Alberta woman faces human rights complaint for opposing Pride crosswalk
Benita Pederson, an Alberta woman, is facing a human rights complaint for distributing flyers opposing a proposed Progress-Pride flag crosswalk in her town.
Author: Clayton DeMaine
A Westlock, Alberta, resident is facing a human rights complaint after distributing flyers urging neighbours to oppose a proposed Pride crosswalk in the town.
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says it will assist Benita Pederson after a human rights complaint was filed against her for attempting to persuade community members to oppose a proposed crosswalk featuring the transgender flag.
According to the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), Pederson is a local DJ, children’s entertainer, event coordinator and “workshop facilitator who wanted to oppose a project proposed by her municipality in June 2023 by handing out flyers.
A press release from the JCCF noted that the flyers urged residents to take action to stop public funds from going towards the project. The flyers read “Cancel the rainbow crosswalk.”
“Based on my personal experiences in interacting with parents and children, I have learned that the practice of ‘gender affirmation’ harms kids more than it helps,” Pederson said in a statement released by the JCCF. “When I composed the flyer, one of my objectives was to warn parents about the potential consequences of children pursuing the pathway of transgenderism.”
Pederson argued that by shutting down conversations around the public crosswalk in her community with accusations that she is “inciting hate” only serves to hinder the ability for people to solve problems through open dialogue.
Shortly after Pederson began handing out the flyers, Laurie Hodge, who was a private citizen at the time, filed a complaint against Pederson under the Alberta Human Rights Act, alleging the flyer “discriminated” on the basis of gender, gender identity and gender expression. Hodge now sits on the Westlock Town Council, according to the JCCF.
Hodge’s complaint read the flyers which were placed on vehicle windscreens and door-to-door contained “Objectionable print material” with statements such as “the transgender agenda is focused on engaging children in an inappropriate and insidious manner” “the transgender agenda is part of the de-population agenda”, “your children will be rendered infertile”, “chemical castration and genital mutilation”.
The complaint asked for a retraction of the statements, an apology and an “acknowledgement of harm,” while insisting that Pederson’s activism constituted a breach of the criminal code as a “public incitement of hatred.”
Hodges human rights complaint contains images of the flyers.
By October 7, 2025, the complaint was referred to the Alberta Human Rights Tribunal for a hearing.
The JCCF pledged to fund lawyers to defend Pedersen’s “right to participate in peaceful democratic debate on matters of public concern.”
“Albertans should be free to express their opinions on controversial topics without being accused of hatred,” constitutional lawyer Allison Pejovic with the JCCF said in a statement.
According to the JCCF, a two-week hearing is scheduled for the case in September this year.