Competing protests sprouted up in cities and communities across Canada on Wednesday, as opposing groups loudly clashed on how schools address issues of gender identity and how teachers refer to transgender youth.
Another arrest was reported in Vancouver — where more than 1,000 people were present between the protests and counter-protests on Wednesday — but police did not immediately provide further details.
Some parents and socially conservative groups are protesting LGBTQ-inclusive education policies in the classroom and in extracurricular settings under the banner of parental rights. Critics and researchers say the term “parental rights” is a misnomer because it doesn’t address the concerns of LGBTQ parents or parents of LGBTQ children.
Policies emerging across the country, including in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, that require young people to get parental consent before teachers can use their preferred first names and pronouns are at the heart of these protests. Those opposed to parental consent rules say the policies are a violation of children’s rights and that transgender youth should not be outed to their parents by teachers.
Protesters, counter-protesters line Wellington Street over LGBTQ rights in schools
Hundreds demonstrated in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa Wednesday morning, one of several similar events across the country.
In Ottawa, thousands of people faced off in front of Parliament Hill and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh led a group of counter-protesters down Wellington Street. The street was closed in both directions between Elgin and Bank streets as over 1,000 people gathered for demonstrations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his support for LGBTQ people across Canada, via a statement on X, the former Twitter.
“We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations,” wrote Trudeau, who was in New York to speak at the UN Climate Ambition Summit.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe posted on X an expression of support for LGBTQ children, saying the protests “will only cause harm to youth who are looking for our support and acceptance.”
‘We need to talk to people’
In downtown Montreal, activist Celeste Trianon helped lead a counter-protest outside the offices of Quebec Premier François Legault.
Demonstrators from pro-SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) protests grab an anti-SOGI protester near his family in Vancouver on Wednesday. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
“Trans people — they exist in society and they deserve inclusion, just like everyone else,” Trianon said.
“We need to talk to people, teach them the right vocabulary, the proper words, at an age-appropriate time, in order to explain that inclusion is a good thing. We need to make sure that their trans and queer peers at school feel welcome.”
In the Ontario cities of Ottawa, Toronto and its surrounding areas, Kitchener and Guelph, local school boards issued statements expressing support for LGBTQ students, staff and families.
Protesters share why they’re participating in demonstrations over gender curriculum, sexual identity in schools
Protests and counter-protests took place across Canada Wednesday over elements of sexual education curriculums, including teaching about gender identity. CBC spoke to two demonstrators at Toronto’s Queen’s Park about why they got involved.
“We do not tell students who they should be, but welcome them as they are,” school officials with the Toronto District School Board said in a statement issued Tuesday.
In Hamilton, protesters marched from a local mall toward the headquarters of the local school board. Several hundred people, a total including both those involved in the protest and counter-protest, were present, according to CBC Hamilton.
The exterior of another school board in London, Ont., was a site where hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters appeared Wednesday. The Thames Valley District School Board said the events amounted to “a challenging and painful day for many, especially the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Thames Valley and across the nation.”
The board also said it did not support “the harmful rhetoric and threats of violence used by some demonstrators.”
In Calgary, police said more than 1,000 people were involved in protests and a fraction of that in related counter-protests, occurring Wednesday. In Edmonton, police estimated that 1,200 people were involved in local protests and counter-protests in the provincial capital.
In Yukon, dozens of protesters and several hundred counter-protesters stood on opposite sides of a street from one another in downtown Whitehorse on Wednesday.
Protesters face off on either side of the road in Edmonton, one supporting LGBTQ education in schools and the other against it. (Travis McEwan/CBC)
Heated arguments, locked doors
In St. John’s, Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook, N.L., protesters gathered at government buildings and parking lots. These gatherings saw tears and heated back-and-forth arguments.
The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District advised teachers and employees not to engage with any protesters present on school property and to keep school doors locked.
On Prince Edward Island, protesters gathered in downtown Charlottetown, where counter-protesters also made their presence known. A CBC News crew reported seeing a handful of skirmishes during the day’s events — including an occasion in which a person was knocked to the ground, before being surrounded by a protective cordon of people holding and wearing rainbow symbols.
Aside from the scenes in Victoria and Vancouver on Wednesday, British Columbia also saw protests and counter-protests in Kamloops and Kelowna, where hundreds of people from both sides met outside the courthouse and city hall, respectively, carrying signs and shouting slogans. Protests also occurred in Prince George and Surrey, B.C.
The province does not have a specific sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum in schools but students in B.C. learn about human rights, respecting diversity and responding to discrimination.
B.C. human rights commissioner Kasari Govender issued a statement Tuesday saying she’s “disturbed by news of hate-fuelled marches” and said erasing trans people from school curricula amounts to hate.
Protesters march down Elgin Street in Ottawa as they demonstrate against sexual orientation and gender identity programs in schools on Wednesday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
John Rustad, the leader of the Conservative Party of B.C., issued a statement Wednesday in support of the rallies against “gender ideology” in schools, stating he would end the inclusion of SOGI materials in classrooms if elected.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim issued a statement Wednesday morning expressing solidarity with the LGBTQ community and condemning discrimination.
“Today, we are being confronted by ignorance and bigotry, and we must always call it out and stand with those who are impacted. We can never allow ourselves to let hate win the day,” Sim said.
“So, to all 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, know this: we see you and we value you.”
Protesters and counter-protesters are shown outside city hall in Halifax. (Robert Short/CBC)
In Fredericton, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs — whose government helped spark the national debate about gender policies in schools — told reporters Wednesday that parents must be informed if their children are questioning their gender identity.
Alex Harris, a transgender student and advocate in Riverview, N.B., said the protests and discourse is creating a scary and dangerous situation for queer students.
“I have had more slurs yelled at me in the hallway since I have gone back to school this September than I ever have previously, and I have been out at school as part of the LGBTQ community for probably five years now,” Harris said.
While Harris’s own parents have been supportive after he came out as trans, he knows several students who are scared to do the same and some would be “at risk of physical abuse … or they would be kicked out [of their home] if they came out to their parents.”
Protesters and counter-protesters are shown in Charlottetown. (Alex McIsaac/CBC)
HAIDA GWAII, BRITISH COLUMBIA – The northern British Columbia coast was rattled by two earthquakes below the ocean floor on Sunday.
Natural Resources Canada said the first quake hit at 3:20 p.m. and measured 6, while the second came about an hour later and measured 4.5.
It says no damage was reported and none would be expected.
The U.S. Geological Survey set the magnitude of the quake at 6.5, and says it was centred at about the midway point between Haida Gwaii and Port McNeill on the northern end of Vancouver Island.
The American Tsunami warning centre said no tsunami was expected to be generated.
Ben Wilson, the food and beverage manager at the Willows Golf Course in Sandspit, B.C., says he was home on his break when he felt the ground shake, long enough to know what it was, but not long enough to concern him.
“This one was definitely more noticeable than some, but not by any means, the biggest one I’ve ever felt here.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre signaled the Liberals’ carbon price and the economy will remain his prime target when Parliament resumes this week.
He painted a dystopian picture during a Sunday morning speech to his caucus, saying the Liberal government’s plans to increase the price would cause a “nuclear winter” for the economy.
“There would be mass hunger and malnutrition with a tax this high … our seniors would have to turn the heat down to 14 or 13 C just to make it through the winter,” Poilievre said.
“Inflation would run rampant and people would not be able to leave their homes or drive anywhere.”
The Conservatives are the last of the major parties to have a fall strategy session after the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois all met last week.
Poilievre has maintained his party’s commanding lead in the polls throughout the summer, and is preparing to make another push to topple the Liberal government as early as this week.
All parties are adjusting their autumn plans after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended the agreement that was ensuring Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government would stay in power.
Poilievre has promised to bring in notice of a non-confidence motion at his first opportunity, and that could happen as early as this week. The Tories would likely need the support of both the NDP and the Bloc to pass the motion, which appears unlikely.
Last week, Singh criticized both the Liberals and the Conservatives over their approaches to fighting climate change, but wouldn’t say whether he would keep the consumer carbon price if his party forms government after the next election.
Trudeau responded by accusing Singh of caving to political pressure from Poilievre.
Poilievre has not been fully clear on whether he would cancel both the consumer carbon levy, charged to individuals and smaller businesses, as well as the separate system that applies to big industry.
In his speech Sunday, Poilievre took shots at both Trudeau and Singh. “This crazy carbon tax obsession of Justin Trudeau and the NDP is an existential threat to our economy and our way of life,” he said.
Poilievre said despite the NDP pulling out of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals, Singh isn’t committing to voting to bring down the government and trigger an election.
“Now on the eve of a byelection, sellout Jagmeet Singh wants you to believe he’s a changed man. He’s a totally new person. He’s forgotten about everything he’s been doing for two years.”
As Parliament resumes on Monday, the political mood of the country will be tested in two byelections.
The NDP are trying to fend off the Conservatives in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona and the Liberals are running a three-way race against the NDP and the Bloc in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun.
In a June byelection, the Conservatives scored a surprise win in the longtime Liberal stronghold of Toronto—St. Paul’s.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
WINNIPEG – Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore.
Estonia, Finland, Japan and even Fenwick, Ont., have pins representing places outside Winnipeg where someone has ordered a page-turner from the independent bookstore that specializes in mystery and crime fiction novels.
For 30 years, the store has been offering fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes a place to get lost in whodunits both old and new.
Jack and Wendy Bumsted bought the shop in the Crescentwood neighbourhood in 2007 from another pair of mystery lovers.
The married couple had been longtime customers of the store. Wendy Bumsted grew up reading Perry Mason novels while her husband was a historian with vast knowledge of the crime fiction genre.
At the time, Jack Bumsted was retiring from teaching at the University of Manitoba when he was looking for his next venture.
“The bookstore came up and we bought it, I think, within a week,” Wendy Bumsted said in an interview.
“It never didn’t seem like a good idea.”
In the years since the Bumsteds took ownership, the family has witnessed the decline in mail-order books, the introduction of online retailers, a relocation to a new space next to the original, a pandemic and the death of beloved co-owner Jack Bumsted in 2020.
But with all the changes that come with owning a small business, customers continue to trust their next mystery fix will come from one of the shelves at Whodunit.
Many still request to be called about books from specific authors, or want to be notified if a new book follows their favourite format. Some arrive at the shop like clockwork each week hoping to get suggestions from Wendy Bumsted or her son on the next big hit.
“She has really excellent instincts on what we should be getting and what we should be promoting,” Micheal Bumsted said of his mother.
Wendy Bumsted suggested the store stock “Thursday Murder Club,” the debut novel from British television host Richard Osman, before it became a bestseller. They ordered more copies than other bookstores in Canada knowing it had the potential to be a hit, said Michael Bumsted.
The store houses more than 18,000 new and used novels. That’s not including the boxes of books that sit in Wendy Bumsted’s tiny office, or the packages that take up space on some of the only available seating there, waiting to be added to the inventory.
Just as the genre has evolved, so has the Bumsteds’ willingness to welcome other subjects on their shelves — despite some pushback from loyal customers and initially the Bumsted patriarch.
For years, Jack Bumsted refused to sell anything outside the crime fiction genre, including his own published books. Instead, he would send potential buyers to another store, but would offer to sign the books if they came back with them.
Wendy Bumsted said that eventually changed in his later years.
Now, about 15 per cent of the store’s stock is of other genres, such as romance or children’s books.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to look at expanding their selection, as some customers turned to buying books through the store’s website, which is set up to allow purchasers to get anything from the publishers the Bumsteds have contracts with.
In 2019, the store sold fewer than 100 books online. That number jumped to more than 3,000 in 2020, as retailers had to deal with pandemic lockdowns.
After years of running a successful mail-order business, the store was able to quickly adapt when it had to temporarily shut its doors, said Michael Bumsted.
“We were not a store…that had to figure out how to get books to people when they weren’t here.”
He added being a community bookstore with a niche has helped the family stay in business when other retailers have struggled. Part of that has included building lasting relationships.
“Some people have put it in their wills that their books will come to us,” said Wendy Bumsted.
Some of those collections have included tips on traveling through Asia in the early 2000s or the history of Australian cricket.
Micheal Bumsted said they’ve had to learn to be patient with selling some of these more obscure titles, but eventually the time comes for them to find a new home.
“One of the great things about physical books is that they can be there for you when you are ready for them.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 15, 2024.
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