COLD LAKE – In Cold Lake – and across the country – people gathered on Sept. 20 to protest how information on gender identity and sexual orientation is being introduced in K-12 schools.
About 200 people gathered at the Cold Lake Energy Centre and made their way to City Hall under the banner of the 1 Million March 4 Children.
The Canada-wide rally was a means for parents, grandparents and members of the public to advocate for the elimination of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) curriculums, gender ideology and mixed bathrooms in schools.
“It’s not about being anti anything,” said Amy Schaffrick, a parent, a youth pastor and a rally attendee. “The basic message was that we want to let kids be kids and to let parents be parents.”
When it comes to the purpose behind the rally, she said parents are asking for three things – awareness, a voice and choice.
“If we have seen the curriculum offered and we would like to opt out, we'd like to have that option,” Schaffrick stated.
While Schaffrick acknowledged that the Alberta curriculum is available online, her concern and those who attended one of the many 1 Million March 4 Children rallies, comes down to the introduction of SOGI 123 materials being introduced to K-12 curriculums. SOGI 123 was launched in Alberta in 2017-18.
“Programs like this are movements that will come through school and encourage teachers and staff to present gender fluidity through all methods of teaching and through every subject at school,” she said.
Schaffrick was referencing one of SOGI 123 lesson plans on gender identity and pronouns for Grade 3 classes designed to be incorporated into Language Arts and Social Studies classes.
“Programs like this make it impossible to opt out of that class,” she emphasized. “The request is that those conversations be held at home, not at school."
Schaffrick added that the concern is not with individual school divisions, but the pressure put on principals, teaching staff and school divisions by the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA), which is listed as a collaborator on the SOGI 123 Alberta website.
Counter protest
While there were no counter protesters at the Cold Lake demonstration initially, a small group of counter protesters did show up near the end of the march and walked across the street with the group to City Hall, noted Schaffrick.
While one group held signs that read ‘Love is Love’ and carried rainbow flags, the other group held signs reading ‘Let kids be kids’ and carried Canadian flags.
Unlike a handful of rallies that saw protesters and counter protesters clash, the demonstration in Cold Lake remained peaceful. Cold Lake RCMP kept tabs on the event, but no police intervention was required.
