Duelling protests held in Edmonton over sexual orientation and gender identity policies in schools

A protest, and subsequent counterprotest, was held in west Edmonton on Friday surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity policies in schools.

The original protest was organized by Benita Pedersen with 1 Million March 4 Children, a group that says it is against SOGI 1 2 3, an initiative the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) says is aimed at helping educators make schools safe and inclusive for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

“This is about healthy boundaries for children. It’s about, when do you expose a child to mature concepts?” Pedersen said.

“We think mature concepts should be shared with individuals when they are old enough to handle it. If you share mature concepts with a child that’s too small, that’s indoctrination and that’s unacceptable.”

Pedersen said the group is “standing up for parental rights.”

“When I review aspects of the Alberta curriculum, I actually don’t have that many concerns. What I have a concern with is the things that teachers add,” Pedersen said.

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The protest was held outside the ATA building in west Edmonton. ATA president Jason Schilling said the Alberta curriculum is publicly posted online and the resources used in schools are vetted.

“I’m extremely disappointed to see that once again we have a group of individuals who might have fallen victim to some misinformation and some mistruths about what’s happening in our schools,” Schilling said.

“(SOGI 123) is simply a resource or a network for teachers to talk with one another, share common practices, what works in their schools. It’s sort of a resource that says, instead of saying to kids in the morning, ‘Good morning boys and girls.’ You say, ‘Good morning everyone.’”

Schilling encourages parents who have questions about what their children are learning to speak with their teachers or schools directly.

“I think a simple conversation with principals, with teachers, with school districts about resources and curriculum and what is being taught really needs to be held so that we don’t have folks walking around with misinformation about what’s happening in our schools.”

Schilling said the ATA is there to stand up for students and colleagues.

“We need to recognize and respect the diversity of our classrooms so that every student is welcome and safe,” he said. “The ATA is always going to protect the rights of all of our students; that includes our 2SLGBTQ+ students because we know they’re the most vulnerable ones that we have.”

The protest was met by a group of counterprotesters who said they were there to protect the rights of children.

“We think that it is really important not just for queer kids to have representation in their school and in their education, but also for them to feel inherently safe in their learning spaces,” said Erica Posteraro, with Pride Corner on Whyte.

Another rally organized by Trans Rights YEG will be held in Edmonton at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The group says it is holding that rally in support of the LGBTQ2 community.

Rallies organized by 1 Million March 4 Children were held in a number of cities across Canada on Friday.

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