Protestors File Complaint With BC RCMP Against Education Minister

Protestors File Complaint With BC RCMP Against Education Minister
People gather to protest against the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) in schools, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Sept. 28, 2023. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)
Chandra Philip
2/3/2024
Updated:
2/3/2024

Surrey protestors have filed a complaint with the RCMP accusing Education Minister Rachna Singh of violating the Criminal Code by making sexually explicit materials available to children in school libraries.

Amrit Birring told The Epoch Times that the complaint was filed on Jan. 27.

It stems from books titled “It’s Perfectly Normal” and “Gender Queer,” a letter to the RMCP by Mr. Birring said. Both books have explicit illustrations, he said.

“I also gave him sample pictures from the books and also a letter from an email from the school board in response to our email, acknowledging that those books are in elementary and secondary school libraries,” Mr. Birring explained.

“Schools in B.C. are governed by respective school boards. School boards are in turn governed by B.C. Education Ministry. The head of B.C. Education Ministry is Education Minster Rachna Singh,” Mr. Birring’s letter said.

“So she is responsible for making ‘sexually explicit materials available to children’ in B.C. schools, which is punishable by mandatory jail sentence.”

Mr. Birring cited section 171.1 of the Criminal Code, which defines explicit material as “written material whose dominant characteristic is the description, for a sexual purpose, of explicit sexual activity with a person.”

The Epoch Times attempted to reach the Surrey RMCP and Minister Singh, but did not immediately hear back.

The move comes after months of ongoing protests in Surrey and Abbotsford against SOGI 123, which is a teaching resource used in B.C. schools that covers gender and sexual identity.

At the end of December 2023, a group in Abbotsford protested 24 hours for seven consecutive days, calling on the government to remove SOGI 123 materials from schools.

“It just came to me that I need to because the children are being told to change their gender and all these pornographic books in their faces, and children being confused about whether they’re boys or girls,” Kanwalijit Singh said at the time. “We have many cases from parents letting us know what’s going on in schools.”

Similar protests caused an Abbotsford school board to cancel a meeting in September 2023, after hundreds of protestors gathered outside. Trustees called the police to be escorted out of the building.
A Conservative MLA attempted to bring attention to books available in school libraries but was told the material was too racy to be read in the provincial legislature.
Bruce Banman, MLA for Abbotsford South, questioned Minister Singh in an Oct. 4, 2023, sitting about why the book “Eleanor & Park,” which includes sexually explicit material, was available in public schools.

“I stand here with parents in Abbotsford who are deeply concerned about sexually graphic and explicit content available in certain fictional books within our public school libraries to children as young as 11 years of age,” he asked.

After attempting to read a couple of explicit sentences from the book, he was chastised by the speaker.

“Member please do not use that kind of language,” Speaker Raj Chouhan said.

“If the words I just read were inappropriate and unacceptable and clearly disturbing to this House, how is that those same words are appropriate to be read by a sixth grader as young as 11 years old in our public system? How are those words safe and inclusive?” Mr. Banman said.

Jeff Sandes contributed to this report.