THUNDER BAY — For the second time in recent weeks, a group opposing sexual orientation and gender identity in schools was met with a counter-protest standing up for the LGBTQ+ and gender diverse community.
The two opposing rallies were held on the sidewalks in front of Arthur Street Marketplace on Saturday afternoon, which was also the site of contentious competing demonstrations in May following disputes over gym change-room policies.
The protest, held to mark the one month since the cross-Canada “1MillionMarch4Children” event was held outside Thunder Bay city hall in September, was part of the “Hands Off Our Kids” movement, which says it opposes governments and school systems distributing sexually explicit content and gender ideology in classrooms.
About two dozen people were present, with multiple participants declining interview requests. Some suggested that the signs they were holding were self-explanatory and spoke to the purpose of the event.
Those signs displayed messages such as “parents rights let kids be kids,” “protect the innocence of children,” and “leave our kids alone.”
One participant provided a document that was an non-consent form for "gender ideology training" in schools, while another provided a separate document that described the protesting as being against “the sexualizing of children in schools.”
A counter-protest organized by Thunder Pride, the Rainbow Collective of Thunder Bay, and the Loud Women Collective branded as “No Space 4 Hate” drew a crowd of supporters that more than doubled the other demonstrators.
Thunder Bay-Superior North NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois, who attended the demonstrations with the counter-protesters, said she is deeply concerned about misinformation, and added that she would like to reach out to parents and have conversations.
“We have to appreciate the sex education curriculum that we have in schools was approved by the Conservative government. There’s nothing shocking in it. There’s no such thing as gender ideology or indoctrination or whatever it is that’s being passed around,” Vaugeois said.
“It’s being used to inflame people and create divisions in our society.”
Vaugeois said those divisions will end up hurting everyone.
“I suspect we have more in common with the parents who are protesting against, effectively, sex education in school, than they realize and perhaps we realize. I don’t know,” Vaugeois said. “I hope things are not so far gone that we cannot talk to each other and try to dispel the misinformation that’s there.”
At least two plainclothes city police officers were present. The aftermath of the gym changeroom rallies led to the Thunder Bay Police Service announcing in June that they were investigating possible threats related to those demonstrations.
Jason Veltri, the president of the Rainbow Collective, said the counter-protesters are not going to back down.
“We’re going to continue to use our voice, that we’re not going back into the closet when folks on the other side want us to disappear. They don’t believe trans people exist. They believe there’s indoctrination in schools, which is patently false,” he said.
“We’re going to be here every step of the way — as many protests as it takes — to make sure that our voices are heard and that we build an inclusive and welcoming community for all and that includes transgender, non-binary, gender diverse and queer people in this community.”
Vaugeois said she recognizes how much it means for young people to have someone in a leadership position standing by their side.
“It is important for me as an MPP to be here and to show that support. I know I could have used it myself as a young person,” Vaugeois said.
“There are too many young people who contemplate suicide and that shouldn’t be happening. I want it to be very clear that I’m here to stand with them. They can figure out who they are, who they want to be, without it being turned into a political nightmare.”
Veltri called the protest damaging and dangerous.
“I’m especially concerned for our trans and non-binary youth who are maybe not even aware of their identity yet and who are seeing the hate rising across Canada to levels that are unprecedented,” he said. “We’re fearful that they’re going to take their own lives. This is a real conversation that we’re having now.”
Vaugeois also spoke to the purpose of the sex education curriculum.
“It’s about the well-being of young people — and that’s what sex education is intended to do in school — to help young people understand what consent means, what it looks like, how to protect themselves from harm, from diseases,” Vaugeois said.
“Just because you learn sex education, also doesn’t mean you’re going to be sexually active. It just means you have the information you need to protect yourself and figure out who you want to be.”
