According to the article, Parents: Know Your Rights – CANADIAN GENDER REPORT:
The right of parents to direct, and to be fully informed about, all aspects of their children’s education is entrenched in international law, Canadian constitutional law, and provincial law: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, states in Article 26(3): Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Canada is a signatory, states in Article 18(4): The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions. The Supreme Court of Canada in Loyola High School v. Quebec (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 12 (paragraph 65), affirmed that Article 18(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is applicable in Canada, stating: “Parents, religious or otherwise, have the constitutional right under s. 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to determine all aspects of their children’s education, including the moral education of their children. Like all rights, parental rights are subject to reasonable limits. For example, parents do not enjoy a constitutional right to require the public school curriculum to align with the cultural, moral, and religious values they desire to pass down to their children. Rather, the right to determine all aspects of a child’s education manifests itself in the right to school choice and the right to be informed.”
The law is clear! Parents determine all aspects of their children’s education. Yesterday (September 20, 2023) was the “1 Million March 4 Children,” organized by a “parental rights” movement targeting inclusive public education. Thousands of protesters and counter-protesters in cities across Canada clashed over the rights of trans children and youth. According to this article, protesters were angered by schools exposing their children to “gender ideology,” insisting parents have the right to know whether their children are questioning their gender identity. Counter-demonstrators accused protesters of trying to deny students important lessons about inclusion and respect for gender-diverse people.
Yesterday I (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) saw some of my family and friends change their Social Media profile picture that showed a Canada map in rainbow colours saying, “no space for hate.” These people see the protests as hate directed towards the LGBTQ2S+ community. They see it as their way of showing support for the trans and nonbinary kids. I see it differently. It is a protest to protect parental rights. Its slogan is, “Leave Our Children Alone.”
The article, “Leave Our Kids Alone” Parents Protest Indoctrination in Schools Canada Wide But are Being Called Bigots for Trying to Protect Their Children, says anxious parents marched in front of their local City Halls and school board headquarters to protect their children’s rights. Parents are feeling a loss of control over the ideological content teachers are imparting on their children. Parents claim their children are left confused by the idea of gender fluidity and medically transitioning to the opposite gender assigned at birth.
Justin Trudeau dismisses parental rights as ‘far right’. According to National Post’s Michael Higgins, most of Canada — as documented previously — it is now official policy to keep parents in the dark if children come out as trans to teachers. These guidelines have been brought in without discussion with parents.
CTV News says Pronoun debate pits parental rights against kids’ rights, and explains the debate as follows. Those who support policies that would require parental permission for teachers to use a student’s preferred pronouns at school say it’s about including parents in the lives of their children.
Those opposed say the issue is not about the rights of parents at all, but rather the protection of transgender and nonbinary students who may not feel safe revealing their gender identities at home.
CTV News’ claim that experts say the meaning of “parental rights” lies somewhere in the middle. Who are these experts? They claim rushing to push forward legislation could have dire effects on transgender and nonbinary children. Interestingly, the article does not discuss the dire effects of removing parental rights.
The debate exploded when two provinces introduced policies to protect parental rights. In June, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs announced a review of an educational policy that had made it mandatory for teachers to use a student’s preferred pronouns and names at school, but changed the policy after a review to teachers must get the consent of a parent to use different names or pronouns for students under 16. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe followed suit with a similar policy which he has now promised to codify in law, and threatens to use the notwithstanding clause to ensure it stays.
This debate is not unique to Canada, as the article Who is responsible for your children – you as parents or the state? and Debate over ‘parental rights’ is the latest fight in the education culture wars confirms that this debate is raging in the US as well, and likely in other countries.
On Social Media, a person commented on the protest saying, “I would like to ask those in the LGBTQ2S+ community that support sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum in school if they have children? And if they do, do they believe they should have the ultimate say over the upbringing of their children?”
This is the ultimate question. This person persuasively explained their point of view saying:
“Parents have ultimate say over their children. My job as a parent is to help guide my children, instill the values and morals that I believe in. Children depend on us to protect them while they are developing and growing up. Education should not involve ideologies being pushed on them by any group. The ABC’s and 123’s, are skills that set them up to be good productive citizens. Get back to basics! Feel free to teach your children whatever you want (from an ideological perspective) at home. I live in a free a democratic country [some might refute this] that allows freedom of expression and religion, which means I can teach my children how I want. Government and social activism needs to get out of the school system”
I couldn’t agree more. I support the ‘1 Million March 4 Children’ as it was never about hate. It is about parents having control over their children’s education and their children’s life. The SOGI curriculum is an ideological view and should only be taught by the parents, not teachers, if they see fit. Keeping parents in the dark about what is being taught to their children is a form of bullying (#bullying, #antibullying). I support the parents who joined the protest and I agree with their motto “Leave Our Children Alone.” After all, Antonin Scalia, an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States once said, “The right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is among the unalienable rights with which the Declaration of Independence proclaims ‘all Men are endowed by their Creator.’” There is no debate. Parental Rights are inalienable, that is, never to be separated, given away, or taken away.
Sommer Season all year 