Poilievre stands by ‘parental rights’ while Trudeau cries wolf
‘I believe in parental rights and parental rights come before the government,’ Pierre Poilievre told a reporter last week.
While Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre remains mum on opposing the medicinal transitioning of minors, he firmly believes parents have the “final authority” over their children — not government.
On September 21, a reporter asked Poilievre for his thoughts on the '1 Million March 4 Children' protest. The protest drew tens of thousands of Canadians across a dozen cities and towns.
Poilievre replied:
I don’t yet know enough about it.
I understand that parents are frustrated with [the] government imposing contrary values on their children. My view is that parents should be the final authority on the values and lessons that are taught to children.
I believe in parental rights and parental rights come before the government.
According to a SecondStreet.org poll, 57% of Canadians believe schools should inform parents if their child discusses changing their gender pronouns or transitioning. Only 18% disagreed with this statement, while 25% didn't know.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that “Transphobia, homophobia, and biphobia have no place in this country.”
“We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations, and we stand united in support of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians across the country — you are valid and you are valued,” he said.
Pierre Poilievre comment on the 1 million March 4 children pic.twitter.com/TNXAa0LifT
— Guillaume Roy (@guillaum3roy) September 21, 2023
Poilievre denounced the prime minister for comments he said, “divides to distract from all he has broken” by “demonizing concerned parents.”
In late-June, he condemned federal attempts to influence New Brunswick on Policy 713, a provincial policy that acknowledged parental consent as rudimentary to a child’s education.
On June 8, the New Brunswick Tories passed education reform after parental backlash sparked considerable debate on the gender identity of students.
Effective July 1, transgender or 'non-binary' students under 16 cannot change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
Soon after the policy passed, Trudeau claimed that "Trans kids in [that province] are being told they don't have the right to be their true selves."
"Trans kids need to feel safe, not targeted by politicians," he said. "We need to stand against this."
At the time, Poilievre told reporters he stands with Premier Blaine Higgs on parental rights.
"I know that Justin Trudeau has butted into that. The prime minister has no business in decisions that should rest with provinces and parents," he said.
The Conservative grassroots has given party officials a mandate to protect children from gender ideology, as thousands of members voted Saturday to oppose the medical transitioning of minors.
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 10, 2023
READ MORE: https://t.co/APCGXLmVWx pic.twitter.com/ZDBP0uNjAZ
However, the Conservative leader remains mum on the mandate given to him by the federal Conservatives to protect children from radical gender ideology.
On September 9, thousands of Conservative delegates voted (69%) to oppose the medical transitioning of minors (Resolution C-7).
In place of life-altering procedures, C-7 would encourage "positive mental and physical health support for all Canadians suffering from gender dysphoria and related mental health challenges" instead of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender reassignment surgeries.
But PPC leader Maxime Bernier, a former Conservative MP and cabinet minister himself, had reservations on whether Poilievre would support the motion.
"We don't know if the CPC will adopt [the] motion as official party policy, and we suspect Poilievre and his team still don't know either," Bernier told Rebel News.
"As they always do, they will check results of polls and focus groups before the election and decide what kind of convoluted stance is more likely to get them more support among some groups of voters while costing them the least support among others," he said.
"As Poilievre himself said, he is not bound by these resolutions," continued Bernier.
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