Protesters Vandalize Montreal CBC Building After Coverage of Trans Youth
After CBC Radio-Canada’s recent coverage of pediatric gender clinics, a group of activists smashed the windows of its Montreal headquarters. They argued that the report was an unfair attack on transgender Canadians.
“It represents an ideological shift that legitimizes the far right’s transphobic demands, and it will fan the flames of violence against trans communities, currently increasingly targeted,” reads an anonymous statement published on the website Montreal Counter-Information.
“Radio-Canada and its journalists have chosen to feed into a moral panic that puts the trans community, and especially trans youth, in danger.
The activists confessed to breaking several windows at the Radio-Canada building on March 12 and 13, in response to what they perceived as the network amplifying “transphobic rhetoric akin to that of the far right.” They accused the journalist behind the article of inadequate research, disrespectful language, and misgendering trans individuals.
“Such rhetoric has real consequences on decisions about access to healthcare for trans people, but also on the hostility and violence that trans communities, especially trans youth, experience on a daily basis,” they expressed.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, Radio-Canada’s Director of Public Relations and Television Promotion, Marc Pichette, declined to comment on the vandalism and associated demands.
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“A police investigation is currently underway. We consider the insinuations published on [Montreal Counter-Information] baseless and misguided,” he said.
Report on Transgender Health Care for Children
The Radio-Canada report “Trans Express” covered how gender clinics in Quebec were quickly moving young teenagers into gender transitioning using puberty blockers. The report, which featured interviews of health care providers and both current and former trans youth, revealed that girls were being given prescriptions for cross-sex hormones without their parents’ consent or medical referrals.
Radio-Canada journalist Pasquale Turbide, responsible for the report, told Tout le Monde en Parle that the report originated from concerned parents contacting the organization about the issue. “We started to look into it, and we easily found fifteen to twenty people who were all telling us more or less the same story,” said Ms. Turbide, who added that the parents were open-minded but alarmed by the speed of the transgender health care system.
During the interview, Ms. Turbide also raised concerns about the unknown side effects of puberty blockers, noting their potential irreversible impact. She also highlighted that some Scandinavian countries were aiming to ban such treatments for children.
Almost two months after the province of Alberta announced controversial new policies regarding gender identity and children, the incident occurred. The policies include restrictions on gender reassignment surgeries, puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and participation in female-only sports leagues.
Additionally, the province will require schools to obtain parental approval for students aged 15 and under who want to be referred to by different pronouns. Schools must also inform parents about such requests from 16- and 17-year-olds, but those students will not need parental consent for their requests.
The Montreal Police Service did not immediately respond to questions from The Epoch Times.
