Meghan Murphy says VPL event is still on, despite a report of cancellation

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Meghan Murphy, who is at the centre of a controversy over a talk on transgender rights scheduled for Jan. 10 at the Vancouver Public Library, says a report of a cancellation are not true.

“The only news I have heard of this cancellation upon waking up and reading my email, which informed me that I had sent an email in the middle of the night and cancelled — it sounds like somebody is playing a joke on the media,” Murphy tells NEWS 1130.

The founder and editor of The Feminist Current adds that a report of her receiving a large number of critical emails leading to a decision to cancel the event are also untrue. She says, instead she received a lot of correspondence in support of the event, but also a number of letters threatening violence on the event’s site.

Murphy has drawn criticism from the LGBTQ community for her views on transgender people, most famously from tweets questioning how women can be men and what the difference is between a man and a transgender woman.

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She says the controversy stemming from the announced event is frustrating to her because she says the focus of the talk is to open up public conversation and she feels the blowback is aimed at shutting down dialogue.

“A couple of the organizers contacted me after I did a similar talk in Ontario that went really, really well, and said let’s try to do this in Vancouver. I was happy to,” she says.

The Vancouver Public Library has said they have zero tolerance for discrimination, however, they believe in the freedom of speech, and will not refuse to rent to an individual or organization simply because they are discussing controversial topics or views.

— with files from Jonathan Szekeres