Global Courant
Five people were arrested on Friday on Broadview Avenue in Ottawa, where hundreds of protesters gathered to “vote out” a man protesting what he calls “gender ideology.”
The two groups chanted slogans like “protect trans rights” and “leave the kids alone” at each other, sometimes separated by lines of police officers.
Three schools and a medical center are located along or near Broadview Avenue, close to where the demonstration was held.
On one side is Chris Elston, a man traveling across the country who shares his concerns about whether transgender children can accept hormone blockers that slow the signs of puberty, and about 200 of his followers.
He carried a sandwich sign that said “kids can’t agree to puberty blockers,” and wore the same slogan when he visited the school in 2021.
On the other side was a somewhat larger group of more than 200 counter-demonstrators who had come to “druncate hatred” in response to Elston’s “Education over Indoctrination” march.
Their signs waved slogans like “protect trans youth” and “refuse to be your kid’s first bully.”
A protester stands with a sign on Broadview Avenue on Friday. (Joe Tunney/CBC)
“Part of the reason we protest in public spaces is to show them that we are much bigger than them, that their opinions are not just mean, but a minority,” said Emily Quaile, who helped organize of the counter-protest and a parent of a student at Broadview Public School.
“And if we don’t, if we let them take public space, they’re free to spread that rhetoric and recruit more people.”
Elston told CBC News the counter-protesters didn’t faze him, but he felt that “parents need to understand what their kids are being taught.”
“I’m not here to talk to them,” Elston said, referring to the counter-demonstrators. “You have to be willing to receive a message and have an open dialogue. These people are not willing to do that.”
Earlier this week, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) had asked the two groups to move their respective meetings, stressing “schools are for learning and should not be targets of political protests.”
Meanwhile, Ottawa Center MPP Joel Harden had promoted the counter-demonstration by tweeting that it’s important “to show queer and trans youth that we’re on their side.”
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said in a tweet Friday afternoon that protests like the one on Broadview Avenue “should not disrupt children and their education.”
“Schools should be a safe place for children to learn and develop, not a target for political protest,” the tweet read.
Police formed a line to separate the two groups of protesters. (Joe Tunney/CBC)
The police tweeted in the early afternoon that five people had been arrested, but did not provide any further information about those arrests.
In addition to the arrests, the Ottawa Police Department closed off part of the street, which later reopened.
In an email, an OCDSB spokesman said schools should not be targets of political protests and thanked parents and police for their support during the demonstration.
“Hate is not welcome here. 2SLGBTQ+ students, staff and community members, please know that you belong and deserve to feel welcome and accepted for being who you are,” the email read.
Among the crowd of counter-demonstrators was Lyra Evans, chair of the OCDSB board of trustees, who felt it was important to attend, despite the school board’s statement earlier this week.
Evans felt the demonstrations were far enough away from the board’s two schools.
“It’s very important that LGBTQ people see themselves represented in protests,” said Evans, a transgender woman.
“It’s very important to show up at community events and show that the people in power haven’t lost the opportunity to show up to support the community.”
