Protests Against Gender Identity Curriculum in Schools Continue for Third Day in Abbotsford, BC

People gather for a protest against the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) curriculum in schools, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Sept. 28, 2023. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)

ABBOTSFORD, BC—Protests in Abbotsford, B.C., continued for the third day in a row on Sept. 28 as parents concerned about the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) curriculum in local schools are demanding to be heard by school trustees and other city politicians.

When the Abbotsford school board met on Sept. 26, members decided to cancel their scheduled monthly meeting after hundreds of protesters gathered outside chanting, “Leave our kids alone,” prompting the trustees to call police and be escorted out of the building. The Epoch Times reached out to the chair and vice-chair for comment but did receive a reply by press time.

After gathering outside city hall the next day, protesters met again in the parking lot of the Abbotsford School District’s administration building on Sept. 28 after word spread the scheduled District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) meeting would give them an opportunity to speak to the board. However, the meeting was held online and was by invitation only, prompting the crowd to create an impromptu rally with speakers addressing parents from the back of a pick-up truck.

Jasbir Pannu, the vice-president of a local Sikh temple, told The Epoch Times children are being exposed to SOGI curriculum before they are mature enough to understand it.

“I am really concerned about the kids and I am concerned with the families with what they need to learn and what needs to be done,” Mr. Pannu said.

“At a certain age, you can’t force the kids what to do or give them a choice to do this because they are not developed properly. … Are they supposed to listen to their teacher? Are they supposed to listen to their parents or not? Kids are confused.”

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Another protester, Ranjit Singh, general secretary of the Gurdwara Baba Banda Singh Bahadar Sikh Society in Abbotsford, echoed Mr. Pannu’s assessment, but added the trustees may face consequences if they don’t listen to their constituents.

“They need votes,” Mr. Singh said in an interview. “They have to come to me, our people, we are not going to beg. … We will tell them how to handle the situation if they won’t participate now, so they have to listen. If they don’t, their votes are in our hands.”

People protest against the SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) curriculum in schools, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Sept. 28, 2023. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)

Controversy

Controversy has plagued a handful of Lower Mainland school board meetings in recent months as parents have contested the SOGI curriculum and asked school boards to remove graphic material and books from their libraries.

During a meeting February, Chilliwack school board chair Willow Reichelt shut off the microphone on three speakers, leading to hundreds of angry emails in response.

In the same month, the Mission school board passed a motion banning Action4Canada or its representatives from speaking at their meetings. Action4Canada  has campaigned across Canada against the SOGI curriculum in schools and advocated for the removal of books it deems contain graphic imagery and adult themes.

And in Surrey, where parents and SOGI opponents began to attend school board meetings regularly, September’s meeting was cancelled and held virtually.

The BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils describes SOGI as “an inclusive term that is relevant to all individuals regardless of where they identify on the sexual orientation or gender identity spectrums, as every person has a sexual orientation and every person has a gender identity.”

It defines SOGI 123 as “resources and tools for educators who want to better understand sexual orientation and gender identity,” and notes that “sexual orientation and gender identity are important topics that are interwoven through several curriculum areas.”

The Abbotsford School District Administration Building in Abbotsford, B.C. (Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times)

‘Dam Ready to Burst’

One person who was able to attend the online Abbotsford DPAC meeting was Marc Vella, the PAC representative for Abbotsford Senior Secondary School and founder of ParentsVoice BC, a new political party which managed to win three trustee seats in 2022 on a platform that favours parental input in schools, rather than incorporating cultural trends.

Mr. Vella wouldn’t comment on the online meeting, but said he did anticipate the SOGI backlash when he formed the party in the summer of 2022.

“My campaign manager said to me last election he felt that the whole transgender (issue) was just cresting and the dam was ready to burst,” he told The Epoch Times. “If [the election was held in] October of 2023, we would probably have had resounding success. And I think he was bang on. In the last six months, it’s night and day how things have changed on that issue.”

Still, he said parents need to get involved and not be intimidated by the process or use ignorance as an excuse to stay on the sidelines and hope somebody else takes up the cause.

“Every time I go to these meetings, they’re barely attended. We complain, but the time of complaining is over now. It’s easy to get involved, and that means something as simple as getting on the PAC board of your kid’s school,” he said.

“These protest movements, if they make gains, then the whole idea is to elect trustees that will implement policy that will solidify those gains. Otherwise, they will just slip through our fingers, as usual.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils and the Abbotsford Teachers’ Union for comment but did not receive a reply.