Thousands gather in GTA for protests over gender curriculum, sexual identity in schools

Protests and counter-protests framed around gender and sexual education in schools are taking place across the Greater Toronto Area Wednesday, and many more are planned across the country.  

The initial protests were organized under the banner of the "1 Million March for Children," with the group's website saying its intent is to "protect our children from indoctrination and sexualization."

Counter-protests were organized in response, with groups meeting at places like Queen's Park, where thousands gathered. Mom and former educator Jane Agosta told CBC News that she came out in support of her child, who is currently transitioning. She said she wanted to speak out against the "inflammatory messaging" of the provincial government, spurred on after Premier Doug Ford said at an event earlier this month that teachers were "indoctrinating" kids.

"We spend a lot of time just keeping children safe and loved and accepting of themselves — and to insinuate that we might actually be spending time indoctrinating them is absolutely ridiculous," she said.

"We just want our children to be safe, loved, [and] cared for."

Demonstrator Nathan McMillan, meanwhile, said he was at Queen's Park to "support children and the importance to maintain their innocence," while citing concerns around gender curriculum and age-inappropriate books.

"There's a lot of political rhetoric going on right now about what's going on in our schools," he said. "I think it's important that we keep kids out of these important discussions that really are between parents and their children. Teachers and institutions, unions, big money, they shouldn't be having these types of conversations with kids in such an overt fashion."

In separate statements issued before the protests, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Peel District School Board (PDSB), Durham District School Board (DDSB) and Halton District School Board (HDSB) all said they support the LGBTQ community.

"We support everyone's human rights and expression of gender," reads a statement from the TDSB, signed by Director of Education Colleen Russell-Rawlins, alongside four associate directors.

"Harassment, discrimination and hate have no place in TDSB. In our schools, we do not tell students who they should be, but welcome them as they are."

In Peel, officials wanted to "make it unequivocally clear that PDSB stands with our Two Spirit and LGBTQIA+ students, staff and families, and we support everyone's human rights and expression of gender."

An estimated 2,000 protesters and 30 counter-protesters gathered at Mississauga City Hall Wednesday morning, where chants of "leave our kids alone" rang out in the crowd.

Mother Lubna Alhares told CBC News that the crowd of amassed protesters "will be a start for all parents who don't approve [of] this kind of ideology indoctrinated in our kid's minds.

"We are not minority against minority. We are against ideology for kids," she said.