News & Analysis

On March 29, 2012 approximately two thousand concerned parents, members of ethnic and faith communities, plus students, served Dalton McGuinty and all Ontario MPPs with notice of their demands:  TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OUR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS!  STOP BILL 13.

While Kim Galvao, the main organizer from Concerned Catholic Parents of Ontario, expected just a few hundred, she was overwhelmed to see the roughly 2000 protestors show up with hundreds of signs. There were large numbers of people from the Chinese Catholic, Chinese Protestant and Korean Christian communities. The rally was attended by Christians of all persuasions, Sikhs, Muslims and many ethnic communities including somalian, pakistani, spanish, filipino, and many more.

Several speakers gave powerful speeches warning of the loss of liberty, parental rights and freedom of religion that McGuinty's unconstitutional proposed legislation represents. The speakers included:

1. Kim Galvao, Concerned Catholic Parents of Ontario
2. Jack Fonseca, Campaign Life Catholics
3. Dr. Charles McVety, Institute for Canadian Values
4. Reverend Dominic Tse, North York Chinese Community Church
5. Teresa Pierre, Parents As First Educators
6. Allan Tam, Chinese community leader and School Trustee at YRDSB
7. Phil Lees, Family Coalition Party

A pleasant surprise to the organizers was the number of MPPs who came and joined the rally. At least four PC MPPs mingled with the parents, listening to the speakers and chatting with demonstrators. Rick Nicholls, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Essex went to the microphone and commended the parents for their vocal and principled opposition to the liberty-destroying Bill 13. The crowd responded with jubilant enthusiasm. Several other MPPs were spotted coming to the steps of the legislature to watch the huge crowd and to hear what they were saying.

At one point during the rally, former Education Minister Kathleen Wynn came outside, walked past the huge parents group and went over to the small group of 20 or so LGBTTIQQ counter-protestors who had gathered nearby to demand that Dalton McGuinty force the Catholic Church to violate her religious beliefs. She also spoke to Omni TV in favour of Bill 13, deceptively downplaying and distorting the concerns of parents. (See photo) 

One MPP told organizers that the parents could be heard shouting "Stop Bill 13" inside the chamber. Coincidentally, (perhaps providentially?), lawmakers were actually debating Bill 14, the alternate anti-bullying bill by Progressive Conservative MPP, Elizabeth Witmer. Incidentally, that Bill, unlike Bill 13, does not conceal a sexual, anti-religious agenda.

Many mainstream media outlets were present, although CBC, CTV, Global and CP24 appear to have imposed a black-out order to censor the rally. To our knowledge, none of these outlets covered it on their 6pm nor nightly news programs. However, the newspapers and talk radio outlets appear to be reporting on the protest including the National Post and Toronto Sun.

All attendees and organizers left the rally feeling uplifted, and committed to building resistance against McGuinty's freedom-destroying legislation.

Please email, phone, write and visit your MPP and tell them to vote against Bill 13. Also keep writing and phoning Premier McGuinty's office.

To watch highlights from each of the speakers at the rally, watch this video below, courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com who covered the entire protest: