A rally was held in Prince George outside the Q3 Creative Hub building, where Stuart Parker announced that he is running in the School District 57 byelection.
Audrey McKinnon, another candidate for SD57, created an event on Facebook called the Anti-Hate Counter Rally, and around 50 people showed up to protest one of his guests.
“A local group has organized a news conference at that time with an out-of-town guest who is on tour across Canada promoting anti-trans hate,” was written in the event description.
“I want every child in Prince George to know that they are loved, they are welcomed and they are accepted by this community.”
Chris Elston, a guest speaker at Parker’s announcement, held a sign as he walked through McKinnon’s rally that said, “Gender Ideology does not belong in schools”.
Elston tried speaking during the rally, but was drowned out by protestors chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, transphobia has got to go.”
— Brody Langager (@brodylangager) December 2, 2021
“This isn’t about hatred for anybody, I have transgendered supporters, I have a lot of adults that support me, but they don’t want to have a conversation,” said Elston.
Mckinnon said that the rally was to make sure trans kids knew they were loved, and to make sure that intolerance and hate didn’t get any air time.
“The last thing we need is intolerance in our school system. It should be as far away from our school system as possible. It is extremely concerning to me that a known, publicly expressed transphobe locally is planning to run here.”
“It’s equally as concerning that they had somebody in from out of town who’s been across Canada promoting hate towards trans kids,” added McKinnon.
“We’re saying that we love trans kids, we love you no matter who you are in this school system, and this has to be an inclusive school system, not one where we exclude trans kids.”
One of SD57’s trustees, Tim Bennett, spoke up about the announcement last night.
I was not planning on posting opinions about #sd57 candidates but could not sit quietly.
Glad there are people interested in serving and diversity around table is important. However, as a Trustee we need to ensure we are protecting the rights of EVERY child. No room for hate https://t.co/Ze83V8f3yC
— Tim Bennett (@tiben12) December 2, 2021
School District 57’s by-election will take place on January 15th, following resignations from former board chair Derrick and vice-chair Shuirose Valimohamed in September.
Counter rally held in front of the Q3 Hub building in downtown Prince George. pic.twitter.com/0iYC89aZRQ
— Brody Langager (@brodylangager) December 2, 2021