Protesters gathered in Saskatoon on Saturday to denounce the Parental Rights Act and the group 1 Million March 4 Children, which is said to be fighting “gender ideology” in Canadian schools.
The latter organized demonstrations in several cities across the country on Saturday, but not in Saskatoon.
However, another group called 1 Million Voices for Inclusion also organized demonstrations, including a rally with around 200 people in the City of Bridges.
Blake Tait arrives to demonstrate and questions the March 4 message of 1 million children. They object to the fact that there are trans and queer people in our school system, claiming that it will encourage their children to become trans, which will never happen, he says.
He also criticizes legislation passed by the Saskatchewan government on Friday that requires parental consent for school staff to use the name and pronoun chosen by a student under 16.
Blake Tait, who is transgender, says it was a school counselor who encouraged him to come out to his family. Trans youth will be trans when they are.
Early childhood educator Joice Barrington also joined the protesters Saturday and spoke to the crowd about her own experiences.
She explains that growing up as an LGBTQ+-identifying young person, she was not accepted by her loved ones at home, but found refuge in a group of allies.
Joice Barrington says she’s not comfortable with the Parental Rights Act. My job is to help children learn and protect them. The government is doing exactly the opposite, she argues.
Open in full screen mode
Early childhood teacher Joice Barrington was also there on Saturday.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Liam O’Connor
As an educator, she also fears the legal consequences associated with the new law.
This puts me in the position of either respecting the pronouns the children choose to protect themselves or facing legal consequences if someone reports me to a narrow-minded principal.
With information from Liam O’Connor and Pier-Olivier Nadeau