There was good news for Ontarians from the Progressive Conservative Party Convention this weekend, but to read the media responses, you’d think that Doug Ford’s voters had formally endorsed the Spanish Inquisition. Journalists who hadn’t even heard of gender ideology until a few years ago now seem to believe that only a herd of Neanderthal fascists could possible oppose the implementation of a scientifically unproven ideology in classrooms where underage children could make decisions that will permanently alter their future as a result. From Global News:
The Ontario PC Party has passed a resolution to debate whether or not the party should recognize gender identity. The vote happened Saturday morning, during the party’s three-day convention in Toronto.
The resolution says gender identity theory is “A highly controversial, unscientific ‘liberal ideology’; and, as such, that an Ontario PC Government will remove the teaching and promotion of ‘gender identity theory’ from Ontario schools and its curriculum.”
Earlier in the day, it was believed that the vote would be adopted as party policy, but after Global News broke the story, the PC Party clarified its position.
“To be clear, the resolutions passed from the floor were passed only as debate items for next year’s convention,” the party said. “They were not passed as policy coming out of this convention … We are a party that encourages open discussion and debate and giving the grassroots of our party a voice.”
“As you saw in the room, the overwhelming majority of members voted in favour of this so it’s a very happy day for parents in Ontario,” Allen said following the vote. “Gender identity theory is unscientific and highly controversial and parents are concerned about what their children are being taught.”
The provincial NDP promptly came out and gasped that this was a move to “erase gender identity,” which is currently the most popular tactic of the LGBTQ activists: They claim that anyone who disagrees with their advocacy of gender fluidity is some how “erasing” people—in other words, causing them to commit suicide or perpetrating some form of identity genocide. To sum up: If you oppose our ideological beliefs, people will die. Jagmeet Singh (he’s the newish leader of the federal NDP), stated that the “Ontario PC Party advanced a motion that seeks to erase diverse gender identities” and called it “an attack on LGBT & gender non-binary people,” which is nonsense on several different levels. (Dr. Debra Soh, a social liberal with a PhD in sexual neuroscience, explained in the Globe and Mail earlier this year why the backlash against parents who disagree with gender ideology has nothing to do with children’s safety.)
Emmet Macfarlene, a political science professor and frequent writer for a variety of Canadian publications, mourned on Twitter that it was “sad to see what has become of the Ontario PCs,” triggering a crotchety response from the National Post’s Chris Selley (who is a social liberal himself): “What has become of the Ontario PCs is…that some of them are socially conservative? I mean, it hasn’t even been 20 years since the federal *Liberal* convention defeated a motion in favour of same-sex marriage.” Jonathan Kay, the editor of Quillette, has also been getting fed up with the hysteria of trans activists, noting on Twitter that, “this is the worst kind of hysterical bulls***. “agree with us on every point or we’re going to commit mass suicide”…it’s like the Jonestown cult in 1978.” Kay, despite his pro-choice position and support for gay marriage, has become wildly unpopular on the Left.
I’ll be watching closely to see how this all unfolds. Gender ideology is becoming the litmus test for Canadian conservative parties: If they are even not willing to oppose an ideology which demands that we all believe that men can get pregnant, that women can have penises, and that those who do not believe this are bigots, then they cannot call themselves conservative–and for social conservatives at least, there is no real reason to support them or be concerned with their electoral success (or political existence). Canadian conservatives have a habit of fleeing in terror from any accusation leveled at them by the LGBT crowd, but if they meekly agree that there are dozens of genders and all of the nonsense that accompanies gender ideology, they will have truly hit rock bottom.
For anyone interested, my book on The Culture War, which analyzes the journey our culture has taken from the way it was to the way it is and examines the Sexual Revolution, hook-up culture, the rise of the porn plague, abortion, commodity culture, euthanasia, and the gay rights movement, is available for sale here.
2 thoughts on “As Ontario’s PC Party passes a resolution on gender identity, Canada’s conservatives face an important test”
Jeff says:
Two points…
As the zeitgeist moves ever left, it pushes old lefties like Kay and Selley out of the club. They seem incredulous about this but it’s what happens. That’s why people see to be more conservative as they age. They haven’t changed…the world has.
Secondly, the limitus test used to be gay marriage. I remember working at Citytv and covering rallies in support of traditional marriage and at that time gay marriage was supposed to be the Stalingrad of the left.
Flash forward 13 years later and the Conservative Party has dropped the issue and even embraced it wholeheartedly. Remember Michelle Rempel and Maxime Bernier cheering it on at that convention?
I wonder when we’ll see real pushback in Canada. Right now I see nothing other than conservatives documenting the decline on blogs. Activism seems useless when your audience hates the message. Politics never works. Not sure what the answer is. In the meantime it seems more attractive to just take the Benedict Option.
Good points Jeff. Thanks for pointing out the shifting litmus test.
I do see real effects from push back. Some of us are joining political boards and encouraging political leaders to have the guts to speak up. Jonathon ran a story about just that! The CBC reporter did not write as well as our Jonathon, but did a pretty good job of reporting how the Christians are standing up and not taking this ridiculousness any more.
No need to run away from everything, Jeff. I can’t facebook, twitter or do any social media apart from email. I would be distracted to bits if I did. But I do what I can in real life. Joining groups, going to meetings, encouraging others to RISE UP for our Children, to stop serving them up on a platter to those who seek to abuse them.
Two points…
As the zeitgeist moves ever left, it pushes old lefties like Kay and Selley out of the club. They seem incredulous about this but it’s what happens. That’s why people see to be more conservative as they age. They haven’t changed…the world has.
Secondly, the limitus test used to be gay marriage. I remember working at Citytv and covering rallies in support of traditional marriage and at that time gay marriage was supposed to be the Stalingrad of the left.
Flash forward 13 years later and the Conservative Party has dropped the issue and even embraced it wholeheartedly. Remember Michelle Rempel and Maxime Bernier cheering it on at that convention?
I wonder when we’ll see real pushback in Canada. Right now I see nothing other than conservatives documenting the decline on blogs. Activism seems useless when your audience hates the message. Politics never works. Not sure what the answer is. In the meantime it seems more attractive to just take the Benedict Option.
Good points Jeff. Thanks for pointing out the shifting litmus test.
I do see real effects from push back. Some of us are joining political boards and encouraging political leaders to have the guts to speak up. Jonathon ran a story about just that! The CBC reporter did not write as well as our Jonathon, but did a pretty good job of reporting how the Christians are standing up and not taking this ridiculousness any more.
No need to run away from everything, Jeff. I can’t facebook, twitter or do any social media apart from email. I would be distracted to bits if I did. But I do what I can in real life. Joining groups, going to meetings, encouraging others to RISE UP for our Children, to stop serving them up on a platter to those who seek to abuse them.