Gender politics protest in downtown Ottawa fizzles on Saturday

Saturday’s rally drew more counter-protesters than protesters.

Published Oct 21, 2023 • Last updated 6 hours ago • 4 minute read

Activists joined together for the Protect Trans Kids counter-protest in Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

A replay of last month’s “1 Million March 4 Children” failed to materialize Saturday in Ottawa under steady rainfall and as the movement is reportedly fragmenting.

Protests urging the elimination of “the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity curriculum, pronouns, gender ideology and mixed bathrooms in schools” drew hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters to downtown Ottawa on Sept. 20.

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Counter-protesters had girded themselves for a similar scenario on Saturday. Ottawa police were also on alert for disruptions downtown.

In a statement release Thursday night, police warned there would be zero tolerance for unlawful behaviour and vehicle-based demonstrations. “Hate speech and hate symbols, as recently seen on graffiti in Ottawa or on flags in other cities, will not be tolerated. We will have resources, logistics, traffic, towing and staffing plans in place to address any scenario.”

It appeared that police were indeed prepared for unrest downtown on Saturday. Cruisers lined Elgin Street from City Hall to Wellington Street, officers directed traffic, and about a dozen unmarked police SUVs and trucks were parked near the National War Memorial.

But Saturday’s rally drew more counter-protesters than protesters.

A group of about 200 counter-protesters chanting “trans rights are human rights” and “Hey hey, Ho ho, transphobia has got to go” marched on Elgin Street and swung west to Parliament Hill, where they were met with a disparate group of about 50 protesters armed with placards with messages such as “Leave the kids alone” and “Protect parental rights in schools.”

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Counter-protesters said the “gender ideology” protest movement shifted after Kamel El-Cheikh, chair of Hands Off Our Kids, cancelled Saturday’s march in Ottawa.

“We will be relentless and unapologetic in our role as Canada’s most powerful movement, which has swept the nation and won the hearts of all parents and children. Together, we are truly one nation under God,” El-Cheikh said in a statement posted on the Hands Off Our Kids website.

A small group of gender-policy protesters voiced their opinions on Wellington Street, including Chris Dacey. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

Skyler MacLeod, a trans community member who monitors the protest movement, said another group called Save the Children Convoy took over protest organizing in Ottawa, but there had been a lot of infighting.

“Right now, on their side, they’re very much in disarray. I think the movement as a whole is building steam. It might have fallen apart in Ottawa, but in many other cities there’s a lot of protests planned.”

Emily Quaile, a member of Community Solidarity Ottawa, a coalition that includes community groups and unions, said counter-protesters remained ready.

“We have to show up to make sure we continually remind remind them that they are outnumbered and we have more solidarity than they do,” Quaile said. “And we are also here to keep the community safe, even if there are only five or 10 people there.”

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Tanya King, a trans woman and drag performer, was at the September counter-protest and returned in drag to march in front of the rainbow phalanx on Saturday.

“It’s to make a statement that the movement is not just a fleeting movement where, as soon as it gets hard or you get cold, you go away,” she said. “That’s not what activism is about. You have to be present even when the weather is not nice, even when things are hard. That’s just the spirit of activism.”

King said some people on the right who were otherwise silent had been emboldened by politicians such as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, whose government passed a “parents’ bill of rights” on Friday, making parental consent a requirement before students under 16 can use different gender-related names or pronouns at school.

“There are some policies being decided today that will affect children for years or decades down the line,” King said. “Children who otherwise could have access to life-saving health care and legal protections now could be adversely affected.”

A heavy police presence could be seen around the downtown core during the protest and counter-protest on Saturday in Ottawa. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

On Saturday, Haelie Zersch stood on the sidewalk on Wellington Street wearing an “I (heart) TERFs” T-shirt. TERF is an acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” a movement that argues that biological sex is real and immutable.

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“These people are in direct opposition to my existence because they want people like me to transition,” said Zersch, who is a lesbian. “Transition in this country now is just the new form of homophobia.”

Zersch describes her politics as centrist. Asked if she felt comfortable with other people in the “gender ideology” movement, Zersch said she didn’t have to agree with everyone about everything.

“You’re going to have to get comfortable with the idea that you’re going to have some uncomfortable allies,” she said.

Matthew Burley, a father of three children under age five, said he wanted transparency for parents and was concerned that school policies might encourage secrecy.

“Teachers are not mental health workers or social workers. They are not psychiatrists or psychologists,” he said.

Burley said he had nothing against the LGBTQIA+ community and he would support his children whatever they decided in life.

“I just came early to have conversations with people. I want to get their perspectives and listen because we grow as people when we listen to each other’s stories.”

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A group of activists, including Tanya King, joined together for the Protect Trans Kids counter-protest on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA

Another protest organized by the Association of Palestinian Arab Canada at the Human rights Monument on Elgin Street is expected to snarl downtown traffic Sunday starting around 2 p.m. Environment Canada is calling for rain and winds gusting up to 50 km/h.

Drag king Cyril Cinder was among the activists who joined the Protect Trans Kids counter-protest on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA Protesters and counter-protesters both gathered near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA Protesters and counter-protesters both gathered near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA A group of activists joined together for the Protect Trans Kids counter-protest in downtown Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA Counter-protesters outnumbered protesters during Saturday’s rallies near Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA Chris Dacey, right, records a video of the group of protesters near Parliament Hill on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA The group of protesters voiced their opinions on Wellington Street, by Parliament Hill, on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA A group of activists joined together for the Protect Trans Kids counter-protest rally on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA Activists joined together for the Protect Trans Kids counter-protest rally in downtown Ottawa on Saturday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIA