CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
At a city council meeting in Powell River last month, elected official Jim Palm made unsolicited comments that have been labeled as hate speech against transgender people.
Palm took issue with a proposed definition of gender for public signage that would include LGBTQ2 persons and steered his criticism toward transgender women athletes whom he compared to competitors illegally taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Palm’s lack of appropriate vocabulary to address the transgender demographic suggested a lack of understanding of inclusivity issues.
“Whereas on the female side of the equation, females compete, they train and a lot of governing bodies now, not based on biological makeup, are allowing… I don’t know what you refer to them as… somebody that has not got a biological makeup to be able to take female hormones in order to qualify to compete as a female.”
Palm’s next remarks anticipated ongoing resistance to transgender women’s participation in female sports; in his words, so as to support female athletes.
Screenshot of several comments below Palm’s speech reposted on YouTube.
The reposted clip of Palm’s impromptu discourse resulted in a predictably polarized and inflamed series of comments below the video on YouTube. Bill C-16, passed in June 2017, was cited as legal protection of gender-diverse Canadians against discrimination, including hateful speech motivated by bias or prejudice.
Others voiced concern that Palm not only guides the city’s policies in his third term on Council but also directly influences the younger generation in his employment as Career Coordinator at Brooks Secondary School.
Links of Interest
- (ACLU) Four Myths About Trans Athletes, Debunked
- (DW) Fact check: Do trans athletes have an advantage in elite sport?
- (Scientific American) Trans Girls Belong on Girls’ Sports Teams?
Powell River city councillor Jim Palm criticized for insensitive comments toward transgender athletes – screenshot from Powell River Committee of the Whole meeting on June 15, 2021
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