This was entirely preventable.  Entirely.

The fact that it happened anyways is nothing short of a stinging indictment on a provincial government that has allowed itself to be kowtowed by a loud, resentful, closed, and suspicious demographic within the broader population.  A demographic with out-sized influence, but also one driven by the darkness of willful ignorance, which they happen to view as enlightened biblical interpretation.

These people, when set loose upon the land, are dangerous and can cause an awful lot of harm, both personal and economic, harms that don’t just impact themselves, but also the rest of us.

They are the religious right, who appear to be gravitating uncomfortably close to a form of religious extremism whipped to a frenzy by exploitative politicians and even more so by exploitative church leadership.

And, as a Christian myself,  it hurts me to say that the vast majority of these types causing all the trouble are Christian as well.  Radical, dogmatic Christians.