The Quebec government came under fire this week for funding a women91裸聊视频檚 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 91裸聊视频渕utilation,91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淭he government is using public funds to subsidize an organization, PDF Qu茅bec, who are openly transphobic,91裸聊视频� Maccarone said. The $143,000 given to the group for the 2022-23 fiscal year goes directly against the province91裸聊视频檚 action plan to combat homophobia and transphobia, she added.
Biron replied that every group has its own 91裸聊视频渙pinions91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渙bjectives91裸聊视频� and all groups should be respected and listened to.
91裸聊视频淭hey are being consulted now, and it91裸聊视频檚 very obvious that I will make sure that it91裸聊视频檚 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,91裸聊视频� the minister said.
Fae Johnstone, an Ottawa-based activist, said that she was called a 91裸聊视频渧iolent man91裸聊视频� in a tweet last week by PDF Qu茅bec. She said that in the past, the group has also described her as 91裸聊视频渕isogynistic.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚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,91裸聊视频� Johnstone said. 91裸聊视频淧DF Qu茅bec doesn91裸聊视频檛 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.91裸聊视频�
Johnstone said that until this week she was unaware of the funding the group had received from the Quebec government and called it 91裸聊视频渁bsolutely atrocious.91裸聊视频�
PDF Qu茅bec, which describes itself as feminist, non-partisan, 91裸聊视频渦niversalist91裸聊视频� 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.
91裸聊视频淭his will be addressed in accordance with the grant agreement signed with the organization,91裸聊视频� Poulin said in a written statement on Thursday. 91裸聊视频淚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 2023.91裸聊视频�
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.
91裸聊视频淭hey started singling me out recently and attacking me because of my standing within Quebec91裸聊视频檚 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,91裸聊视频� 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 Biron91裸聊视频檚 office, said Quebec is an open and welcoming society where homophobia and transphobia have no place.
91裸聊视频淥ur government has taken many actions to fight against this discrimination, and we will continue to denounce the prejudices that persist,91裸聊视频� Boucher said in a written statement 91裸聊视频淭he Quebec government91裸聊视频檚 funding of PDF Qu茅bec is not a sign of support for all their positions.91裸聊视频�
Marisela Amador, The Canadian Press
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