Dozens of protesters were outside of Owen Sound city hall this morning as part of a series of demonstrations in cities across the country.
Protests were also held in Chesley, Hanover and Meaford Wednesday morning as part of the 1 Million March 4 Children events, which its supporters say are for advocacy of parental rights, while others are denouncing them as anti-LGBTQ2S+.
There were supporters of Grey Bruce Pride counter-protesting in Owen Sound as well this morning.
Some of the 1 Million March demonstrators carried signs featuring phrases such as “hands off our children” or “education not indoctrination”, while supporters of the LGBTQ2S community waved signs with messages including “trans kids are not alone” and “hate has no home here.”
Abrie Kilian was among those gathered, and spoke publicly in front of city hall.
“As a parent myself, I want to make sure that those educators that my kids are exposed too are competent, that they are not politicized and at the same time, they get to educate my kids in what is expected a kid should know at an appropriate age,” says Kilian. “I believe the 1 Million March 4 Children has two purposes: one is to shed a light on parental rights and what the rights are. And secondly, it’s also about the complete politicization of the education system within Canada.”
An email sent by Grey Bruce Pride to media organizations ahead of the demonstrations called them an “ever-growing movement of hate towards the queer community and utilizing queer youth as pawns.”
Grey Bruce Pride spokesperson Rachel Paterson: “Parental rights have long been utilized as a dog whistle for anti-queer propaganda and it’s really important that people understand that this isn’t actually about parental rights. This isn’t about protecting safety … What is happening here today is people trying to go and tell folks, ‘hey parents need to be involved in school matters.’ But it is negating the human rights that these young folks have and not all young folks are safe at home. And that is a very real reality we need to come to terms with.”
