Cross-country rallies against 'gender ideology' in schools met with counter-protests
CTV
Thousands of people gathered in cities across Canada on Wednesday for competing protests, screaming and chanting at each other about school policies on gender identity.
Thousands of people gathered in cities across Canada on Wednesday for competing protests, screaming and chanting at each other about school policies on gender identity.
Separated by lines of police officers, the protests and counter-protests are linked to school policies, including in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, that require young people to get parental consent before teachers can use their preferred first names and pronouns.
Posters created by a group called "1MillionMarch4Children" say rally participants are standing together against what they call "gender ideology" in the nation's schools. They say that schools are exposing their children to inappropriate content about sexuality and gender identity, and they support the policies requiring parental consent.
But the rallies are being met with counter-protesters who say those policies are a violation of children's rights and that transgender youth should not be outed to their parents by teachers.
"We're not asking people to be converted or change who they are. We're asking people to have the opportunity to show up as they are -- that's all," said Olivier Hebert, who was outside the New Brunswick legislature, in Fredericton, to support LGBTQ+ students.
It was New Brunswick's government that helped spark the debate across Canada when it changed the province's gender policy in June, requiring transgender and nonbinary students under 16 to get parental consent before their teachers can use their preferred first names.
Premier Blaine Higgs attended the protest outside the legislature, telling reporters that he has a hard time understanding why his government's policy is controversial.
With the number of homeless people in Saskatoon at an unprecedented high, it’s no surprise people are looking for places to warm up.
The next chapter of the Lemay Forest saga has unfolded as the sounds of trees coming down could be heard Monday.
The stormy weather in the forecast for B.C.'s South Coast is already disrupting many Christmas Day travel plans.
A break in, theft, and continued property damage has led to the boarding up of the Palace Theatre over the Christmas holidays.
Police in Nova Scotia are investigating after two deaths in Truro, N.S., over the weekend have been ruled homicides.
Calgary police shut down Glenmore Trail overnight following a crash between a car and a crane truck.
Ontario's Human Rights Tribunal has awarded members of an Indigenous family in North Bay $15,000 each after it ruled they were victims of discrimination.
A heavy snowfall has guaranteed much of Quebec a white Christmas, but it has also sent cars skidding off the province's roads during the busy holiday travel period.
For many of the women attending My Sister’s Place (MSP) in London, Ont. the holidays are a difficult time.
RCMP in New Brunswick are investigating after a business in Janeville was broken into and a number of items were stolen.
Canada appears to be barrelling toward a spring election now that the NDP is vowing to vote down the government early next year -- whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stays on or not.