(Saint John) The effect of a “punch in the gut” is how Nicki Lyons-MacFarlane describes finding a postcard in her mailbox Friday from an anti-abortion group claiming that “gender ideology” was being taught in schools and that it was leading to “surgical mutilation.”
For Nicki Lyons-MacFarlane, who uses the pronoun iel, concern immediately arose that the many young transgender people and people on the gender identity spectrum iel works with might also have received the same card.
“As a transgender adult, it’s hard enough,” said Nicki Lyons-MacFarlane, 34, who will run for the provincial NDP in the South-Silverwood district of Fredericton.
“I can’t imagine a parent of a trans kid taking that card out of the mailbox, or even a trans kid getting the mail and seeing that… that’s hate speech. That’s hate mail,” Lyons-MacFarlane said.
The Campaign Life Coalition is sending about 160,000 such cards to homes across New Brunswick, said Jack Fonseca, the group’s director of political operations. The group is concerned that Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs’ strict policy on gender identity in schools could be reversed if the Conservatives lose the next election, Fonseca said.
The policy is also being criticized by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, he added. “There was an urgent need to inform New Brunswickers that their parental rights are at risk,” Fonseca said.
Mr. Higgs is expected to make “parental rights” part of his re-election platform, in a vote that has yet to be called but is expected to take place by Oct. 21. The prime minister is using the term to defend his government’s changes to Policy 713, which requires parental consent before teachers can use the preferred names and pronouns of students under 16.
The Campaign Life Coalition’s postcards, titled “Pushing Transgender into Schools Hurts Kids,” show a man at school, in front of a chalkboard with terms like “nonbinary” and “gender identity.” A young child surrounded by question marks looks puzzled.
“Let’s stop confusing children in New Brunswick classrooms!” the card says.
Chris Pritchett, a business owner in Durham Bridge, New Brunswick, said the Campaign Life Coalition postcards spread misinformation and “sow fear.”
“This demonizes our teachers, who only care about the safety, education, health and happiness of the children in their classrooms,” Pritchett wrote in a Facebook message to The Canadian Press.
Mr. Pritchett and Nicki Lyons-MacFarlane believe Canada Post should not be mailing these cards. Nicki Lyons-MacFarlane suggested the federal Crown postal agency should review its policies on what it will and will not deliver.
In an email, a Canada Post spokesperson said the company understands concerns about the postcard campaign, but it does not have the right to refuse a postal item because the company or its employees object to the content of the item.
Canada Post is overseen by the federal Minister of Public Services and Procurement, Jean-Yves Duclos.
“We were deeply concerned by this situation and the potential harm this type of mail could cause to the 2SLGBTQI community, particularly at a time when far-right groups are increasingly targeting the 2SLGBTQI community,” Minister Duclos’ office said in an emailed statement.
Helen Kennedy, executive director of LGBTQ rights group Egale Canada, also condemned the content of the postcard, but she stopped short of calling on Canada Post to stop sending it.
“The misinformation being delivered to people’s doorsteps is clearly aimed at causing fear and panic, when we should instead be focusing on ensuring that schools are safe and inclusive environments for all students,” Mr.me Kennedy.
The Campaign Life Coalition is headquartered in Ontario and is organizing a national Pride flag “march,” in which parents are encouraged to keep their children home to protest schools flying Pride flags.