On the morning of September 20, Montreal police officers beat and tear-gassed LGBTQ+ community members and allies gathered at Place Vauquelin to oppose transphobia. People had gathered to counter the 1 Million March 4 Children protest organized by Hands Off Our Kids (HOOK) and Ensemble Pour Protéger Nos Enfants (EPPNE), both notorious for spreading rhetoric against 2SLGBTQ+ rights. This counter-protest, titled Protect Trans Kids, aimed to protect trans children across Canada, and the world, while also bringing awareness to the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Over 30 counter-protests and rallies for trans rights happened on this same day across the country.
Groups such as HOOK and EPPNE repeatedly claim that schools indoctrinate children through LGBTQ-inclusive education and purposely undermine parental authority. Slogans such as “Say no to indoctrination” and “I belong to my parents” have been used for the mass mobilization of their members to launch nationwide protests, initially held on September 20, 2023.
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