“War” is being waged against Canada’s LGBTQ2+ community by the prophets of hate and Conservative politicians are part of the problem

Hate crimes have increased consistently year after year for more than a decade with numerous violent and deadly xenophobic attacks . . . Today it is members of the LGBTQ2+ community particularly those who are transgender, who are the targets of hate-motivated narratives and violence.

 

By Fareed Khan

Whether Canadians know it or not, there is a “war” being waged against members of Canada’s LGBTQ2+ community which has been increasing in intensity over the past year.  The latest victims of this simmering conflict are the University of Waterloo professor and students who were attacked on June 28th by a knife-wielding assailant in a class about gender issues in a hate-motivated incident.  According to anti-hate activists and many in the LGBTQ2+ community such an attack was predictable given the increasingly hateful and bigoted narratives that have been directed at members of the community by fringe elements in society, including by some right wing politicians.

 

 

The rising chorus of hate speech targeting those who are transgender, and the LGBTQ2+ community at large, presents a clear and present danger to the safety and security of members of these communities, and this attack is the latest indication that not enough is being done by governments to push back against the waves of hate washing over Canada’s borders.  It demonstrates why all levels of government need to take a united and coordinated approach to fighting hate to prevent such incidents from being repeated.

 

The anti-LGBTQ2+ narratives that Canadians are witnessing, and which have been seen at demonstrations against transgender students at some schools, are also being fuelled by right-wing governments and politicians that want to diminish or eliminate human rights protections for members of the LGBTQ2+ community.

 

The words and actions of people like Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, News Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, and Peoples Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, denying the fundamental human rights of members of the LGBTQ2+ community are energizing and enabling those who embrace ideologies of hate to act out their prejudices in a violent manner.  The words and actions of these politicians and their supporters should be seen as an affront to the concept of human rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

Pierre Poilievre, in particular, has repeatedly been on the wrong side of issues around hate since before he became Conservative Party leader.  His most recent transgression which legitimized anti-LGBTQ2+ hate was his willingness to be photographed with a man who wore a t-shirt with a “straight pride” message on it.  The message said, “Thank a straight person today for your existence,” above graphic symbols for a man and a woman, with “straight pride” below that.

 

 

According to anti-hate activists this is seen as another dog whistle shout out by the Tory leader to homophobes and transphobes, and the explanation provided by his office as to why he was in the photo has been called a “lame excuse” as the Conservative leader courts the votes of Canadian voters opposed to LGBTQ2+ rights.

As the leader of a national party that hopes to form government Poilievre has repeatedly shown that he is willing to woo extremist and xenophobic elements of society to achieve his political goals, despite his public statements denouncing them.  He has previously courted racists and white supremacists with his support of convoy protesters during and after the Ottawa occupation in February 2022, and he now seems to be trying to gain the support of homophobes and transphobes with this incident at the Calgary Stampede.

The explanation by Poilievre’s office that he posed with “hundreds of people” at the Calgary Stampede and does not read t-shirt slogans is an excuse which does not hold water, according to anti-hate activists, since he travels with a staff entourage whose job is to make sure these kinds of mistakes do not happen.  If his staff were doing their job they would have seen the slogan on the t-shirt while the man was waiting in line for his photo op with Poilievre, and could have prevented the now controversial photo from being taken.  The fact that this did not occur means either that the staff around Poilievre hold homophobic and transphobic views or that they are incompetent.  Either way it does not reflect well on the Conservative leader.

Since they were defeated in the 2015 federal election the Conservative Party has been adrift politically as they try and create the conditions for a victory over Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.  Part of their strategy seems to be to embrace extremist elements, including racists, bigots, homophobes, transphobes and others who believe in hateful ideologies, all the while hoping that Canadians do not notice how they are drifting to the extreme right on the political spectrum, an area occupied by fascist and extremist elements of society.

Under Poilievre, and former leaders Erin O’Toole and Andrew Scheer, the Conservatives have repeatedly engaged with various hateful elements, as well as turning a blind eye when MPs within the Tory caucus have said or done distasteful things.  But when they have been caught and called out on their willingness to welcome these objectionable and extremist elements into their political tent they respond with weak excuses or after the fact apologies, which become meaningless over time as such incidents are repeated.

 

 

Since 2015 the Conservatives have joined hands with anti-Muslim bigots to undermine the government’s efforts to oppose Islamophobia, even after the deadly 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting.  They supported racist, white supremacist and extremist elements connected with the convoy occupation of Ottawa in 2022.  Some Tory MPs were happy to meet with a neo-Nazi member of the European Parliament earlier this year, and claimed ignorance about her well-known anti-immigrant and racist views when questioned by media about why they met with her.  And then there is the party’s distasteful history of opposing the advancement of LGBTQ2 rights, whether it came to equality under the law for homosexuals, gay marriage, and now transgender rights.

Since 2012 police-reported hate crimes have more than doubled, with hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity increasing by 77% and 64% respectively in 2021.  According to a 2021 study more than 99% of hate crime victims don’t file police reports.  The report also showed that Canadians are more likely to be victims of hate crimes than be involved in a car accident.

 

Hate crimes have increased consistently year after year for more than a decade and there have been numerous violent and deadly xenophobic attacks during that time.  Today it is members of the LGBTQ2+ community, particularly those who are transgender, who are the targets of hate-motivated narratives and violence.  

 

Consequently, Canadians who oppose hate need to stand with members of this community to protect and defend their rights, and governments need to step up to the plate and implement a comprehensive national anti-hate strategy led by the federal government and coordinated with provincial and municipal governments if there is to be any hope of successfully pushing back the narratives of hate that are spreading across the country.  If Canadians care about fulfilling the vision of the “just society” that Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau spoke of more than 50 years ago then it is up to all who believe in a pluralistic, diverse, inclusive and accepting Canada to stand with those who are LGBTQ2+ at this moment in history to ensure that we all have the right to live in peace, have our human rights protected and defended, and be accepted for who we are.

 

Fareed Khan is a human rights activist and founder of Canadians United Against Hate.

 

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