British Columbia’s Human Rights Commissioner, Kasari Govender, says she is disturbed about “hate-fuelled marches” planned in several communities around the province and Canada – including Kamloops – on Wednesday.

Posters created by a group called “1MillionMarch4Children” says participants are “standing together against gender ideology in schools,” which is a reference to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity programs being taught in B.C.’s public schools.

The statement from Govender says peaceful demonstration protects democracy and generates debate, but the human rights of the trans and LGBTQ community “is not up for debate.”

She says an inquiry by her office showed almost two-thirds of LGBTQ students don’t feel safe at school, compared with 11 per cent of heterosexual students, and attempts to erase them from school curriculums are hateful.

Govender says that those who want to “protect” their children by removing school-based supports for gay, bisexual, trans and other students are misinformed.

“As a parent, I plead with those who may think they are protecting their children: Erasing LGBTQ2SAI+ people from our curriculum will not change your child’s identity, but it will make schools, and the LGBTQ2SAI+ people in them, less safe,” she says in her statement.

Trans people have become the focus of a “surge of disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate,” says Govender.

“This is not only about hate on the basis of gender identity; these rallies are an affront to human dignity, expression and rights for all of us,” she says.

A letter from Govender to Premier David Eby, urges him to release details about the effectiveness of 12 recommendations Govender’s office submitted to the province in March.

The recommendations flowed from a public inquiry that examined reports of hate in the province.

It provides a “road map of how to take tangible and transformative action against hate,” says Govender.

In Kamloops, supporters of the protest are expected to gather outside the courthouse at 9 a.m. before marching to the Kamloops-Thompson school district office on Ninth Avenue around 11 a.m. A counter protest is also being planned outside the courthouse.

Students at the Kamloops School of the Arts will be asked to stay inside Wednesday while protestors are outside the school board office across the street.

“We want to ensure our students are safe and do not engage with these protesters,” principal Blair Lloyd said in an email sent to parents, published by Kamloops This Week. “Police are aware of this protest and should any protesters interfere with the running of our school, I will be calling the RCMP to assist in removing the group.”

“At this time, I want to reiterate that we accept all students and staff members to be their true selves, including those who identify as LGBTQ2S+ and we will not tolerate any hateful messages towards students or staff.”

In a statement, Kamloops-Thompson School District Superintendent, Rhonda Nixon, and Board Chair, Heather Grieve, said it was “timely and necessary” to speak to the district’s core commitment “that we support every child and adult to be who they are and value their protected human rights.”

“Given that the planned gatherings may cause LGBTQ2S+ students, staff, and families to face barriers and experience fear or a lack of safety in our community, we affirm your presence and emphasize our unwavering support for you to belong, be included, and safe in our schools and district facilities,” the statement said. “We have conduct and anti-bullying procedures that address protected grounds of discrimination under the Human Rights Code.”

In those procedures, Nixon says they will take steps to address anyone who’s behavior jeopardizes a safe and inclusive environment of the schools and district facilities.

“We do not support anyone who articulates perspectives that are discriminatory or any acts that jeopardize safe and caring school and district environments.”

“I want to believe that everything will go very well, and that diverse perspectives will be heard but I think it is important that we put out that statement for that exact reason.. That we are not certain and we wanted to emphasize our perspective,” said Nixon.

Nixon says they are prepared to take “progressive steps” if the protest gets out of hand, noting the RCMP will also step in, if needed.

“In order to preserve order on the premises, we would order a person to leave and proceed to 911 if we did have an unexpected occurrence, and there was not an RCMP presence,” said Nixon.

“We don’t want to assume that the protests are going to get out of hand but we are clear about the root of the protests and so we’ve given specific guidance to those administrators about how to be prudent about breaks and to be prudent about going in and out of the school.”

– With files from Radio NL