Protests clash at Queen’s Park over gender-affirming care for children
A rally at Queen’s Park in Toronto Saturday against gender-affirming care for youth in Ontario was met by a counter protest organized by transgender rights activists who said they were there to combat misinformation and protect what they say is essential health care.
Opposing chants echoed across the Queen’s Park lawn, with dozens of people on both sides, separated by police.
The “Let Kids Be Kids” rally, organized by the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA), called for an end to gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy and genital surgery — some of which isn’t currently available for people under 18 in Canada.
“We believe we need to let kids be, to grow and develop naturally without medical gender transitions,” said Daniel Zekveld, a policy analyst with ARPA.
The counter protest was put together in response by organizers from the Trans Rights Commission of Toronto. They said the “Let Kids Be Kids” rally was spreading misinformation about gender-affirming care for youth, which they called essential care.
Counter protesters pushed back on a number of ARPA’s claims, including that minors were undergoing genital surgery in Canada.
Currently, lower or bottom genital surgeries are only available to people 18 and older by federal law. In rare cases, professionals say older teens can be eligible for chest, or top, surgery, but only after they’ve been in care for a significant time and have had thorough medical consultation.
Lisa DelCol, president of Toronto Pflag, said she joined the counter protest to help dispel misinformation.
“Parents are out here because they’re scared. Some of them are scared because they’re getting the wrong information. They don’t know what it means for their kids, and so they push back, understandably,” she said.
“The rest of us, the other parents, we’re out here because we’re afraid of the backlash that’s coming from that disinformation.”
Bri Crockford said they started gender-affirming care as an adult.
“We’re saying that this is a safe, approved care and that doctors increasingly are listening to trans people talk about their experiences and informing care based on that,” Crockford said.
“It’s the same process that we use to arrive at all of our medical treatments.”
MPP Krystin Wong-Tam, who is non-binary and addressed the counter protest, said in an interview that this type of care is about saving lives, and they were attended Saturday to show support for transgender kids.
“We’re telling them that they are loved and perfect for who they are,” Wong-Tam said.
According to the 2021 census, roughly one in 300 people in Ontario identify as transgender or non-binary. Gender-affirming care is endorsed by medical associations in the country and around the world, according to the Canadian Pediatric Society.
Minors in the early stages of puberty can be prescribed puberty blockers. Though experts widely consider them safe, some countries, like the U.K. and Sweden, have placed restrictions on them until their long-term effects can be better studied.
There’s a growing divide about how to care for transgender youth, with several European countries limiting access to drugs known as puberty blockers. CBC’s Ellen Mauro explores the current thinking and challenges for families navigating shifting evidence and ideological battles.
Protesters with “Let Kids Be Kids,” like Kellie Lynn Pirie, said this care should be out of reach for minors in Ontario.
“We are labelling kids with life-altering labels because little boys wanna have long hair or girls wanna cut their hair short and play with trucks,” said Pirie. They said they began gender transitioning in 2005 and then began reversing that transition in 2023.
In Alberta this month, Premier Danielle Smith’s office said it might invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to limit gender-affirming care for youth. Zekveld, with ARPA, said they’d like to see Ontario follow suit.
Medical groups including the Alberta Medical Association and Canadian Paediatric Society have pushed back against Smith’s new rules on gender-affirming care. One Calgary doctor called them an attack on transgender youth and their medical care.
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