Thousands of parents and members of the community descended upon Kitchener city hall and Victoria Park for protests for and against LGBTQ rights in schools and what protest organizers are calling the "indoctrination of children."
Across Canada, protesters organized the '1 Million March 4 Children' in dozens of communities. The protest in Kitchener was quickly condemned by the region's school boards, the Region of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener.
The website for Hands off Our Kids, the group organizing the protests described the event's mission as, "advocating for the elimination of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) curriculum, pronouns, gender ideology and mixed bathrooms in schools."
The protesters held signs saying, "Hands off our kids," and made claims the school board is grooming children. They are accusations the school board adamantly denies and said in a statement that all curriculum taught in schools is laid out by the province, not the board themselves.
The Waterloo Region District School Board said they were aware of the protests and believe it will cause harm to members of the community.
"Unfortunately, underlying some of the motivations behind these demonstrations are hate and inaccuracies about what is happening in schools," wrote the school board.
"We continue to focus on creating inclusive, safe spaces, and ensure the well-being of all students and staff that affirm the lived experiences and identities of students and families, especially those most marginalized."
While there were a few hundred people protesting, counter-protesters also lined the event and called for the end of hate towards queer youth and the marginalization of LGBTQ individuals.
While WRDSB condemned the event, a few school board trustees criticized this move, saying that school boards "shouldn't take stances on political issues that are best left to elected officials."
In their own letter supporting the event, Cambridge trustees Bill Cody and Cindy Watson along with Kitchener counterpart Mike Ramsey say they support everyone's right to protest peacefully.
"Boards should not be accusatory, because everyone has a right to engage in peaceful protest," wrote the trustees. "We should keep in mind that policy differences are not an indication of disrespect."
The trustees then go on to speculate that the counter-protesters might "embed themselves, or their own agents, to make outrageous statements in order to discredit the march and try to distract from the real message that parents are seeking to deliver."
After wrapping up the protests at Kitchener City Hall, demonstrators on both sides headed to Victoria Park to conclude their march.
At this time, protests have remained peaceful on both sides.
