The downtown Victoria, B.C. event venue Ambrosia Banquet has cancelled a panel discussion titled “Vancouver Island Speaks! Detransing Canada,” which was scheduled for September 14, 2024.
The volunteer-organized event was set to explore the “danger gender identity ideology poses for kids.”
“So-called ‘gender medicine’ has been revealed to be experimental, dangerous, and rushed — given to minors who don’t understand the consequences and can’t consent to the destruction of their bodies and futures,” the event description reads. “Why is the Canadian government still refusing to limit puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and related surgeries for minors?”
Featured speakers included writer and podcaster Meghan Murphy and women’s sports advocate Dr. Linda Blade.
According to Murphy, Vancouver Island Speaks held a successful event at Ambrosia Banquet in May 2024 on the topic of women’s spaces, parental rights, and protecting kids. For that May event, the location was kept secret and revealed only to ticketholders.
“We re-booked the venue for our next event, called ‘Detransing Canada,’ scheduled for September 14. Ambrosia Banquet was fully aware of the event and its aims and again was supportive, and swore up and down they wouldn’t cancel no matter what, so this time we decided to be open about our venue,” Murphy posted to X.
“The harassment started immediately. Trans activists called and emailed Ambrosia incessantly, showed up at the venue, harassed staff, causing one young female to have what she described as a ‘mental breakdown.’ The owner told us he had been ‘abused’ by these people. They vandalized the building,” Murphy recounted.
The owner of Ambrosia ultimately cancelled the “Detransing Canada” booking.
On Instagram, Ambrosia said the event did not align with their values and posted a picture where they placed a red “X” on the Vancouver Island Speaks event poster to indicate they would not host the event.
“They are willing to throw women under the bus to save themselves,” Murphy wrote. “They don’t yet know that catering to these bullies will only result in more bullying, and will learn the hard way.”
“We are small business owners trying to make a life here… we are not against any community in the universe,” the owner of Ambrosia, who would not provide his name, said to True North.
“We are not against women’s rights. We just cancelled the booking, and that’s all, simple,” the owner said. “Now I’m the result of the crossfire from both sides.”
According to a local activist, immediately upon canceling the September 14th women’s rights panel discussion, the owner of Ambrosia accepted a booking for that same evening to host a “Queer Family Values All-ages Dance Party.”
The all-ages queer dance party will feature a “binder exchange,” where trans-identified and non-binary participants can trade chest binders that wrap around the breasts to give the appearance of a flat chest.
The organizers of Vancouver Island Speaks stated that they are currently seeking a new venue for the “Detransing Canada” panel event.
