11 per cent of heterosexual students, and attempts to erase them from school curriculums are hateful."
Protests and counter-protests for and against Canada's trans and LGBTQ community are being planned across Canada on Wednesday.
Posters created by a group called "1MillionMarch4Children" say rally participants are "standing together against gender ideology in schools."
Sarah Worthman, an LGBTQ advocate who is helping organize at least 63 counter-protests across the country, said Canadians need to stand up for the community outside of Pride events.
“Allyship is a verb,” she said, as she called on supporters to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ folks who have increasingly been the subject of hate and political debate by attending the No Space for Hate events.
“There’s this small but vocal minority of far-right individuals who constantly think they’re the majority, and that everyone shares their views,” Worthman said.
She said she hopes the planned counter-protests can help show most Canadians are generally supportive, while countering hateful messaging they expect from protesters.
“Doing these small things shows there is social pushback,” she said. “There is real danger in all of this.”
British Columbia's Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, called the anti-LGBTQ marches "hate-fuelled" and said while peaceful demonstration protects democracy and generates debate, the human rights of the trans and LGBTQ community "is not up for debate."
She said in a statement Tuesday that an inquiry by her office showed almost two-thirds of LGBTQ students don't feel safe at school, compared with 11 per cent of heterosexual students, and attempts to erase them from school curriculums are hateful.
Worthman said politicians, too, “should be louder” about their support for the LGBTQ community, and against individuals who seek to further marginalize members.
Clint Johnston, the president of the BC Teachers' Federation, wrote a letter to B.C. Premier David Eby about the union's concerns about the planned protests.
He said they're part of a co-ordinated attack against the trans and LGBTQ community.
"These rallies are part of a movement across North America that uses 'parental consent' as a dog whistle for rising homophobia and transphobia. This movement is concerning and must be stopped," he said in the letter.