Protesters and counter-protesters face off in Hamilton over gender identity, LGBTQ rights in schools

Several hundred people in Hamilton, protesters and counter-protesters, marched Wednesday morning, chanting and holding signs focused on gender identity and schools. 

A group of protesters first gathered outside of CF Lime Ridge Mall and walked to the nearby headquarters of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB). They carried signs that said "hands off our kids" and "I belong to my parents."

They passed by counter-protesters lining the streets, waving rainbow flags and holding up signs that said "trans kids matter" and "education must be trans inclusive."

The initial protests were organized under the banner of the "1 Million March for Children," with the group's website saying its intent is to "protect our children from indoctrination and sexualization." 

Enaya Tullah said he joined the march with his teenage daughter and wife because he doesn't support kids learning about gender identity in school. 

"They are premature for that… Teach them subjects like maths, physics. Let them decide once they become an adult," he said. 

High school student Jeremy Lavrence, 16, joined the counter protest and said there's misinformation being circulated about what's being taught in schools. 

"As a whole I believe everything I've learned about LGBTQ rights and issues hasn't been from school," he said. "It's been from my own searching and my own research. It's time they stop pushing their wrong interpretations." 

Counter-protester Petra Visaticki, also 16, said she heard hateful things being said about the LGBTQ community at the protest, which is damaging to her and her peers.

"Say you happen to be queer, you see all of these things about how it's wrong, how it's immoral, and now you think it's you that's wrong as a person," she said. "It's so disheartening. Everybody deserves to live a happy and care-free life." 

At times there were heated interactions between people from differing sides yelling at one another and at least one physical altercation. 

Watch: Protesters and counter-protesters face off in a crowd in Hamilton

Protesters and counter-protesters face off in Hamilton

12 hours ago

Duration 1:30

By early afternoon, some of the crowds were clearing. Hamilton police said on social media they deployed a "Public Order Unit due to escalating behaviour between two groups." 

One counter-protester told CBC Hamilton they left after police said they were bringing in the mounted unit.

"There was a feeling [protesters] were looking for a fight… They came right out onto the street. They were fully on top of us at one point," Jordana Riis said. 

By 1:30 p.m., police said on social media that Upper Wentworth Street, which had been temporarily blocked, had reopened.

Similar protests and counter-protests occurred in cities around the country. 

About 400 people gathered in Burlington, according to Const. Steve Elms with Halton Regional Police Service. Police could not say how many of those were protesters or counter-protesters, however.  

Protests were also confirmed in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Brantford by local police. 

In Norfolk County, where police said around 125 protesters and 20 counter-protesters showed up in Simcoe, Ont., Mayor Amy Martin said council had been "made aware" of the gatherings. 

"There is no space for hate here in Norfolk or across our province. We value our diversity and inclusivity in Norfolk County and today should be no different," Martin said on X, formerly known as Twitter, Wednesday morning. 

Hamilton mayor, councillors, school board denounce protests

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a statement Tuesday she was aware of the planned protest, saying with "hate incidents on the rise," she was "extremely concerned for the wellbeing of 2SLGBTQIA+ community members, especially our young people." 

Horwarth said her office "stands with in solidarity" with that community.

Several councillors spoke out on Tuesday as well.

"We stand with hundreds of thousands of our neighbours in affirming the human rights of trans, non-binary and queer youth," read a statement posted on X, signed by councillors Maureen Wilson, Cameron Kroetsch, Nrinder Nann, Tammy Hwang, Craig Cassar and Alex Wilson.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board released its own statement.

"Based on information available, the protest and potential walk out at schools seeks to challenge policies and supports in schools which uphold the human rights of individuals with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions," it said.

"While we respect the right to freedom of expression, we do not support targeted protests against specific communities."

Changes to Ontario curriculum

Some of the protesters' signs in Hamilton read "education not sexualization."

Ontario's current sexual education curriculum was introduced in 2019, and requires school boards to allow parents to exempt children from teachings on human development and sexual health.

In 2018, the Ford government repealed curriculum introduced by the former Liberal government that included lessons on sexting, same-sex relationships, and gender identity. Educators were then instructed to teach students material that borrowed heavily from a 1998 curriculum while the government completed consultations with parents and other stakeholders.

When the province unveiled the current curriculum a year later, it still included many of the controversial topics covered in the discarded one brought forth by the Liberals, but in some cases pushed back the introduction of certain topics so students would be older when they were discussed in the classroom.

For example, concepts of gender identity — previously introduced to students in Grade 6 — are now taught in Grade 8. Other concepts however, like sexual orientation, are being taught in Grade 5 instead of Grade 6.

Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education — a non-profit focused on public education — told CBC News that context around the curriculum is key.

She says people need to understand that what's being taught in Ontario stems from research and consultation with a wide range of groups including experts in health, mental health and well-being.

"There isn't just sex education per se — there is physical and health education in Ontario schools," she said. 

"And part of the research said that it was important that kids learned about things like gender identity … those aspects of their own [humanity] as early as possible so that they understand themselves before they may be suddenly facing questions or confusion about what was going on with their body or in their minds or in their feelings about themselves." 

Wednesday's protests come as gender identity protocols in schools have spurred increased public debate in recent months, with changes around parental consent for pronoun and name changes in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan both making headlines.

Ford weighed in on the controversy earlier this month at Ford Fest in Kitchener, telling supporters that he believes parents should be made aware of any decisions kids make.

"Most important is the parents' rights, the parents' rights to listen and make sure they are informed when their children make a decision," he said. "It's not up to the teachers, it's not up to the school boards to indoctrinate our kids."

In response, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario said in a statement that "instead of "spewing rhetoric… that pits parents against educators, [politicians] should be ensuring safe and inclusive spaces for every student in the province."

With files from Bobby Hristova, Samantha Beattie, Eva Salinas, Adam Carter, Saira Peesker, Desmond Brown