An ad warning Canadian parents their children will be confused and browbeaten by a trans-centric school curriculum appeared in the National Post on Wednesday.
Now it looks like its creator is trying to get the fear-mongering item placed in newspapers across our Neighbor to the North.
Good thing print is dying, huh?
The Dalhousie Gazette’s Erica Eades says that Evangelical Christian leader Charles McVety, president of the Institute for Canadian Values, contacted her about running the spot in her paper.
How about we take this to the next level?
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“He emailed the Gazette about advertising and I basically told him to go to hell, Eades told OpenFile Halifax. “I basically just told him that I found it appalling and that in the future if he could refrain from contacting me ever again.”
Adding to the confusion is that the ad specifically cites the school curricula in Ontario, while Dalhousie is in Nova Scotia.
A press release McVety sent on Monday read in part:
Stop Confusing Our Children with Gender Questioning Teaching
The Institute for Canadian Values, its 52,000 members and like minded citizens call on [Ontario premier] Dalton McGuinty [and legislators] Tim Hudak and Andrea Horwath to commit to removing age-inappropriate gender teaching from the school curriculum.
“Parents across Ontario are outraged to find out that the Ministry of Education continues to teach children to question their gender, role play opposite gender, ‘search images of Pride Parade,’ make posters for Pride Parade and even have a Pride Parade in their school. To teach this material in the … Grade 3 curriculum is appalling.”
Maybe Tracy Morgan should run for office in Ontario. He knows how to handle kids who don’t gender-conform.
gayfrog
This guy qualifies as douche of the week, isn’it?
perdeep
This “president of the Institute for Canadian Values” guy clearly has no idea what most Canadians’ values are if he thinks an ad like that is going to fly. The gazette editor who told him to go to hell has her finger on the pulse of the nation. If he thinks these are the “Values” of his country, maybe he’s confused that this isn’t America…or Saudi Arabia.
MikeE
It’s a shame people will read this and think this is a common occurrence in Canada.
This is like pointing to an article about the Westboro Baptist Nutcases, and seeing it as representative of mainstream American thought.
Gigi
McVety is so outrageous and repugnant and virulently homophobic that his television show got pulled from the Canadian Broadcasting Network. If you wanna have a laugh, do a search for him on YouTube and listen to him speak. He’s real charmer. The National Post is our conservative paper but this is a stretch even for them. Tim Hudak, referenced above, is the conservative running to become our next Premier in Ontario (like a Governor in the U.S.). We have a Liberal in power now who is not my favourite but he’s a far cry better than Hudak.
Here, I did it for you. Here McVety is being interviewed by George Stroumboulopoulos (we call him Strombo). We love George. He’s one of us (not gay but very progressive). I’m surprised the McVety would agree to be on his show. But I guess he thought it would just be free publicity for him. Not so much. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1TM4dQBKA8
Dorothea from Germany
I just sent the following message to this institute via http://www.canadianvalues.ca/docs/Contact.html:
“Hi there!
I am from Germany. I just learnt about you and your evil intentions from queerty.com.
I’d like to tell you that what you are doing is truly disgusting. You are a disgrace to your country. I think very highly of Canada. Canada, along with the Netherlands, has an exemplary LGBT legislation. You should be very thankful and proud to live in such an incredibly progressive country.
Also, shame on you for misusing the word “value” in your institute’s name. HATE is not a value. And clearly, your institute does not represent Canadian values. True Canadians appreciate education, diversity, and equal rights.”
Gigi
@Dorothea from Germany: Nice one. I’ll post mine when it’s done.
j
@Dorothea from Germany: You are a disgrace to your country. I think very highly of Canada. Canada, along with the Netherlands, has an exemplary LGBT legislation. You should be very thankful and proud to live in such an incredibly progressive country.
Bitches. Got. Told.
Gigi
Here’s an article written about the ad in our local gay publication, Xtra!
http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Activists_respond_to_transphobic_National_Post_ad-10837.aspx
Michael
Always so fucking low to use Children especially as a tool for hate and intolerance.
Syl
“Please, don’t tell me that gender roles are socially-constructed bullshit harmful to straight, gay, bi, cis, and trans kids alike, and that, whoever and whatever I am, I’m a human being with inherent value and rights! Don’t challenge my parents’ upbringing, just validate their ingrained perceptions so they don’t have to go the trouble of brainwashing me themselves!”
Ogre Magi
typical christian crap
Gigi
@j: Do you even know what her letter was about? The homophobic ad that was referenced above. She wrote the letter to the people responsible for the pathetic ad and, in doing so, was hammering home the point that this is not acceptable. You owe our girl an apology!
ron
How dare they use a photo simply of a sad face child! Don`t they know children are supposed to give you the finger and say `fuck`dozens of times in any campaign, like the gay extremists do.
Ogre Magi
@ron: At least our ads are funny
Bene Diction
If I may correct a misunderstanding – Charles McVety was kicked off CTS (not CBC). CTS is Crossroads Television System, a religious broadcasting company. His show, The Word was also not renewed at ichannel.
When he was taken off CTS, he screamed bloody murder to the point CTS had to issue a press release refuting his claims. CTS is a member of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. The Miracle Channel, another evangelical (charismatic) broadcaster which is not a member of the CBSC, picked up his show.
McVety makes a lot of noise, is a master of misrepresentation and manipulation and he is not representative of the majority of Canadian evangelicals.
Little Kiwi
For those that don’t know it, the National Post is a shameful, not-at-all-respected excuse for a “newspaper”
Simple small words in a big font. It’s as classless and devoid of integrity as the New York Post, the writing is mediocre, and it’s geared toward unintelligent people who want to look smart by reading “a newspaper”
the backlash in Canada is already extremely fierce from this. Canadians dont’ stand for this, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms indeed offers protections and full rights – this ad is simply meant to drum up support for bigoted politicians who hope to sway voters on irrelevant wedge issues when they have no actual economic plans to talk about.
adults putting words into a child’s mouth that make no intellectual sense? as if LGBT issues are, uh, “confusing” to non-LGBT children who don’t have those thoughts of confusion. it’s so stupid. children don’t get confused. it’s ADULTS who refuse to learn realities that act “confused”
This was a typically ugly thing to appear in the National Post, but rest assured, the backlash is very very strong up North. My mum and dad keep emailing folks about it 🙂
jeff4justice
Here’s a great interview about transgender youth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKcet3ukRpc
Chris
I’m not Canadian, in public school, or Trans so this doesn’t apply to me.