Duelling rallies on sexual orientation and gender identity education held across Canada

Coquitlam, B.C. -

The debate over sexual orientation and gender identity education in schools is heating up.

Protests both for and against SOGI in the curriculum took place across the country Friday.

Experts say the controversy is being fuelled by misinformation.

Members of the Tri Cities LGBTQ community rallied outside Coquitlam City Hall to show their support for the B.C. curriculum resources known as "SOGI 123."

They were countering another protest organized by a group called 1 Million March For Children.

The group said the goal of its rally was safeguard kids from propaganda and to advocate for parental rights.

SOGI has been widely misrepresented as its own curriculum. However, it is actually just a resource for educators endorsed by the province.

“As a trans person, growing up, I never had that kind of education in schools, and I think my journey would have been a lot easier if I did,” said Malhar, a member of the Tri Cities Pride Society who goes by only one name.

1 Million March For Children calls the initiative propaganda.

“The sexual orientation, gender identity doctrine is harmful to students,” said Waldene, an anti-SOGI protester and retired teacher, who did not share a last name.

“There's so much confusion going on. It started in public school systems in high school, and now it's gotten all the way down to kindergarten,” said Waldene.

Experts say the controversy is fuelled by deliberate misinformation and fear mongering for political gain.

“Kindergarten students are not being taught about anything related to sex,” said Travers, a sociology professor at Simon Fraser University who, like Malhar, goes by just one name.

They say that SOGI is all about education.

“There is no agenda to, you know, to influence anyone's sexuality, beyond learning about the importance of consent, learning about sexual health, the kinds of things that we all need.”

At the peak, the number of pro-SOGI protesters at Friday's rally was more than double the opposing side.

Nicola Spurling, a candidate for the BC Green Party, organized the Coquitlam Pride rally in response to the SOGI protest.

“I think it's travesty that these other folks here will come out and protest and say that we shouldn't have inclusive education,” said Spurling.

Waldene says the introduction of pronouns and gender identity have caused confusion among young students.

“It’s ridiculous because they don’t even know what they are anymore, because imagine going through life not knowing, because some people told you that, and that became part of your belief system,” she said.

“Kids today, they are smart enough to know that this isn't a resource that is pushing them to be anything that they're not. It's about making sure that they feel comfortable expressing who they actually are,” Spurling told CTV News.

When asked why they were protesting SOGI at the Coquitlam rally, a young group of students told CTV News they were preaching the gospel.

“We’re here to tell people that there’s only two genders,” said Juha, a Grade 8 student.

“To tell people that LGBTQ is bad,” said Juyoung, a Grade 5 student.

Friday's protest in Coquitlam remained civil, a stark contrast to previous years when police had to step in.