The 2023 march saw thousands of protesters turn out, along with counter-protesters who accused the demonstration of being a movement of “hate.”
One of the this year’s rally organizers in Alberta, Mahmoud Mourra, told The Epoch Times participants are not against the LGBT community, but want more say about what is being taught to children in schools.
“We’re not against anyone. All we’re asking is that kids at minor age shouldn’t be exposed to sexualization or indoctrination,” he said. “ We don’t want to promote LGBT, we don’t want to oppress them, and we don’t want to oppress ourselves.”
An organizer for the Toronto event, Kareem Tadros, reiterated in an Aug. 20 speech the group is not against any specific groups, saying there were also members of the LGBT community among the parental rights protesters.
He said the movement stood against the sexualization of children participants believe is becoming commonplace in schools, and in the Canadian culture.
Tadros also said that if religion is not permitted in schools, then other ideologies must also be removed from the education system.
He said he spoke for the large masses of parents who turned out to the event in 2023.
“These parents came together and they showed up because they are fed up. And they are so fed up that millions more have joined this movement and will be participating again this year, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024,” he said.
“We do not condemn anyone’s lifestyle, even if we may not agree with it. We maintain that it is our freedom as a diverse nation that is rich in culture that we can disagree but still exist unified in peace and with respect for one another.”
Several provinces, including New Brunswick and Saskatchewan and Alberta, have recently changed student pronoun and parental consent policies in schools. Before the change, schools were not required to inform parents if a child wanted to change their name or pronouns.
Counter-protesters at the events said the update to school policies violates children’s rights.
