Calgary protestors show displeasure about Safe and Inclusive bylaw

While Calgary council was discussing details to the proposed bylaw to prevent violent acts on drag events, several protestors gathered outside city hall. Silvia Naranjo has the story.

By Silvia Naranjo

While Calgary council discussed the details of a bylaw meant to prevent violent acts at drag events, a few people were protesting outside CityHall.

Those outside Tuesday morning later went into the council chambers to protest the bylaw because they say it is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Anytime something escalates to physical violence, we need to deescalate the situation, and I think that for practical reasons, the buffer zone surrounding these events is going to be critical,” said Kimberly Holland, a human rights lawyer.

The bylaw, which passed Tuesday, came as a result of ongoing protests outside recreation facilities, drag readings at libraries and postponed events where the 2SLGBTQ+ community has been targeted.


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Alex Bierman, a sociology professor at the University of Calgary, acknowledges that people are free to believe as they will but notes it can lead to harassment and intimidation.

“It is very clear that both the drag performs and children when attending these events are being harmed not by the drag performs but by the people who are protesting using very aggressive rhetoric,” Bierman told CityNews.

“I don’t think I’ve heard of members of the LGBT community protesting at churches or mosques or any other places.”

Bierman conducted a survey that consisted of thousands of working Canadians and asked questions about financial problems, distrust, and mental distress.

He found a direct relationship between economic conditions after the pandemic and trust and says that might be part of the problem.

“People are looking at a way to direct their anger,” Bierman said.

“When people experience economic problems, when people experience a lot of social distrust, they get angry, they look for a reason to blame. I think part of what’s going on with these protests is people are looking for an object to direct their anger at.”


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As for who should be protected, Holland says this will impact the protests differently.

“It’s hit a nerve somewhere from these very different groups,” Holland said.

“Both groups are protected under human rights legislation, very interestingly enough, but for very different reasons, and one seems to be the perpetrator of the others.”

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