© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickPrime Minister Justin Trudeau rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.
Parental rights are now a "far right" political issue, according to Justin Trudeau.
It may be that the prime minister didn't mean to disparage millions of parents by lumping them in with other far-right radicals like white supremacists and fascists, but that he did so speaks to his tendency to shoot from the lip.
It is unfortunate that, once again, Trudeau, who has often denounced partisanship while urging conciliation, uses inflammatory rhetoric which will alienate a large portion of Canadians.
Trudeau's divisive language comes in the wake of the government of New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs making
controversial changes to gender rules in the province's schools.
One major change is that
parental consent would be required for trans or nonbinary students under the age of 16 to change their names or pronouns in school. Higgs, who is facing a revolt from some of his own members about the policy, has defended it as "taking a strong position for families."
Higgs is at least being open and transparent about making parental rights a political issue,
he's even willing to fight an election over it. "I believe that strongly in the case of finding a solution here where we do not exclude parents in their child's life," he said.
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