Trudeau Defends LGBTQ2S+ Rights Amid School Protests Controversy

19

Last Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau robustly defended his earlier stance taken in relation to multitudes protesting ‘gender ideology’ in schools. He clarified to the press during a housing event in Vaughan, Ontario that his sole intention behind his September 20 statement was to stand up for the rights of the LGBTQ2S+ community. Trudeau insisted that his comment about “transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country,” was in no way a jab at parents who were concerned about their rights and their children’s education.

The Prime Minister faced heavy criticism following his statement, for example, from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre who accused Trudeau of “demonizing concerned parents.” Additionally, the Muslim Association of Canada expressed its concerns, interpreting the statement as a “deeply inflammatory” comment, alleging that it could lead to the harassment of Muslim students.


Refuting this claim, Trudeau maintained that his statement was not aimed at people who are mindful of their parental rights but was a firm stand against expressions of hate or intolerance against any Canadian, especially those targeting the LGBTQ2S+ and Muslim communities.

According to him, the term ‘parental rights’ which encompasses parental involvement in decisions relating to their children’s education, has become highly popular in Canada over the past year. Various sectors of society have shown concern about policies and efforts aimed at making classrooms more inclusive for LGBTQ2S+ students. These initiatives include presenting Pride flags, discussing gender identity and sexual orientation, and policies that allow gender diverse students to be referred to by their preferred name and pronoun.

The emergent policies requiring parental permission for gender-diverse children below 16 years when they prefer to be called by a different name or pronoun has stirred debate leading to court battles and is currently a talking point in provinces like New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. Critics argue that the policy jeopardizes vulnerable students.

Trudeau holds firm on his principle of defending everyone’s rights inspite of such disagreements. When prompted whether he would retract his controversial comment, he reiterated his commitment to stand up for the rights of all Canadians, be it Muslim citizens or the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Trudeau has been vocal about this issue for some time now. Earlier at an event in Calgary in July, he expressed concerns about misinformation being spread that was creating a rift over what was being taught in school about LGBTQ+ issues. He particularly pointed at the “American right wing” for fuelling this discord.

He emphasized that his administration unequivocally strives to support everyone’s rights and freedoms regardless of the community they come from. Any attempt to politicize the matter and portray it as an assault on a particular group is an attempt to create division among communities, he added. He assured that defending each other’s rights is the core value of Canada and he would always stand against hatred and intolerance, irrespective of the source.