In a hearing convened by Canada’s Alberta Human Rights Tribunal on Monday, the lawyer for an anti-transgender advocate in the small town of Westlock (90 miles north of Edmonton), argued that a flyer distributed by her client calling on residents to protest the installation of a rainbow crosswalk with a trans flag was not hate speech, but an exercise in “free speech.”
“Could it be upsetting? Yes. Could it cause hurt feelings? Yes. But does it cause a person to feel hatred or contempt for trans individuals? We will say the answer to that question is a resounding no,” attorney Allison Pejovic said in opening remarks at the hearing.
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The complaint was filed against the flyer’s author, Benita Pedersen, by Westlock resident Laurie Hodge in June 2023. It alleges that Pedersen’s flyers discriminated on the grounds of gender, gender expression, and gender identity, CBC News reports.
The flyer, posted on public and private property in Westlock and online, read, “Say NO to the rainbow crosswalk in Westlock,” and urged residents to contact their elected representatives, share the notice with fellow constituents, and attend a town council meeting to protest the crosswalk.
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Pederson also detailed the goals of what she called the “transgender agenda” in the flyer, including “de-population” and an effort “to confuse children about gender and sexuality.”
“Your children will be rendered infertile and unable to reproduce, become patients for life that require never-ending medical treatment, and live a shortened lifespan,” the flyer read, describing gender-affirming care as “chemical castration and genital mutilation.”
Dustin Klaudt, legal counsel for the director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, described Hodge as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and said she experienced emotional and mental distress because of Pedersen’s publications.
The flyer contained harmful narratives, including misinformation about gender-affirming care and the existential denial of transgender peoples’ identities, he said, in contravention of the Alberta Human Rights Act.
In an affidavit, Hodge, now a member of the Westlock City Council, expressed her dismay over the flyer.
“To this day I am distressed and burdened on behalf of the children who asked for the rainbow crosswalk and the family and friends who are or were victimized by the appalling characterization of their lives,” she said.
She continues to hear about the negative consequences of Pedersen’s anti-trans advocacy and the “ensuing toxic climate” in Westlock, she added, citing one resident’s Pride flag being ripped down and destroyed.
Witnesses included Jennifer Garvie, a transgender woman from Edmonton who said in an affidavit that the flyer “confirmed and steeled” her decision not to visit her father in Westlock.
“The flyers made me feel like if I were to visit a rural community and even so much as stop at a gas station, I might be at risk of harassment or violence,” she said.
Pederson is represented by the far-right Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, a Canadian legal advocacy group. Their clients have included defendants accused of discriminating against a trans woman denied service at a waxing salon, and a small Canadian university fighting to retain anti-LGBTQ+ college rules.
Pederson’s website, All Fired Up for Freedom, includes a list of LGBTQ+ events and policies across Alberta that she urges her followers to protest or shut down.
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