The “1 Million March 4 Children” protests are taking place in Canada, but an event in Saskatoon on Wednesday hopes to bring a message of love and acceptance after the dust has settled.
“I’m calling it a cleansing of the space … because this negativity is wearing on everybody,” said Fran Forsberg, a co-organizer for the event taking place outside the Saskatoon Public Schools board office at 6:30 p.m.
The website for 1 Million March 4 Children, which held protests across the country on Wednesday, said it is advocating for the “elimination of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) curriculum, pronouns, gender ideology and mixed bathrooms in schools.”
Forsberg said her group wanted to bring a more positive light and loving atmosphere.
“We just decided that we didn’t want to give them any more attention with press than they’re getting. And we also thought we were kind of tired of all the negativity and the hate that’s been spewed.”
She said an elder has been invited out to the event, adding they will be smudging and having a clearing of the space.
Forsberg said they wanted a more relaxed space, noting people can sign up to dance or sing at the event.
She said she believes the parental permission legislation created by the Sask. Party government are harmful to both children as well as teachers.
The legislation requires parental permission if a child younger than 16 wants to go by different names or pronouns at school.
Forsberg was a foster parent for over 30 years and says she has seen gender expression be a point of contention in some families.
“I’ve seen a lot of children and youth being asked to leave their homes, or kicked out, or their parents have responded violently, and not supportive, and have asked their children to leave their home.”
Forsberg said statistics show children who are gender or sexually diverse contend with more mental health issues on average.
She said in these instances it is usually a teacher these children go to as their support person.
“If they don’t have that support, I’m afraid of what’s going to happen. We’re going to have more homeless children, we’re going to have more mental health issues with youth.”
Forsberg stressed that people should educate themselves on these issues.
“It’s not difficult. I had to do it as a 50-year-old woman who adopted two children who happen to be transgender. I educated myself, I got involved in the community.”
She said because of this, she has received death threats and been called a pedophile.
“Please stop hiding your bigotry behind your bible.”
She said she knows so many affirming churches that are appalled that these issues are being tied to religion.
Among the Wednesday morning protests, there are also those countering the movement.
“The so-called ‘1 Million March 4 Children’ is part of a growing and organized hate movement in Canada,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said in a release on Monday.
The organization said CUPE workers are seeing first-hand the toll of rising LGBTQ2 hate.
“On Wednesday, CUPE members will show up to resist hate in all its forms. We will not allow these movements to attack 2SLGBTQI+ people who need safety, support and solidarity now more than ever.”
There were two protests in Saskatoon with counter-protesters interspersed throughout both crowds.
About 2,000 people were in the streets, with protesters and counter-protesters alike joining in as they walked through the city.
While there was some aggression seen on both sides, the Saskatoon Police Service watched over and intervened when necessary. The majority of the protests and counterprotests were peaceful.
NDP critics Nathaniel Teed and Matt Love were at the demonstration.
Counter-protesters also pointed out other noteworthy people at the march, one, Ken Schultz, a man facing sexual assault charges in relation to the Legacy Christian Academy investigation.
Premier Scott Moe was in Saskatoon on other matters, but commented on the protests, saying residents have the opportunity to show their support in the protest or not.
He said he was interested in some of the things within the Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth report that pointed out the government’s recent legislation on names and pronouns went against human rights.
“We look at the Children Advocate’s report with interest, with respect to maybe some of the supports that are available,” Moe said.
He further spoke about the parental permission policy, saying “it has every intention of being an inclusive policy.”
Moe suggested that parents be much more active in their children’s lives as well, adding they could join their school’s community council.
“When we have parents involved in our children’s education it makes for a much more responsive education system.”
When asked if more time should have been put into creating this policy and having more experts weigh in on the matter, Moe said there’s been much discussion between MLAs and parents.
The Canadian Anti-Hate Network weighed in on the protests, saying they stemmed from bigotry.
“The bottom line is this: when they say parental rights, they mean want to be able to deny their children, and other people’s children, access to health and human rights education about 2SLGBTQ+ persons, especially education that sends the message that it’s OK to be queer. It’s not just about one policy, or pronouns. If you watch and listen in their spaces, that’s just the starting point,” said Evan Balgord, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network executive director.
Results from the 2018 Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces showed trans people were much more likely (59 per cent) to have been physically or sexually assaulted compared with cisgender people (37 per cent).
The survey also showed 58 per cent of trans people in the country experienced unwanted sexual behaviours in public compared with 23 per cent of cisgender people. About 42 per cent of trans people received online harassment compared with 16 per cent of cisgender people.
Trans people were also much more likely to have seriously contemplated suicide in their lifetime (45 per cent compared with 16 per cent of cisgender people).
And hate-motivated incidents are on the rise. The Saskatoon Police Service hate crimes unit reported in June that national hate crime statistics are increasing, noting they had more than 200 incidents in 2022 where hate was a component, whether it was a crime or not.
“Forty-six times last year a crime occurred where hate was part of it, and on 10 occasions we laid charges or worked with the Crown to make sure that would be noted at sentencing for those offences,” said Saskatoon police Chief Troy Cooper.
Trans people also make up a very small portion of Canada’s population, with Statistics Canada noting they represented about 0.33 per cent of the population of people aged 15 and older.