In three different cities across Canada over the weekend, small groups gathered in front of libraries and restaurants where drag events were set to take place.
Some wore red hats that read “Save Canada,” in a design similar to former U.S. president Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” caps. Others had signs that appeared to perpetuate homophobic tropes alleging the events and people in the drag community were “grooming” children for sexual exploitation.
Between the revival of the homophobic “groomer” trope, which advocates say was used to vilify the LGBTQ2+ community in the 1970s and 1980s, and a worrying uptick in hate crimes, one advocate says they “wake up every morning worried” about what headlines will greet them.
“I am deeply concerned that one of these days I’ll wake up and there’ll be a headline about a shooting, or about physical assault, or sexual violence against 2SLGBTQ people in the name of addressing ‘grooming,’” said Fae Johnstone, executive director and co-owner of Wisdom2Action, a consulting firm that advocates for progressive policies on violence prevention, mental health and social inclusion.
The government’s handling of the issue, Johnstone added, is falling short.
“I really worry that they’re treating this immediate crisis as business as usual, as if this isn’t a particular moment in our history where if we don’t act, we could see further reprisals against our communities and all of the things that we’ve fought for,” they said.
“We could start to see some of those rights rolling back.”
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Both Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino’s office and Women and Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien’s office have condemned the hate seen at the demonstrations over the weekend.
“It’s unacceptable that children’s events across the country are being bombarded with hateful rhetoric. Homophobia and transphobia have no place in Canada,” Ien’s spokesperson, Johise Namwira, said in a statement sent to Global News.
Alexander Cohen, a spokesperson for Mendicino, added that “members of the LGBTQ+ community deserve to feel safe across our country.”
But is the government doing enough to tackle the…
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