Identity politics sow division and strife within society.  We need to revisit the idea that we are all Canadians first and foremost.  We come in all different shapes, beliefs, and abilities.  Those differences and the acceptance of our actual diversity is what makes Canada a wonderful place to live and prosper.

Josh Denaas writes at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute about the change in activism over the years and how it has become less about gaining acceptance in society more about demanding to be accommodated regardless of the validity of the claim.

 

“I’m pleased that in 2023 LGBT people can be themselves in public, and that there is zero tolerance for bullying in schools and workplaces. That said, I’m starting to worry that some LGBT people are becoming the new bullies.

Rather than demand that we be free from discrimination, many LGBT activists now demand that people profess allegiance to a highly contested set of ideas about gender and sexuality by wearing the rainbow on their uniforms, hoisting the Pride Progress flag, or sending their children to schools where they’re required to sit through performances by drag queens. The message has shifted from “love is love and everyone is equal” to “you will endorse the most radical viewpoints on sexuality and gender or else.”

This change was captured recently in a viral recording of an Edmonton teacher berating Muslim students for skipping Pride celebrations at school. “We believe in freedom, we believe that people can marry whomever they want,” she said. “That is in the law, and if you don’t think that should be the law, you can’t be Canadian, you don’t belong here.”

People who hold different viewpoints not only belong in Canada, they’re protected by our constitution. In Canada, while people have a right to be treated equally under the law, they also have the right to freedom of religion and conscience, and freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression. These rights are infringed when people are forced to profess or actively support ideas that they don’t believe.

For many, a recent sign that the goalposts had shifted was when National Hockey League goalie James Reimer refused to wear the rainbow symbol because it conflicted with his Christian beliefs. Rather than using this as an opportunity to engage in dialogue to try to understand and possibly change his views, the self-appointed spokespeople for the LGBT community labelled Reimer a bigot and said he should comply or lose his job.

There is no reason to believe Reimer is hateful. He said he wouldn’t wear the rainbow because he doesn’t support an “activity or lifestyle” but that he strongly believes that every person has value and that LGBT people should be welcome in hockey. Reimer did not say that LGBT people should have fewer legal rights or be excluded. Rather, he seemed to be saying that he doesn’t want to endorse gay sex or gay marriage. For many Canadians, these are incorrect or hurtful viewpoints, but the only way to change others’ minds about them is through good-faith dialogue.

Another sign that the goalposts had shifted was when the York Catholic District School Board decided not to raise the Pride Progress flag outside its headquarters. Politicians like New Democratic MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam responded by demanding that flying the flag be mandated at every school. Doug Eyolfson, a former Liberal MP from Manitoba, expressed a common sentiment in a tweet that tied the flag to LGBT suicide rates. “To resist a simple gesture like a Pride flag is hate,” Eyolfson wrote. “It is not ‘a difference of opinion’. It is not ‘religious principle’. It is hate, and it kills young people.”

Refusing to raise the rainbow flag or the Pride Progress flag is not inherently hateful, and it’s hard to believe kids would kill themselves because they don’t see a flag in front of their schools. What’s clear is that raising the flag is not a “simple gesture” for many people from religious backgrounds. To them, it amounts to actively participating in celebrating something that is inconsistent with sincerely held beliefs.

The politicians raising Pride Progress flags at schools, hospitals and police stations claim they are being “inclusive,” but it’s clear that they are making many Canadians feel excluded. When the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced Pride celebrations — a week after telling staff that students may not opt out of “2SLGBTQ+ learnings” — more than 40 per cent of kids at nine schools and more than 60 per cent of kids at two others stayed home.”