Calgary LGBTQ2 advocates call for boycott of theatre for hosting parental rights town hall
Global News
The event, named "Let Kids Be Kids Town Hall", is organized by the Calgary-Lougheed United Conservative Party Constituency Association.
LGBTQ2 advocates are calling for a boycott of Canyon Meadows Cinemas in southeast Calgary in response to a parental rights town hall scheduled for Tuesday evening.
The event, named “Let Kids Be Kids Town Hall”, is organized by the Calgary-Lougheed United Conservative Party Constituency Association. According to the event’s Eventbrite page, the town hall is an opportunity for community members to discuss the Alberta government’s proposed parental rights policy.
The policy was announced by Premier Danielle Smith in a video posted on social media on Jan. 31 and will require schools to notify and gain parental consent if their child aged 15 or under changes their name and pronouns in school. Smith said parents of children aged 16 and 17 will not need to consent to the changes but will need to be notified.
The policy will also ban gender-affirmation surgery for Albertans under the age of 18, as well as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for those aged 15 and under unless they already started treatment.
Smith said on multiple occasions the policy aims to prevent youth from making “permanent” decisions about their bodies, citing concerns of infertility in adulthood. She also pointed to decisions made by England’s National Health Service and Nordic countries to double down on her government’s decision.
In an emailed statement to Global News, Calgary-Lougheed United Conservative Party Constituency Association president Darrell Komick said the town hall was created to have an “open dialogue with people who share a variety of views and perspectives.”
“We recently hosted an event with a transgender speaker,” Komick’s statement read. “These kinds of open debates are good for democracy.”
Victoria Bucholtz, a professor at Mount Royal University, said they’re concerned the constituency association is emboldening transphobia throughout the province. They said the association is setting a dangerous precedent by hosting this event.
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