In recent months those of us in Ottawa have seen emboldened far-right groups converge on anti-2SLGBTQ+ hatred. I’ve tracked these movements since I moved here and I’ve seen them shift from disparate anti-immigrant, antisemitic, and Islamophobic talking points and focus on trans and queer bashing. These groups would organize rallies around Parliament and pull in the various guest speakers like Kevin J. Johnston or Faith Goldy. These grifters would come to Ottawa chasing clout whenever these rallies would amass downtown.

There was a noticeable shift when the Ford PCs made anti-transgender rhetoric central to their original campaign. I saw it seep into local fascist rallies when these groups would book Parliament Hill. Then the occupation of downtown Ottawa happened with the “Freedom Convoy” and homophobic and transphobic hate got kicked up a notch. Ever since, things rapidly accelerated, often in lockstep to dangerous gains in the United States by Republicans.

When the 2022 Ontario provincial election rolled around, Ottawa had its share of far-right endorsed candidates nominated to run for the Ottawa-Carleton School Board trustee positions. Ashley McCallum (then running as Ashley Darling) was endorsed by the Campaign Life Coalition and appeared to be quite chummy around blatantly transphobic trustees and trustee candidates from around the country. The 2022 election also had Chanel Pfahl and Shannon Boschy run, with all three ultimately losing their races. Boschy and Pfahl have since pivoted in attempts to keep themselves relevant and will often appear on podcasts or streams with far-right influencers.

Boschy and Pfahl have both been involved in action around matters involving inclusive representation at the OCDSB. They’ve been at protests at the school board’s office and Boschy has spoken as a delegate. They are both active on Twitter and are followed by cruel and hateful bigots, all too happy to descend upon anyone signal boosted. Dog piles and swarming generally happen to anyone caught in the crosshairs.

At the protest in March 2023, outside the OCDSB’s main office, there was a teenager in tow. This teen has made a name for himself for touring the province, and country, getting arrested but then having a crowd-funding link conveniently available online. In his entourage were many of Ottawa’s regular shouting-into-their-cameras live streamers (Chris Dacey is often at these events) who were able to use the protest to generate content to monetize.

These kinds of stunts aren’t uncommon when you document the trajectory of these movements. One moment they’re calling on unrestricted hate speech as freedom warriors and the next they’re banning books from schools. It’s incredibly important people see these agitators for what they are and ultimately reject the grift.

Of course, these teens aren’t operating in a vacuum and are part of the same network of far-right actors who frequent Canada’s blockade protest scene. Knowing that these Save Canada bigots are at the same events as documented Neo-Nazis should not come as any surprise, as rampant white supremacy and white nationalism are key tenets to many of these ideologies. It is particularly worrisome that this kind of violence is being normalized in 2023. Queer and trans students should not have to worry for their wellbeing when these groups choose to bring their violence to public schools.

Which brings me to June 9th. June 9th is slated to be a gathering for many of these actors in Ottawa. It’s aiming to be a rejection of so-called “wokeism” these bigots believe is infecting schools and “indoctrinating” kids. Of course, this means a rejection of 2SLGBTQ+ equity initiatives. Unfortunately, this means schools will be made a target. Trans and queer students and staff will be at the epicentre of this violence and at the time of writing this there are zero safeguards being put into action by those who have the ability to do so.

Shannon Boschy appears to have created a website for the event. Chanel Pfahl claims to be going. The Save Canada teens will be there according to graphics they are distributing. Chris Elston (an individual who often comes to Ottawa with his sandwich boards) seems to be planning on attending too. Elston was at the Freedom Convoy occupation with Boschy and Pfahl and has protested at children’s hospitals who get bomb threats from transphobic hate mobs. If it seems like a heavy coalescence of hatred descending on Ottawa schools on June 9th, you’re not far off.

In the absence of institutional leadership, what can the community do? Thankfully, community members are not waiting for systems, which are supposedly in place to protect us, to leap into action. Different community groups are putting together plans to combat this rally of hatred. I wrote a brief Twitter thread on what individuals can do but will expand upon it here.

• Bring flags and signs. A sea of signs and flags in support of the 2SLGBTQ+ community will mean the world to those of us who are expected to deal with this hatred on a daily basis. They are also very effective in blocking the cameras of the far-right agitators always show up in force with video gear.
• If you want to prevent yourself from getting doxed and receiving death threats (or simply want to be safe) consider wearing a mask. These people like to identify their “adversaries” so they can harass them online and in person. You are likely going to have your picture taken by them.
• Bring loud Bluetooth speakers. Have a playlist you can bop along to. This can help maintain morale. It can also drown out the hateful rhetoric from the ones who bring their megaphones (someone always does). As an added bonus, if you fill it with highly copyrighted music from litigious studios, you can mess with their videos and livestreams. They won’t be able to host their streams or later upload videos if their audio is full of copyrighted music.
• Be on the lookout for fake progressives who are seeking to increase their clout by being confrontational. There will be plenty of people looking to cash in with their own followings and filming things. Be wary of these supposed “allies”.
• There is safety in numbers. Go with your friends. Try not to get separated or surrounded by the bigots.
• Be careful with the pushing and pulling that inevitably happen at these things. The far-right agitators will be looking for any excuse to grift off physicality. They can use it to call for donations. They can use it to threaten you with a court case if they pretend to get hurt and have you captured on camera.
• Don’t get into shouting matches with them. Don’t give them content to monetize. They aren’t there to have their minds change or engage in good faith discussions. It’s a recruitment opportunity for them.
• This kind of activism can take its toll on your mental health. Standing around unleashed hatred for hours on end isn’t ideal. There is zero shame in ducking out to protect your wellbeing.

I am hoping bigger players show up as well. City councillors, MPs, and MPPs, should be all over this if they truly believed in basic human rights. Labour unions should be at the forefront at this kind of action, and the fact that they currently have nothing in place belies a lack of historical knowledge or a complete lack of 2SLGBTQ+ representation.

The rhetoric that is already over social media and on their websites can only be classified as hate speech which should, in theory, fast-track action on this. With it happening in Pride Month, politicians who usually march in Ottawa’s Capital Pride parade should be collaborating to prevent this violence at Ottawa’s schools. An awful lot of people are completely dropping the ball here.

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I created quick “Protect Trans Youth” template in Photoshop, converted it to a PDF, with a transparent background. The word “youth” appears invisible in the below preview as it is white. Feel free to download it and use it on shirts, buttons, or anywhere else, should you be so inclined.