Hundreds of anti-SOGI protesters rally outside city hall, one counter-protester assaulted

One counter-protester was assaulted at the anti-SOGI “1 Million March 4 Children” rally outside Coquitlam City Hall. 

Hundreds of people showed up to city hall on Wednesday, though the anti-SOGI protesters significantly outnumbered the counter-protesters.

The rally was one of 70 protests taking place simultaneously across Canada, organized by a group called Hands Off Our Children.

While the rival crowds started out in even numbers when the rally began at 9 a.m., waves of additional anti-SOGI protesters began to arrive approximately 30 minutes later.

The morning had begun relatively peacefully, with competing groups trading chants of “SOGI saves lives” versus “SOGI is a lie” at the intersection of Guildford Way and Pinetree Way.

But as the numbers of the anti-SOGI crowd swelled, some in their group began to act violently.

One man screamed obscenities at the counter protesters calling them “pedophiles,” before trying to start physical altercations and spitting at a journalist working for another media outlet.

The same man later punched a counter-protester in the face.

Police were not on scene at first, but arrived shortly after the crowd of anti-SOGI protesters grew to several hundred.

Coquitlam RCMP stated through an email they were aware of a minor assault during the protest, but the victim was not receptive to assistance.

Eventually, the anti-SOGI group moved off the street and gathered on the steps behind city hall, with different protesters offering speeches to the crowd.

One anti-SOGI protester, speaking with a microphone, said they were not there to fight against the LGBTQ2AIS+ community, but government policy over the literature in the grade school system. 

He railed against “mainstream media,” claiming they were being characterized as racists and bigots.

“It’s pornography,” he said to a cheering crowd, before denouncing sexualized images in children’s libraries. “We are not hateful, we are not here to cause violence. We are here for our bloody children, and if you can’t see that, get the hell out of (government) office.”

Individuals and organizations not associated with the Coquitlam School District have spread “confusing and inconsistent messages” about the SOGI curriculum, according to a message from the school district.

All curriculum content is introduced at age and developmentally appropriate times, and no suggestions are made around sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the district. 

“There is nothing overly new about this work and a new subject area is not being introduced. Teachers have been teaching this curriculum for years, but there is a legitimate need for increasing awareness of sexual orientation and gender identity to be as inclusive as possible.

“The approach is to build understanding of the diverse society that we live in and learn to treat each other with dignity and respect, regardless of our differences.”

Conflict over the SOGI curriculum has become wrapped up in larger political narratives since the provincial government mandated its inclusion into the education system in 2016.

Although organizers of Wednesday’s rally say their movement is mainly focused on sex education in the school system, they have a well-documented track record of opposing LGBTQ2AIS+ rights, public health policy over vaccines and lockdowns and other conspiracies. 

The anti-SOGI crowd was diverse, both ethnically and in their rationale for attending the rally. Attendees held signs espousing a mish-mash of anti-Trans, family rights, religious, and far-right ideology.

One sign included the message: This Is Really About Communism.

Several of the protesters said they had participated in the anti-lockdown convoy protests during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2022.

One counter-protester, Chris Fofonoff, a member of the group Socialist Alternative, said that LGBTQ2AIS+ people are already disproportionately victims of violence, which SOGI is specifically designed to address.

He said that conflict over SOGI represents a division of working class people, with the LGBTQ2AIS+ community being scapegoated.

“The folks on the other side of the street here . . . are exactly the same types that oppose any kind of sex education in schools,” Fofonoff said. “Sex ed is honestly one the best ways to protect kids from actual abuse. The anti-child abuse crowd is on this side of the street.”