On Sept. 20th a maximum of eight anti-trans protestors showed up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. More than 300-400 trans and queer defenders turned up. It was a militant and energetic crowd and we pushed all the anti-trans people out of the Grand Parade. There was also a lot of support for Palestine solidarity and No Pride in Genocide! Chants included “Trans Lives They Matter Here!” along with “Black Trans Lives They Matter Here!” and “Black Lives They Matter Here!” and “Trans People Under Attack! What Do We do? ACT UP! Fight Back!”
Close to 30 cops turned up to defend the anti-trans right-wingers. They were always facing us as if ‘we’ were the problem for them. At the end they arrested one young trans defender for “assault” for supposedly spilling some water on the anti-trans bigots. More than 40 of us marched to the police station until the young person was released.
The ability of the racist, anti-trans/anti-queer right-wing to mobilize seems to be very reduced given all their internal tensions and contradictions but a the same time the policies of the the New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta provincial governments are a real threat and are supported by the federal Tory party. A grass roots anti-right-wing, anti-racist pro-trans movement is badly needed that does not rely on the police and keeps us safe from the right-wing and the police.