{"id":181255,"date":"2023-09-21T07:28:44","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T11:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=181255"},"modified":"2023-09-21T16:07:07","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T20:07:07","slug":"anti-sogi-protest-in-nanaimo-outnumbered-by-counter-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/anti-sogi-protest-in-nanaimo-outnumbered-by-counter-protesters\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-SOGI protest in Nanaimo outnumbered by counter protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several hundred pro-LGBTQ activists counter-protested a smaller protest opposed to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, or SOGI, programs in schools at various locations in Nanaimo on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The protests started in front of the School District 68 building on Wakesiah Avenue where a handful of anti-SOGI protesters \u2014 one with a sign equating the program with eugenics and pedophilia \u2014 were drowned out by counter-protesters chanting while waving homemade signs and rainbow flags.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

School District Superintendent Scott Saywell was wearing a rainbow tie and holding a pride flag at the counter-protest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea that people can't be who they are is a dangerous ideal and it's just fueled by hate. As you can see we're not going to accept it,\u201d he said, gesturing at the crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Saywell says that the people opposed to SOGI have serious misconceptions about what it actually entails.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI've heard from different people in the past who are part of the protest group that we're trying to turn children into being gay. It's nonsense,\u201d he said. \u201cAny curriculum or education in schools is sharing the idea that children are who they are, and they're accepted and loved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

School Trustee Tom Rokeby was wearing a pride flag as a cape as he participated in the pro-SOGI protest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI'm the parent of a non-binary child so being out here today is an important stance for my family to take,\u201d he said. \u201cI'm just delighted to see that the city agrees with me that the community of Nanaimo is overwhelmingly in support of protecting our kids.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

School Board Chair Greg Keller says that the school district stands against hate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe categorically reject hate speech and discrimination in any form,\u201d he said. \u201cThe derogatory language and confrontational behavior used by some of the protesters in the past are not aligned with our board's values. Quite frankly, we are committed to standing against hate and ensuring the wellbeing of our LGBTQ students and staff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The two protests then moved to Nanaimo City Hall where the anti-SOGI side swelled to over 100 protesters but were still outnumbered by about 400 LGBTQ supporters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anti-SOGI protest organizer David Wang, who ran for Nanaimo city council last year and got 2,004 votes, was sporting a People\u2019s Party of Canada ball cap and dark sunglasses at the protest.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is categorically not opposed to the LGBTQ movement,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody has any problems with any adults identifying however they wish. This really is a matter to do with children. Many people on the conservative side of this issue feel that children are innocent and they shouldn't be introduced to concepts about sexuality until they reach the age of sexual maturity, around 12 or 13.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Erica Bakewell runs the local queer event group The Coast is Queer with her partner Ash Horner and they organized the counter-protest together. Bakewell says she doesn\u2019t buy the claims that Wang\u2019s protest wasn\u2019t homophobic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo they're using the guise, as far as I'm concerned, of the SOGI curriculum to state that they are taking away parents rights. That they're teaching young children inappropriate content. But what I'm finding is that it's very much directed at the LGBTQ+ community,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bakewell says that the anti-SOGI protesters haven\u2019t done their <\/span>homework<\/span><\/a> before protesting,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNobody has ever sat down and opened the SOGI curriculum and just looked\u2019 OK, kindergarten, what is my kid learning?\u2019 And what are they learning? We're learning that families are different. Some families have two moms and some families have two dads, like it's really not what they are claiming it to be,\u201d she said. \u201cReally, they're over sexualizing it, they're taking it and trying to make us, the LGBTQ+ community, look like pedophiles or predators or groomers, which of course, is not the case.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wang admits that he hasn\u2019t researched the <\/span>SOGI policies<\/span><\/a> in School District 68\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI haven't researched what the policies are here in Nanaimo specifically, no.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A fact sheet by the Ministry of Education titled <\/span>SOGI-Inclusive Education Myth Busting<\/span><\/a> says that classroom activities are designed to provide age-appropriate learning opportunities to help students understand the impacts of discrimination and improve awareness and understanding of the diverse people around them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fact sheet says that \u201ctopics related to sexual orientation and gender identity are included as part of the K-10 physical health curriculum. Such as learning about bullying and discrimination against LGBTQ people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Semple grew up on Vancouver Island and said that the schools she went to before SOGI was introduced in 2016 weren\u2019t safe spaces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was a queer kid. I was a gender diverse trans kid,\u201d they said. \u201cI grew up in unsafe spaces that were unwelcoming. I grew up in a school system that didn't have a queer straight alliance, or a Safe Space Alliance, that didn't have other queer and gay and trans people that I could look up to, and ask questions of.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Semple said that it is heartening to see how the education system has become more inclusive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went through so much discovery and challenges trying to figure out who I was and to see kids now being encouraged and supported to explore their identities. I mean, that's what matters most because I remember that experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A person who was using a bullhorn to shout at the LGBTQ crowd at Nanaimo City Hall was <\/span>arrested<\/span><\/a> for assault in an incident \u201cthat involved some pushing\u201d according to a police spokesperson. The police spokesperson could not answer if the person had been released or would be criminally charged.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The protest and counter-protest later marched on opposite sidewalks from City Hall to Maffeo-Sutton Park where both protests ended.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to CHLY\u2019s story below:<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several hundred pro-LGBTQ activists counter-protested a smaller protest opposed to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, or SOGI, programs in schools at various locations in Nanaimo on Wednesday. The protests started in front of the School District 68 building on Wakesiah Avenue where a handful of anti-SOGI protesters \u2014 one with a sign equating the program…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105,"featured_media":181259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[57,221],"tags":[27113,3012,1098,30555,30554],"radio":[240],"origine":[280,265,231],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181255"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":203297,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181255\/revisions\/203297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181255"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=181255"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=181255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}