Canada's Parliament returns to work Sept. 16, four days before divisions over gender approaches in schools will return to the national spotlight with the second annual 1 Million March 4 Children.

The timing could fuel controversy given Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's  Labour Day weekend appointment of an outspoken 2SLGBTQI+ advocate as one of two independent members of the Senate. 

A biography issued by the Prime Minister's Office hails newly minted Alberta Senator Kristopher Wells as “a champion for the 2SLGBTQI+ community who has used research and advocacy to help advance diversity, equity and human rights in Alberta and across the country." Wells, an activist and academic with a PhD from the University of Alberta, developed Edmonton Public Schools’ first sexual orientation and gender identity board policy. He founded MacEwan University’s Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity and promoted LGBT rights by serving on various committees and councils.  

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Wells and fellow Senate appointee Daryl Fridhandler have also attracted criticism because Trudeau chose them rather than the top three finishers in the 2021 Alberta Senate nominee election. Pam Davidson, Erika Barootes and Mykhailo Martyniouk respectively received 18.2, 17.1 and 11.3 per cent of the nearly 2.1 million votes cast by Albertans. Wells and Fridhandler did not compete in the election.

“This perception that the federal government is ignoring the democratic preferences of a province will deepen divisions within Canada, particularly between Western provinces and the rest of the country,” Martyniouk said. 

Wells and Fridhandler were recommended by the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments. According to the government press release, “the Board is guided in its work by public, transparent, non-partisan and merit-based criteria to identify highly qualified candidates for the Senate.”

Wells attracted public attention in January for his social media critique of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s new gender pronoun policy, which he called a frontal attack on trans and 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

“This is the most draconian legislation ever introduced in Canada,” Wells posted on X. “It is a full-on attack. It is not only immoral, it is illegal. There is no evidence or research to support any of these recommendations. This is ideological warfare.”

The new law forbids gender reassignment surgery for minors under 17 years old and puberty blockers and hormone therapies for youth 15 years old or younger. Parental notification and consent are required for youth under 16 seeking a pronoun change, while notification is mandated for 16 and 17 year olds.

Elementary and secondary school teachers are instructed to notify parents and provide an opt-in requirement every time they plan to lecture on gender identity, sexual orientation and human sexuality. In addition to Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are the two other provinces with laws protecting parental rights.

Kamel El-Cheikh, the chairman of Hands Off Our Kids that coordinates the 1 Million March 4 Children, said Trudeau's choosing of Wells suggests the Prime Minister "is not backing down in promoting the radical Pride agenda.”

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The real life effects of the ideological divide were shown Sept. 3 when the National Post reported that York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) teacher had worked with a student to hide her usage of non-binary “they/them” pronouns from the parents for several months after Julie — a  pseudonym — came out to her class at the beginning of that year.

The parents sounded the alarm when they learned about their daughter's situation in June 2022. Reportedly, when they complained to the school and demanded to be included in conversations concerning their daughter, the school requested the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) investigate the family.

By this past December, Julie had “detransitioned after realizing she’d been swept up in a social fad that overlooked her underlying mental health issues,” according to the Post's Ari David Blaff.

Julie’s mother — identified as Christina —  described a "horrible time for me as a parent because so much was happening behind my back. I didn’t know for a long while about many things that were happening. I suspected that something was really wrong.” 

Mark Brosens, YCDSB Senior Manager of Brand, Marketing and Communications, said privacy rights prohibited the board from sharing information about students, statement with The Catholic Register.

 “The YCDSB believes the partnership of home, school and parish provides the best educational experience. York Catholic supports the Catholic Church's teachings and our community members' human rights. The YCDSB has many supports available to assist the mental health and well-being of all of our students and staff,” Brosens said in a written statement provided to The Catholic Register.

El-Cheikh, based in Ottawa, said the catalyzing viewpoint of the 1 Million March 4 Children completely opposes the actions reported to have occurred in the York school board case.

“The philosophy is simple: Canada’s children belong to Canada’s parents. We are looking to eradicate any law (or policy) that undermines the safety and well-being of our children.”

El-Cheikh said 1.5 million parental rights activists marched in 2023, a number some dispute. He believes a similar number of protesters could march this year because the organization “grew by 75 per cent” over the past year.

Gwen Landolt, a founder of REAL Women of Canada, said the 1 Million March 4 Children indicates Canadians “of every different background are simply fed up.” She added it is important for Catholics and Christians, in particular, to remember “that God is in charge, but He wants us to do our job. He wants us to work very hard for our beliefs and not just sit back and tolerate this intolerable situation.” 

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Landolt, like many observers of the nation’s political scene, will be observing the ripple effects of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s decision to quash the 2022 supply-and-confidence agreement with the Trudeau government

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Polievre has told media outlets that “we have to respect parental rights and I stand for parental rights because I trust parents to make the right decision for their kids.”