QUEBEC CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Quebec saw its very first March for Life this past weekend, as around 1500 Canadians gathered in the province’s capital to defend the unborn.
On June 1, the Quebec Life Coalition held their first Quebec March for Life, with around 1500 Canadians beginning at the National Assembly in Quebec City before marching through the streets of the city.
“Everybody was very happy about the event,” Quebec Life Coalition president Georges Buscemi told LifeSiteNews. “They were really glad that’s happening; they were really encouraged.”
The pro-life demonstration was met with an equal number of 1500 counter-protestors, who were organized by various unions and Planned Parenthood Quebec. The pro-lifers occupied the front of the building while the pro-abortion activists were at the back.
While Buscemi explained that “the abortion mentality is pretty strong in Quebec and pretty enshrined in the mentality of the people of Quebec,” he revealed that the pro-abortion activists are “worried that there could be cultural shifts” towards the pro-life position.
“They [pro-abortion activists] mostly stayed out back where they had started, but a group of about a hundred of them peeled off that group and came to try to disrupt our event,” he said.
According to Buscemi, no arrests were made, but police handed out some tickets to the pro-abortion protestors.
Police had coordinated for the pro-abortion activists to move to the front of the building while the pro-lifers marched, and then for the pro-abortion protesters to leave by the time the pro-lifers returned for closing speeches.
“When the police told me that, that made me kind of wonder on what planet he lived by thinking that we could pull this off smoothly,” Buscemi recalled.
While the protestors were not violent, but rather “noisy and slightly chaotic,” he revealed that their presence created a “cloud of apprehension” during the event which was aimed to be for families and young children.
Indeed, police were so understaffed that they told Buscemi, “We’re under-manned. We can’t guarantee your safety,” and recommended that the pro-lifers not march through the streets but stay at the National Assembly.
“That would be a disaster,” he thought at the time. Accordingly, when there was a lull from the counter-protestors, Buscemi decided to begin the march before an altercation could occur.
“That’s when really things got more fun, much more positive,” he said. “We were on our way. We were marching, and that’s when I really saw the size of the crowd that we had put together. There was about a 1000 to 1500.”
“Everybody was very happy about the event,” Buscemi recalled. “They were really glad that’s happening; they were really encouraged.”
When the pro-lifers returned to the National Assembly, they were met with the pro-abortion activists who were “dragging their feet” and not leaving the space. However, after setting off a green smoke bomb, the pro-abortion protestors were herded out by police, and the March for Life concluded with post-abortion testimonies.
Following the event, the pro-lifers gathered for a Quebec version of the Rose Dinner which is held in Ottawa following the annual National March for Life.
“We’re happy,” Buscemi concluded. “We’re going to try to do one next year it’s probably going be in Quebec City again. We have to be ready for resistance.”