After 40 years of being welcomed at the annual Prince George B.C. National Exhibition (BCNE), the Prince George Pro-Life Society application for a booth was denied this year. When asked why, the reply was that they were “not a good fit”.
The pro-life organization reminded BCNE that they had been invited to the exhibition every year, were given a note of thanks from BCNE after each exhibition, and that their exhibit was always appreciated, with many people sharing their personal pro-life stories. Another opportunity to meet with BCNE board was requested but ignored.
To the surprise of the Prince George Pro-Life Society, BCNE claimed it was concerned about the safety of exhibition attendees and pro-lifers staffing the booth, but refused to clarify. When a meeting to go over issues of concern was once again requested BCNE declared that its decision to reject the pro-life presence was final.
The prolife presentations for the past 40 years were about education, not public shock. The presentations included fetal models, books, and pamphlets. No observers have ever been upset but, rather, have sent thank you cards to the pro-life group.
This echoes the similar rejection of pro-life presentations at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto and also, in 2017, when Edmonton Pro-Life was denied a space at the annual K-Day fair after 15 years of successful participation. Organizers had adopted a new policy prohibiting “political and religious organizations”. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) said the decision to deny the booth was “an infringement of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
In response to the BCNE denial, Laura Fowlie, of Prince George Pro-Life Society, stated, “Our participation at the exhibition has always been our largest outreach to the public and has played a very important role in education and membership and not being there will be a huge loss to us and to the community”.
The Secretary of the Prince George Pro-Life Society, Richard Mansfield, calls for public reaction as “this cancel culture could threaten the existence of our society and other pro-life societies.”