Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Trudeau says he never suggested those worried about 'parental rights' are hateful

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Oct, 2023 11:06 AM
  • Trudeau says he never suggested those worried about 'parental rights' are hateful

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday he never suggested that individuals concerned about their rights as parents were hateful when he issued a statement in response to the thousands who attended recent protests about "gender ideology" in schools. 

Speaking to reporters at a housing announcement in Vaughan, Ont., Trudeau said the post he issued Sept. 20 on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, was about taking a stand for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Trudeau said in the post that "transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country," adding that the country condemns "this hate and its manifestations." 

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre accused him days later of "demonizing concerned parents."

And the Muslim Association of Canada called on Trudeau to retract and apologize for what it called the "deeply inflammatory" comment, saying Muslim parents who participated in the protests showed up "to be heard, not to sow division."

"I never suggested that someone who's concerned about parental rights is somehow filled with hate or intolerance," Trudeau said Thursday. 

The term "parental rights," which broadly refers to the desire for parents to be involved in the decisions made by their children and by schools, has gained increased popularity in Canada over the past year among people with wide-ranging concerns about efforts undertaken to make classrooms more inclusive for LGBTQ+ students. 

Such efforts include raising Pride flags and holding discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as policies that allow transgender and non-binary students to be called by their preferred name and pronoun. 

The latter has become the subject of new provincial policies, first in New Brunswick and now in Saskatchewan, that require schools to seek parental permission when gender-diverse students younger than 16 ask to be called by a different name or pronoun.

It's a policy that teachers' unions and provincial child advocates have said puts vulnerable students at risk.

Trudeau said when asked if he would retract his social-media comment that he will continue to stand up for the rights of everyone, whether they be Muslim Canadians or members of the LGBTQ+ community.

He said defending one another's rights is "core" to Canada. 

"We will always stand against hatred and intolerance wherever and from whoever it comes, but anyone who's trying to politicize or spin this as an attack on one particular group is trying to divide communities against each other." 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Is hurricane Lee headed for Canada? The 'spaghetti models' can be misleading: expert

Is hurricane Lee headed for Canada? The 'spaghetti models' can be misleading: expert
For residents of Canada's East Coast, some of the latest images showing the potential path northward for a rapidly intensifying hurricane Lee are disturbing. By combining multiple computer-generated forecasts, meteorologists have produced maps of the western Atlantic Ocean that suggest the powerful storm could slam into the Maritimes late next week.

Is hurricane Lee headed for Canada? The 'spaghetti models' can be misleading: expert

More ads coming as Conservatives plot path to make Poilievre the next prime minister

More ads coming as Conservatives plot path to make Poilievre the next prime minister
More than 2,000 Conservatives are in Quebec City for the party's convention, and will hear directly from Poilievre himself when he takes the stage Friday night. The mood at the convention is buoyant, following a number of polls that show the party with a considerable lead over the governing Liberals.

More ads coming as Conservatives plot path to make Poilievre the next prime minister

Trudeau to have pull-aside with Modi on sidelines of G20

Trudeau to have pull-aside with Modi on sidelines of G20
The Canadian delegation sought a meeting with Modi during the annual meeting of the world's largest economies, but Sunday's 10-minute meeting wasn't confirmed until after Trudeau landed Friday in New Delhi. India, now the world's most populous country, is featured prominently in the Indo-Pacific, a region Canada is seeking to expand its trade reach and reduce the influence of China.  

Trudeau to have pull-aside with Modi on sidelines of G20

Boat fire injures one, sends plume of smoke over Vancouver's False Creek

Boat fire injures one, sends plume of smoke over Vancouver's False Creek
Fire has damaged a roughly 10 metre pleasure craft, one of the many small boats that moor long-term in Vancouver's False Creek. Vancouver Fire and Rescue asst. chief Ken Gemmill says a man may have been cooking when the fire broke out about 5:30 p.m., Thursday, in the waters off David Lam Park in Yaletown.

Boat fire injures one, sends plume of smoke over Vancouver's False Creek

Motorcyclist badly hurt

Motorcyclist badly hurt
Shortly after 4 p.m. on September 1, Richmond RCMP, responded to the area of Blundell Road near Minoru Boulevard after reports of a downed motorcyclist. The motorcycle operator, a 63-year old male from Richmond was located some distance away from his blue Honda. He received emergency care at the scene and was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Motorcyclist badly hurt

Vancouver manslaughter conviction

Vancouver manslaughter conviction
Jeff Arnie Lincoln, 41, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced on August 30th, following a Vancouver Police investigation that began more than two years earlier, when Lincoln assaulted 60-year-old Gilles Hebert in Grandview Park, near Commercial Drive and Charles Street. Hebert was taken to hospital and later died from his injuries.  

Vancouver manslaughter conviction