Image Credit: SUBMITTED/getawake.ca
February 20, 2023 - 6:00 AM
The anti-SOGI movement hasn't given up in the Okanagan.
Two speakers are set to host an event covering "important issues about the kids" at a Kelowna church, just a week after an anti-SOGI billboard came down across the lake in West Kelowna.
Joined by outspoken anti-vaxxers, the hosts are set to discuss children's health rights but the event bio poses more questions than answers.
"Have you heard about the Infants Act and Mature Minor Consent? Are you concerned about what's being taught in our schools? Have you ever felt like the media only gives one side of the story or that the government is lying to us?" the event bio reads.
READ MORE: Billboard company defends West Kelowna ad as free speech
Event organizers are asking $50 per ticket for the Feb. 21 event.
The event lands just a week after an anti-SOGI 123 billboard was removed on Westbank First Nation land on Feb. 14.
Protesters against SOGI 123 have been active for months, seeming to increase their pressure on school districts in time for the 2022 municipal elections.
The Westbank billboard featured a woman in a medical mask in front of a pride flag, posing the question, "What are your kids really learning in school?"
It seems to suggest SOGI 123 is a curriculum but it's actually a set of policies to promote a more inclusive learning environment, according to the provincial government website.
READ MORE: What SOGI 123 is – and what it isn't
SOGI, or sexual orientation and gender identity, gives teachers a framework to discuss gender diversity and human rights with their students, rather than a curriculum.
Much like the organization behind the Westbank billboard, GetAwake.ca, the Embassy Church event organizers haven't described exactly what is in store for the audience.
The event was originally planned to be held at Kelowna's Rotary Centre for the Arts but it's since been moved to Embassy Church in Rutland. The same church has hosted at least one anti-vax event in 2021.
READ MORE: Anti-vax, anti-SOGI? Central Okanagan school board chair Lee-Anne Tiede responds
Colleen Fitzpatrick of the Rotary Centre said it's a private event and didn't say why it was moved from the downtown theatre.
Event organizers didn't respond to questions from iNFOnews.ca.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2023