NAVARRO-GENIE: Boissonnault's 'NATO Moment' is as hypocritical as it is risky

No human rights have been stripped, no individual has been persecuted, no law has even been drafted and no one has been attacked, but that is no barrier to Danielle Smith's detractors.The Alberta premier is drawing wild reactions from progressives. Her sin? Smith announced plans for policies to curtail surgical alterations for minors identifying as transexual.The premier wants to safeguard Alberta children from making life-changing decisions prematurely, even with parental support. These substantial decisions can lead to changes in sexual function and the ability to have children in the future, as well as to life-long medical complications. The guidelines will permit children to start the process of change only from 16 years of age, with surgeries delayed until they reach 18. Considering the potential implications, these guidelines seem quite reasonable.Protecting children from future distress should be a clear choice except for those with skewed ideologies or lack of moral judgment.The outcry to this sensible desire to safeguard children from the lasting negative impacts of these surgeries is revealing. It shows a fanatical culture, far removed from sensible discourse, medical evidence, reality, and an understanding of surgical risks.Some expected the reaction might be emotional, but it has become ridiculous.Rachel Notley called the proposal “horrifying.” The federal minister of health, Mark Holland called it “deeply disturbing,” “extremely dangerous,” and accused Smith of “placing kids at risk.” Arif Virani, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice spoke of potential “devastation” and accused the Alberta premier of “targetting,” and “demonizing” children.But the reaction from Edmonton-Centre MP Randy Boissonnault is the most troubling. He is the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages in the Trudeau cabinet. Additionally, Boissonnault played a significant role as the Special Advisor on sexual minority community issues to the prime minister. He has been responsible for guiding the Government of Canada’s sexual minority community agenda.Recently, Boissonnault strongly criticized the Alberta premier. Boissonnault was performatively upset before cameras because the premier made use of an innocuous metaphor when talking about Stephen Guilbeault, the environment minister. The metaphor referred to a target on Guilbeault's back. In his faux outrage, Boissonneault said Smith’s reference to crosshairs was the importation of MAGA attitudes from the far right in the US.By contrast, when speaking about Alberta's planned policy on trans surgeries, Boissonnault referred to it as "a NATO moment." It is worth quoting at length:"We are going to look at every option that we have and this is our NATO moment as an LGBTQ2 (The "I" and the "+" that typically end the string of uttered letters were absent) community. An attack on one of our communities is an attack on us all and I need allies and champions to stand up."Isn't it ironic? Someone who vocally decrying allegedly “violent" MAGA imagery in Canadian politics, a week later quotes directly from Article 5 of the most powerful military alliance on the planet, using the language of war himself.Lesser mortals have started making claims on social media about purported "genocide." A professor at Mount Royal University, who also mentioned “demonizing,” has even foretold the dire consequences of supposed stigma, of teachers losing their jobs and children taking their own lives.People's reactions reveal more about themselves than the policies discussed. Importantly, the new Alberta guidelines introduce no violence; they aim to prevent harm to vulnerable children by regulating drastic changes to their bodies. Notably, Alberta schools that support Gay clubs (Gay and Straight Alliances) have not observed any witch hunts against gay and queer children as Boissonneault claims. Trans people are not stigmatized or persecuted, quite the opposite. Self-identified sexual minority community members hold prominent positions as Parliamentarians, federal and provincial ministers, mayors, teachers, professors, judges, human rights commissioners and religious preachers throughout Canada, Boissonnault should know.The over-the-top 'NATO moment' announcement, the fabrication of threats against children, and the extreme talk of demonization and genocide illustrates a concerning mindset. It makes it clear the Alberta guidelines are more than just necessary. They're crucial to shield children from individuals such as Boissonnault now employing war-like language.Labelling it as a "NATO moment" might be one of the most preposterous statements uttered by Trudeau Liberals, and that's saying something, especially considering their parasitic involvement in the alliance. His hypocrisy aside, Boissonneault’s hurling of warfare language as an incumbent federal minister is concerning. The use of such terms raises the threat of actual violence in response to the climate of fictitious violence they promote. We've seen this play out in the recent past. The Trudeau Cabinet constructed a fake narrative of sedition and violence to invoke the War Measures (Emergencies) Act and then used it to unleash violence on their opponents.The language of warfare intensifies emotions and sets the situation beyond the confines of politics. True enough, political discourse is frequently steeped in militaristic terms, with elections often regarded as campaigns, and so on. However, Boissonault's usage of such extreme language in reference to "attacks" could potentially provoke an assault on Alberta officials or the premier herself. If this practice from progressive figures continues, it may become a realistic threat.Indeed, this language is worse than the accusations Boissonneault directed towards Danielle Smith in reference to Stephen Guilbeault. The language of war paired with the phrase "we're going to look at every option" is dangerous, particularly when absorbed by those who are emotionally charged by the reactions from dramatically emotive, progressive leaders.Progressive politicians and academics should tone down the hyperbole and violent (supposedly MAGA) language. Boissonnault and company should set an example for their followers and heed their own advice.Marco Navarro-Genie is President of the Haultain Research Institute

NAVARRO-GENIE: Boissonnault's 'NATO Moment' is as hypocritical as it is risky

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