An event featuring Meghan Murphy and other women speaking on gender identity and women’s rights has been preemptively cancelled by the Cowichan Community Centre, citing the BC Human Rights Code.
“As a public facility we are required to follow policy under the BC Human Rights Code. Given the likelihood that the purpose of this event is to promote, or would have the effect of promoting discrimination, contempt or hatred for any group or person on the basis of sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor, it is determined this rental must be cancelled,” wrote the coordinator, who did not return requests for comment by The Epoch Times by press time.
The Cowichan coordinator said the district was “committed to providing a positive work environment that embraces diversity and treats everyone with dignity and respect.”
Based on social media posts, it appears a local activist took issue with the presentation, suggesting it was an “anti-trans presentation” that would support “harmful rhetoric.” The activist posted the emails of the community centre administrators and encouraged others to try and shut down the event.
The planned event was the second event of its kind, with the first one held on Oct. 1 in Ladysmith, B.C., fully sold out. Ms. Murphy said due to high demand they added the second event on Vancouver Island in the Cowichan Valley.
The cancelled Oct. 4 event was to feature three speakers: Meghan Murphy, a feminist author and speaker; Byrony Dixon, who has publicly called hormone blockers “chemical castration drugs”; and Serena “Freedombear” Winterburn, a Cree woman who ran as a school board trustee in 2022 on a platform in opposition to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) and critical race theory being taught in schools.
“In truth, the Cowichan Community Centre is engaging in discrimination themselves—against women who wish to speak about and advocate for their rights and safety, to discuss the ways in which gender identity ideology and legislation marginalizes women and girls, and to discuss the ways in which this modern version of “inclusivity” actually silences and excludes Canadians from having conversations about policies and laws that affect them and their families,” said Ms. Murphy.
She said women “have the right to speak about their own rights, safety, and realities in Canada,” and that the BC Human Rights Code “does not prohibit conversations about gender identity, women’s rights, and inclusivity.
“The cancellation of our event is rooted in lies and is in my opinion a form of libel. The censorship of women’s free speech at a public community centre paid for by residents of this community is unacceptable and we plan to fight back,” said Ms. Murphy.
