Islanders gather at Rainbow Week of Action rally to combat homophobia

About 150 people gathered in downtown Charlottetown on Friday as part of a national movement urging governments to take action against rising hate toward the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

"It was nice to see so many Islanders coming out, to stand with the queer community and to show that there's no place for hate on P.E.I.," said Anastasia Preston, one of the organizers and the trans community outreach co-ordinator at PEERS Alliance.

The National Rainbow Week of Action involves dozens of demonstrations in cities across Canada. The rally on P.E.I. was the first public call to action since last fall, when the community held a rally in Charlottetown response to a protest over school policies endorsing 2SLGBTQ+ rights.

Preston said she was glad not to see any counter-protesters at the rally on Friday.

"We had probably one of the most violent protests that P.E.I. has ever had here last fall," she said. "So this was really important for us to come out and stand against homophobia and transphobia and biphobia and to bring our LGBTQ community together."

Friday was also the National Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, and Preston said the repeals of guidelines around gender-inclusive education elsewhere in Canada in the past year have been concerning for her.

"We see it in school systems; we see it in legislation. Most notably would be in New Brunswick, in Alberta and in Saskatchewan," she said.

In one example, New Brunswick parents must now grant consent before school staff can use a student's chosen names and pronouns if the child is under the age of 16.

Preston said she'd like to see the P.E.I. government enshrine trans-inclusive education guidelines in legislation, and expand gender-diverse health care throughout the Island.

Anastasia Preston from PEERS Alliance was one speaker at the rally on Friday and said she was happy to bring together people for a moment of queer joy. (Aaron Adetuyi/CBC)

"There's over 400 Islanders that identify as trans as of the last census, and those Islanders that live in rural areas are currently being underserved," she said. "They have to drive sometimes two hours into Charlottetown in order to get an appointment, and even within Charlottetown, the clinic has limited service hours."

Young people getting more support

High school student Michael Brazil was at the rally Friday, and said it was almost shocking to see how much support there was.

"It feels great. We're a really small province, so you never really think there's going to be that many people," he said.

Brazil said he's seen increasing support for the queer community, but he has also seen anti-LGBTQ hate getting louder, especially when it comes to youth.

"They view gay people as automatically sexual, even if they're children," he said. "People saying, 'Oh, don't teach about this in schools' because they view it as disgusting or perverted."

17-year-old Michael Brazil says he doesn't face much hate at his small school, but wants to normalize queer existence in other aspects of his day-to-day life. (Tony Davis/CBC)

The 17-year-old says he's thankful he knows everyone at his small school, but going out in public is a different story.

"When you walk down the street, you get glances," he said. "I just find that really distasteful, that we're treated and viewed not as people, as just some concept that people have built up."

As for the future, Brazil hopes the government will stand up more for queer children and youth.

"Ignoring things doesn't do anything," he said. "It just lets people continue to hate, and makes people who are being hurt feel very alone."

Gender as a political talking point

Hannah Gehrels runs the P.E.I. Wild Child program through the Sierra Club, and said using gender-neutral pronouns isn't a problem for the youth who participate in it.

"As an educator, my pronouns are they and them and kids get it," said Gehrels. "They understand it and it's not hard… It's made to be a much bigger and scary issue because of the fear that's being sown about it."

But they do worry about politicians using gender ideology as a talking point to drum up support.

"Right now, an opportune target is queer people — and specifically trans people and trans kids. I think that's just politicians using that in an opportunistic way and it is manifesting in a lot of different ways, it's manifesting a lot of fear," they said.

"Even people who are allies, that want to support, for example in the school system, are fearful [about] backlash from parents and not being supported by their administration."

Folks who gathered at the Rainbow Equality Rally on P.E.I. did so in solidarity with others across the country also holding rallies this week. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Gehrels wants to see more politicians vocally supporting the trans community, and reinforcing the gender-diversity education guidelines in schools.

"They're currently in place, but they're not very well supported and I think teachers need to be more supported so that they can do their job," they say.

The premier's office issued a statement in solidarity with 2SLGBTQ+ Islanders on Friday, with Dennis King saying he encouraged all Islanders to do their part in promoting inclusion equality.

"Today and every [day], we must continue to work together to challenge discrimination, promote acceptance, and foster a culture of inclusivity in our communities," King's statement said.

For those organizing the rally, the statement was a reassurance that they're making progress.

"It shows our community that we can still be safe in P.E.I., which is also important being that we are such a small community," said Preston.

But with all the focus on legislation and preventing hate, Preston said she wants to ensure people don't forget the most important part of the rally — the reason for the music, the self-expression, and the community solidarity.

"Queer joy, trans joy is our greatest weapon of resistance," she said. "LGBTQ people have always been here, and we're not going anywhere."