By: Mason Mattu, Section Editor
Content warning: mentions of residential school denialism, transphobia, child sexual abuse, pedophilia, and racism.
On March 6, Conservative member of parliament Jamil Jivani came to SFU Burnaby as part of his Restore the North tour. The tour is held across Canadian university campuses to discuss how attendees can help “restore the promise of Canada” with a conservative approach. Held in the Student Union Building (SUB), the SFU Conservative Club hosted Jivani and other prominent Conservative voices, including controversial member of parliament Aaron Gunn and BC Conservative Party leadership candidates Harman Banghu, Darrell Jones, and Kerry Lynne-Findlay.
The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) allowed the room to be booked by the campus Conservative Club, despite criticism from those in attendance. Protesters filled the space outside of the room in the SUB, holding signs that displayed slogans such as “Fuck fascism.”
Jivani is against diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and gender-affirming care for youth. Jivani has also been accused of anti-Blackness and racism, whereas Gunn has spread residential school denialism and been accused of using “transphobic, racist, and sexist rhetoric” by the New Democratic Party (NDP).
“I don’t agree with the Conservative Party, but I’m not opposed to Conservative Party members speaking on campus,” one SFU student organizer, named Dina, told The Peak.
“I think the viewpoint they’re pushing is fundamentally anti-democratic. It’s dangerous to marginalized communities.”
— Dina, SFU student organizer
She said that at the beginning of the event, protesters chanted, “Trans rights are human rights,” and claimed Jivani responded, “No.” The Peak could not independently verify this claim.
Jivani allegedly engaged in transphobic rhetoric against a transgender woman in the audience. We spoke to this audience member, Cecily, after the event took place. The Peak was not present at the event, and Cecily’s name has been changed to protect her identity.
In her recollection of the events, Cecily said she asked Jivani the following question: “How is the Conservative Party’s platform [against child sexual abuse] consistent with your choice to meet with US President Donald Trump last month, who was heavily implicated in crimes of child sex trafficking and child rape?” Cecily added that she experienced child sexual abuse. Jivani visited Washington, DC, last month and met with Trump and other senior White House officials in an unsanctioned diplomatic mission in light of Canada’s trade war with the US. During that visit, Jivani accused Canada of having an anti-US “hissy fit.”Cecily claims that, in his response, Jivani said he was “not concerned about what’s happening in other countries.”
When another protester asked Jivani to apologize to Cecily later on in the event, Jivani allegedly “became irate,” pointed to her, and asked everyone to “take a look at this belligerent man.”
Cecily told The Peak she reached out to the SFSS for support on this matter. She said she received a short update over a week after the fact, noting, “an investigation is currently underway.”
“We had some dialogue with executives from the SFSS directly who told us that they disagreed with the views [of the speakers]. A couple of them made a speech at the beginning of the event about how they support marginalized communities,” Dina said.
“There has to be a point where, in order to protect freedom and democracy, we have to draw a line somewhere.” Dina questioned the decision to approve the event, noting that the SFSS controls the SUB and the programming within it.
According to SFSS event space booking guidelines, the Society reserves the right to deny the booking of rooms for activities “contrary to SFSS policy, values, and guidelines.” In the SFSS’ issues policies, transphobia is listed as something which the Society aims to dismantle, alongside other forms of systemic oppression.
The Peak reached out to the SFSS for comment, but did not receive a response by the publication deadline.
Banghu, a speaker at the event whose campaign was still active at the time, wrote this statement on X: “Leftist activists tried to shut us down. They called me and everyone in the room fascists, racists, and bigots. The truth is we were talking about the collapse of our economy, the future of Canada, and whether families will be able to build a life in this country.”
Federal NDP leadership candidate Tanille Johnston wrote in a statement to The Peak,
“Understandably, students are frustrated seeing Conservative politicians come to campus to recruit young organizers while pushing policies that don’t actually address the challenges young people are facing.”
— Tanille Johnston, NDP leadership candidate
Johnston ran against Gunn in the last federal election. “It’s especially troubling when those same politicians are the ones who have downplayed the undeniable harms from the residential school system.
“Universities should be places for engaging debate, but students have every right to call out politicians who spread racist narratives that strive to erase the painful truth of our shared history,” Johnston added.
“This [event] was clearly not vetted. It began with a member of parliament implying that a protected class did not deserve human rights. The SFSS made the decision to allow this event to happen. I believe that they cannot claim neutrality in this issue — they need to either stand against dehumanizing language or for it,” Cecily said.
The Peak reached out to the SFU Conservative Club, Jivani, Gunn, Banghu, and Jones for a comment on the event. We did not receive a response before the publication deadline.
Cecily’s perspective was corroborated by another protester in attendance, alongside a recap video of the event posted to TikTok by the user @franann61.
