The Quebec government came under fire this week for funding a womenB次元官网网址檚 group that is alleged to have spread transphobic views and targeted trans activists online.
On Thursday in the legislature, Jennifer Maccarone of the Liberal Opposition read excerpts of documents that refer to sex change surgeries as a form of B次元官网网址渕utilation,B次元官网网址� which she said had been published by the group Pour les droits des femmes du Qu茅bec (PDF Qu茅bec) on its online platforms.
Maccarone then questioned the minister responsible for the status of women, Martine Biron, on the fact that the Coalition Avenir Qu茅bec government has been funding the group, which she said also encourages trans people to reverse their transition.
B次元官网网址淭he government is using public funds to subsidize an organization, PDF Qu茅bec, who are openly transphobic,B次元官网网址� Maccarone said. The $143,000 given to the group for the 2022-23 fiscal year goes directly against the provinceB次元官网网址檚 action plan to combat homophobia and transphobia, she added.
Biron replied that every group has its own B次元官网网址渙pinionsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渙bjectivesB次元官网网址� and all groups should be respected and listened to.
B次元官网网址淭hey are being consulted now, and itB次元官网网址檚 very obvious that I will make sure that itB次元官网网址檚 not negative or hateful towards others. I think that all women in Quebec as well as people in the LGBTQ communities, deserve to be respected and deserve to be well represented,B次元官网网址� the minister said.
Fae Johnstone, an Ottawa-based activist, said that she was called a B次元官网网址渧iolent manB次元官网网址� in a tweet last week by PDF Qu茅bec. She said that in the past, the group has also described her as B次元官网网址渕isogynistic.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t was really hurtful to read that in the first place, and then to see them contributing to the sustained campaign of hate directed at me was really atrocious to witness,B次元官网网址� Johnstone said. B次元官网网址淧DF Qu茅bec doesnB次元官网网址檛 consider trans people to be who we know ourselves to be, but rather that we are somehow deceived or that there is something wrong with us.B次元官网网址�
Johnstone said that until this week she was unaware of the funding the group had received from the Quebec government and called it B次元官网网址渁bsolutely atrocious.B次元官网网址�
PDF Qu茅bec, which describes itself as feminist, non-partisan, B次元官网网址渦niversalistB次元官网网址� and secular, first received provincial funding of about $120,000 in 2019-20. The group, which was created in 2013, did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.
Catherine Poulin, a spokesperson for the Department of Labour and Social Solidarity, which provided the funding, said the department was not aware of the allegations of transphobia.
B次元官网网址淭his will be addressed in accordance with the grant agreement signed with the organization,B次元官网网址� Poulin said in a written statement on Thursday. B次元官网网址淚f the organization does not meet the requirements of its grant agreement, corrective action will be required before the renewal of its financial support, which is scheduled for April 2023.B次元官网网址�
Celeste Trianon, a Montreal trans activist who runs a legal aid clinic helping trans women, said that she has been targeted by PDF Qu茅bec on multiple occasions.
B次元官网网址淭hey started singling me out recently and attacking me because of my standing within QuebecB次元官网网址檚 trans community. Some of the things that PDF Qu茅bec has done include sharing disinformation about me either as an organization or as an individual member thereof and also, in some cases, going as far as to publish slandering articles on me,B次元官网网址� Trianon said.
The activist said she has received multiple death threats because of misinformation spread by the group.
On Wednesday, Catherine Boucher, a spokesperson for BironB次元官网网址檚 office, said Quebec is an open and welcoming society where homophobia and transphobia have no place.
B次元官网网址淥ur government has taken many actions to fight against this discrimination, and we will continue to denounce the prejudices that persist,B次元官网网址� Boucher said in a written statement B次元官网网址淭he Quebec governmentB次元官网网址檚 funding of PDF Qu茅bec is not a sign of support for all their positions.B次元官网网址�
Marisela Amador, The Canadian Press
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