Parental rights take centre stage at UCP event despite cancel culture pressure

The United Conservative Party’s constituency association for Calgary-Lougheed hosted a “Let Kids Be Kids” town hall at Canyon Meadows Cinemas in Calgary, inviting people of all backgrounds and convictions to discuss supporting parental rights in Alberta, and to provide some clarity on the province's new parental rights legislation.

Despite being non-partisan, non-political and open to any law-abiding groups looking to rent a space, the staff at Canyon Meadows Cinemas received hundreds of calls, some of them rude and vulgar, and even had the Alberta Teachers' Association cancel an upcoming booking because they wouldn’t cave and cancel this UCP-associated event.

Despite the pressure and the loss of business, Canyon Meadows Cinemas refused to give in, so please consider supporting them.

While hundreds of calls may have come through against the event, and police were on location in case planned protests proceeded, ultimately no one showed up in person to oppose the event. We did notice a Global News camera person lurking around the peripheries of the theatre outside, but despite being invited in by the owner they remained outdoors, likely only hoping to speak to protesters to share their perspective.

Rebel News, on the other hand, did some real journalism and went inside to bring you the other side of the story.

We spoke with United Conservative Party President Rob Smith about the party's newfound assertiveness on parental rights and the need for conversations around sensitive and contentious issues to preserve democracy.

We also asked him about the former candidate for the UCP in Lethbridge-West, Torry Tanner, who resigned from the party after coming under fire for decrying inappropriate content being shared in the classroom, as she was in attendance at the event. We were also fortunate to have Tanner herself join us to discuss on the shift within the UCP since she was brushed out, and the apparent rejection of the kowtowing to radical progressive activists that has been taking place.

Blaine Badiuk, a UCP member who was speaking at the event, joined us to discuss her perspectives as a transwoman on Alberta’s parental rights legislation, and to discuss how conversations like those being had at this event bring us together while those seeking to stifle them simply wish to divide.

Event organizer and UCP Calgary-Lougheed constituency association president Darrell Komick and the executive director of Parent’s for Choice in Education John Hilton O’Brien also weighed-in on the vitriol the event endured and whether it was anti-LGBT in any way.