At a city council meeting in Powell River last month, elected official Jim Palm made comments that have been labeled as hate speech against transgender people.

Palm took issue with a proposed definition of gender for public signage that would include LGBTQ2 persons and steered his criticism toward transgender women athletes whom he compared to competitors illegally taking performance-enhancing drugs. 

“Whereas on the female side of the equation, females compete, they train and a lot of governing bodies now, not based on biological makeup, are allowing... I don't know what you refer to them as... somebody that has not got a biological makeup to be able to take female hormones in order to qualify to compete as a female," he stated. 

Palm’s remarks were quickly criticized online: 

A screenshot of several comments on the livestream of Palm’s speech reposted on YouTube. Screenshot courtesy of Youtube.

The reposted video clip of Palm’s comments resulted in a predictably polarized and inflamed series of reactions below the video on YouTube.

Some voiced concern that Palm not only guides the city’s policies in his third term on council but also directly influences the younger generation in his employment as career coordinator at Brooks Secondary School.

Bill C-16, passed in June 2017, was cited as legal protection of gender-diverse Canadians against discrimination, including hateful speech motivated by bias or prejudice.