Saint John protesters who stole, stomped on Pride flag provoke fear in city
Police investigating, incidents felt threatening to counter-protesters
Warning: This story describes details of an act of discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community.
Cheers and cries of "leave our kids alone" rang out as a person who looked to be in his teens used his teeth to rip apart a Pride flag. Several men gathered around, trying to light the pile of rainbow cloth on fire.
Unsuccessful, the unidentified person resorted to stomping on the flag before running back into a crowd of protesters
The protest Wednesday was one of dozens that happened across Canada as part of a march called "1 Million March 4 Children." The goal, according to some attendees in Saint John, was to protest against LGBTQ-inclusive education policies and curriculum in schools.
In Saint John, some teens stole Pride flags from counter-protesters and spit on them, stomped them and tried to burn them. Some adults cheered them on.
For members of the LGBTQ community, this went further than a debate about school policy.
"It almost feels like a threat in and of itself," said Mirage Thistlhart.
Thistlhart was present as the organizer of a counter-protest, showing support for LGBTQ-inclusive policy and rights. They said a flag was snatched from their hand and ripped apart in front of them. Slurs were also hurled against them by both adults and kids.
"I came out and it was bad, but I've never in my life, seen [that] hatred," Thistlhart said.
Saint John police spokesperson Sean Rocca said a file has been opened, and police are investigating.
It is not clear what charges are possible from this. Defacing a flag in itself is not a crime, but in Nova Scotia, two youths are facing a charge of mischief, and a third has been charged with mischief and abetting after they allegedly burned a Pride flag at a school.
Rocca said a person did approach police during the protest to say a young teenager had tried to pull a Pride flag out of their hands.
Another officer also observed another teenager attempting to light a flag on fire.
"While the officers attempted to intervene, the suspect quickly disappeared into the crowd and was not located," Rocca said.
Later, after the protesters had moved to King's Square, a group of young boys could be seen snapping the wooden handles for small flags. One boy ran to a group of counter-protesters with a flag, spat on it, and threw it at their feet.
There was no immediate intervention from adults. Rocca made no mention of these incidents.
Religious, parental rights
The protests were organized under the banner of parental rights. Critics and researchers say the term "parental rights" is a misnomer because it doesn't address the concerns of LGBTQ parents or parents of LGBTQ children.
Protester Shaza Altorne said she doesn't want her kids to learn anything about homosexuality or gender identity in school because she wants to have this conversation with them when they're adults, partly because it's against her Muslim religion.
She said she doesn't think LGBTQ individuals should not exist, but she doesn't want her children being taught about their existence in school.
"They shouldn't know yet," she said. "I need to make sure all the information my kids know, I know also."
Mother Rasha Alhamwi said if her children learn about LGBTQ issues in school, they will feel forced to "be like that."
"We respect everyone's rights, but we want everyone to respect our rights. … We don't want to give that [information] to our children."
Other protesters, who would not identify themselves to CBC News, said that teaching children about LGBTQ issues is equivalent to "sexualizing," "indoctrinating" and "grooming" them. Educational and child welfare experts have said there's no evidence that teaching children about LGBTQ issues and tolerance causes them harm.
Similar protests took place in Fredericton and Moncton, with similar turnouts of between 200 and 300 people on the side of no LGBTQ policies. CBC News hasn't observed or heard reports of flags being snatched in other cities
Coun. Joanna Killen, who was part of the counter protest in Saint John, said she was deeply disturbed by some demonstrators.
"Seeing that just made me feel that we have turned a corner, that we are in a state of emergency when it comes to the protection of those in the [LGBTQ] community," she said.
"I was seeing it in real life and seeing people literally look at me and have no regard for my existence."
Killen said this is where politicians and leaders need to step up and denounce.
"I don't know when this will end. Until we start saying something more passionately and more aggressively about how we are not going to stand for this, I don't know what else we need to do."
At the Fredericton protest, Premier Blaine Higgs and Education Minister Bill Hogan shook hands with the people protesting LGBTQ school policies. They did not visit the pro-LGBTQ-policy side.
In response to a request for an interview about the flag ripping, Higgs sent a written statement saying he was "surprised to learn" that that took place.
"I didn't see any of these actions when I was present at the rally in Fredericton," he said.
"What I encountered was a peaceful crowd made up of mostly young families and many newcomers who had concerns about what their children are learning in school.
"I do not condone violence, intolerance, or name calling from anyone on either side of this issue," he said. "We must have civilized conversations if we are going to move forward in a productive way."
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