A rightwing Christian group that describes itself as a grassroots movement dedicated to protecting “faith, family and freedom” in Canada held its first meeting locally last week, as it looks to set up a Whistler chapter.
Held at Our Lady of the Mountain Catholic Church, Action4Canada saw low turnout at its inaugural Whistler meeting last Thursday, Oct, 26, with six people in attendance, along with local organizer Christine Mortimer.
While the group touches on a wide range of issues, from the supposed risks of 5G technology to its staunch anti-vaccine stance to its fears over the “radical and violent nature of Islamic ideology,” most of the discussion at Thursday’s meeting—which Pique attended—surrounded Canada’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI 123) resource that has drawn the ire of a range of alt-right populists.
Designed to help educators make schools more inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identifies, SOGI 123 and the teaching of so-called “gender ideology” is viewed by Action4Canada and other groups like it as actively harming Canadian children. “The Canadian government, as well as the education system, has been infiltrated by radical LGBTQ activists who are using the SOGI 123 resource to promote homosexuality and transgender ideology, and normalize sexual deviancy,” a pamphlet distributed at last week’s meeting reads.
Jackie Dickinson, executive director of the Whistler Community Services Society, which offers a range of LGBTQ+-inclusive programming, including its Healthy Choices program delivered in local schools, said that at the heart of SOGI 123 is the goal of fostering a sense of safety and inclusion for all students.
“It cultivates a sense of belonging. That’s exactly what the SOGI curriculum emphasizes: that all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, belong and they can safely ask questions and express themselves in a safe space,” she said. “When you walk in these doors and enter these spaces, you are welcome any way you are.”
Local Action4Canada organizer Mortimer, a mother of two children, aged 17 and 21, argued that matters of sex and sexual health are better left for the home, not school.
“That education should start at home with parents who are tapped into their kids and the age they’re at. It’s going back to the responsibility of the parents to care for their children and understand them enough to know what phase they’re in and what they’re going through.” she said, stressing that she’s speaking on her own behalf, not necessarily for Action4Canada.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for School District 48 provided the following statement: “We encourage folks to check out SOGI FAQs for Parent/Caregivers on our website if they’d like to learn more about SOGI-inclusive education in SD48. Parents are also always welcome to speak with their child’s teacher or school principal with specific questions about their child’s education.”
Lil’wat Nation, RMOW respond
Action4Canada has come under fire recently from First Nations groups across the country that have vehemently opposed founder Tanya Gaw’s stance on Indigenous rights and Canada’s efforts towards Truth and Reconciliation.
In an Oct. 12 post on social-media platform, X, Gaw wrote: “It’s time to pull the plug and end the charade of the Truth and Reconciliation witch hunt. The graves are empty and Indigenous violence is their own doing!”
The tweet drew swift backlash from the Tseshaht First Nation in Port Alberni, where Gaw had a speaker event scheduled at a local restaurant that was ultimately cancelled.
In a statement, acting Lil’wat Chief Sík Sík Joshua Anderson condemned Gaw’s comments and Whistler’s Catholic church for hosting last week’s event.
“The Lil’wat Nation cannot believe that the Catholic Church would allow this event to occur during a time of Truth and Reconciliation. Providing a platform for a group that denies the well-documented atrocities of residential schools is unbelievable,” the statement read in part.
Referring specifically to Gaw’s tweet, Anderson said it “should be more than enough for [the church] to know better and be better. We call upon the leaders of Whistler to examine tax exemptions for the Church if they are promoting a denialist political agenda. This has no place in today’s age of Reconciliation.”
In his own statement to Pique, Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton reiterated the RMOW’s commitment to “ensuring our history of colonialism and residential schools is not ignored or made invisible,” he wrote. “I do not believe the position being taken by this group represents our community values.”
Crompton also highlighted the RMOW’s new permissive tax policy, “which will allow the municipality to evaluate applications moving forward and bring a measured and thorough process to each decision. This is our best approach to ensuring those we grant tax exemptions to engage in value-aligned work and provide space for the conversations needed to make these important assessments.”
When reached by email, Father Andrew L’Heureux of Our Lady of the Mountains declined comment, explaining he doesn’t “feel your paper has the ability to communicate what I would want to say. I know I would not be given editorial rights to ensure what was quoted on would be used correctly so I am not interested in commenting.”
A handful of Our Lady of the Mountains parishioners defected last year over the church’s $5-million plans to construct a new building, as well as its courting of California-based traditionalist Catholic group, The Napa Institute, formed in 2010 to combat what it sees as the secularization of American society.
