Rally in support of LGBTQ rights in P.E.I. schools draws hundreds

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the P.E.I. Legislature Friday in support of the LGBTQ community on the Island.

The rally followed a recent flyer campaign asking parents to protest the province's gender identity guidelines for schools.

At the rally, transgender and non-binary Islanders shared stories about their own struggles growing up — and the need for protecting students' ability to express their gender identities.

Anastasia Preston, a trans community outreach coordinator at PEERS Alliance, said the rally gave her joy.

Preston went through the P.E.I. school system. She said she had a very different experience to what students today are going through.

"The idea of being trans wasn't something that we had access to," Preston said.

"I always felt like I was carrying this secret that I could never share with anyone, right? That I would lose my family. That I would lose my friends. And that was by design.

"Had I had the supports that we have today, I probably would have come out earlier in my life. I didn't come out until I was 28, and I've had to fight through a sea of dysphoria that was caused by having transition at such a late age."

Flyers ask parents to keep kids home

The P.E.I. government rolled out guidelines in schools more than a year ago aimed at ensuring student's gender identities and sexual orientations are respected.

In recent months, there's been pushback from some parents.

Just this week, flyers started showing up in mailboxes and on windshields, pushing parents to keep their kids home this Friday in protest of the guidelines, and what the flyer calls the "sexualization of children."

"This is the kind of hate that exists on this Island. So it's really hard to hear," said Hannah Gehrels, who attended the rally. "And that's why it's really get to be here today and see there's so much support for trans, non-binary kids, and also us as grown-up individuals."

Gehrels said it was really important to show support for trans and nonbinary gender kids.

"That's really what pride is about. Pride is about being a welcoming movement for kids who are coming out, for kids to know that is a safe place for them to be exactly who they are."

Guidelines let students 'thrive and exist'

Jay Baglole, an early childhood educator in Charlottetown, said they wanted to be at the rally to help uplift children as well as educators.

"I've seen those guidelines benefit children by providing them the opportunity to really just thrive and exist within their classrooms," they said.

"Educators within the classrooms are able to have conversations with children, ... really providing a safe space for them to exist and thrive and go on their educational journeys."

Some parents have taken issue with the specific guidelines allowing students to decide what names and gender pronouns they use in school, and whether they want that information shared with their parents.

That prompted the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission to weigh in.

Executive director Brenda Picard said the school guidelines are backed up by the province's Human Rights Act.

"We really wanted to try to provide a piece of education that maybe some people ... might not know, around the obligations of the school board, around protecting children and preventing discrimination in the schools," she said.

"They are required to respect the gender identity of their students. And if the student is saying it's unsafe, or 'I wouldn't be supported,' or for any other reason, it may not be a negative reason, but for whatever reason they don't want their parents to know, then the school has to respect that right of the child."

'No intention' to change policies, premier says

Just this week, the New Brunswick government changed a few of its guidelines. Schools in that province no longer have to respect the chosen names and pronouns of children under 16 without parental consent.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King said the Island won't be following suit.

"I can only say that we have no intention of doing that here," he said. "We want to continue to with our policies. The next step if we build a four-year road map, would be how we bring this into official policy, add more teeth and strengthen this so school remains a safe place for our students.

The premier also denounced the flyers passed around this week, calling them harmful and cowardly.

He pointed out there is no name attached, just an email.

CBC News reached out to that email address, but no one responded.

Anastasia Preston said she'd like to see the province take more action.

"Turn the guidelines into policy and to put stronger policies in place that protect trans kids — especially on things like school buses, where a lot of bullying does happen," she said.