Last weekend, between Friday, June 21st and Sunday, June 23rd, a controversial event called We Unify: Reclaiming Canada was held at the Victoria Conference Centre.
This event was protested and decried by a number of activists and organizations because many of the speakers were known to speak out against the transgender community and many hold views that many say are racist.
One organization who called on the City of Victoria to cancel the event was 1 Million Voices For Inclusion (1MVFI).
They are a group of activists who advocate for the rights and safety of the transgender, nonbinary and non-gender-conforming community with a mission to educate and mobilize communities when an event such as We Unify: Reclaiming Canada comes to town.
According to 1MVFI, on June 22nd, a trans youth was allegedly sexually assaulted at the protest demonstration in opposition to the conference by an attendee of We Unify: Reclaiming Canada.
“The suspect is a counterdemonstrator identifying with Gays Against Groomers, an organisation [sic] designated as a hate group by the Southern Law Poverty Center,” reads a media release from 1MVFI.
“We have evidence this character was a guest at the We Unify conference. We Unify even gloated about it on its official Twitter feed; so much for its disingenuous denial that the event was endorsing transphobia.”
Of note, the organization Gays Against Groomers denied this man had any affiliation with their organization and this individual has not been publicly deemed a suspect by VicPD.
1MVFI says they warned the City that open transphobia was being promoted at this conference and that trans people would be hurt by it and spoke to this at a city council meeting on June 13th.
At this meeting, the group reminded city coucillors of their ‘Declaration of Ongoing Solidarity with Gender-Diverse Residents of Victoria’ and of the City’s legal obligations under the BC Human Rights Code; however, the City cited the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ freedom of expression in letting the event go forward.
Destination Greater Victoria was also involved in the booking of the event and echoed the position of the City regarding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the fact that the venue is public, not private.
This was discussed through the Victoria Pride Society who was in contact with 1MVFI through the lead up to the protest and afterwards.
“In the aftermath of this incident, we have reached out to Mayor Marianne Alto and Destination Greater Victoria CEO Paul Nursey, requesting comments,” said 1MVFI .
The group says that as this publication, they have not received a reply.
Victoria Buzz reached out to the City of Victoria for comment, but was told by a City spokesperson that this is a police matter and no comment was provided.
VicPD acknowledged that a report had been received, but cannot comment on the matter as the investigation is in its early stages.
