A demonstration took place in Montreal on Sunday on the occasion of International Transgender Day of Visibility to raise awareness of the community’s rights.
The demonstrators, who numbered around 300, notably demanded the dissolution of the committee of wise men set up last December by the government of François Legault.
“We will not be wise,” we could read on posters.
Several police officers from the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) were on site. The demonstration was nevertheless peaceful.
“The trans population, as well as many of its allies, find it unacceptable that we have a committee on trans issues that does not include any trans people,” laments Céleste Trianon, a transfeminist protester.
“It’s a committee that has no reason to exist,” argued another person. In fact, there is already a structure in the Coalition Avenir Québec government, the Office for the Fight against Homophobia and Transphobia which already exists, and which does the same thing, but not in front of the media.
TVA Nouvelles was also able to speak to the group Together to protect our children, which for its part wishes to see the mission of the committee of wise men continue.
“We ask that the committee of wise men continue its work. We find that in democracy, we have the right to speak, we have the right to think, we have the right to discuss. This is why the committee of wise people was set up, to reflect on the questions which are currently being debated,” explained a spokesperson.
“We need to have a social debate on this, it’s very important,” he added.
Demonstrators met by TVA Nouvelles deplore that once again, we are trying to decide for them; they believe that trans people should sit on the committee.
“All the time we try to choose for ourselves who we are, what we can do. If I hadn’t had access to hormones at 17, I wouldn’t be here right now,” one person said.
“If they want advice in relation to the community, that they ask the community, it does not need a committee of wise men to do it. They can contact us directly, the organizations are very open to talking with the government,” mentioned another person.
For all the details, listen to our report at the top of the article.