Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Harry Potter Author J.K. Rowling as a “modern saint” during an address in Ottawa Wednesday, saying that her stance on gender identity was common sense.
Johnson spoke at the Canada Strong and Free Network’s 2024 conference alongside former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
“What’s happening in universities, the restrictions on free speech, J.K. Rowling being demonized when she’s probably done more to encourage young people to read around the world than any other person I can think of…” said Johnson.
“She’s a modern saint. It’s unbelievable what they’re saying about her.”
Johnson went on to say that “what’s so crazy is what she says about gender, is of course what 95 percent of the population secretly think… but don’t have the guts to say anymore because they’re worried that they will offend somebody or somebody will jump down their throat.”
Rowling first spoke out against gender ideology in 2020 and has continued to hold the line since, to the ire of progressive activists.
Recently, she has been in the news amid challenging the Scottish government’s controversial hate crime legislation, which offers protections for transgender people but not women.
Johnson did however also praise green net-zero agendas, saying he has no apologies for his stances on climate. Johnson’s climate comments led to some pushback from Abbott.
“Did you ask the scientists how they explained the ice ages?” Abbott said.
“There are obviously factors in climate change way beyond mankind’s carbon dioxide emissions, because if mankind’s carbon dioxide emissions were the only things that mattered, we would never have had the ice ages. We would never have had previous periods of climate change.”
“First, there is no climate emergency,” he went on. “Second, it’s far from clear that mankind’s carbon dioxide is the only or even the main factor in climate. And third, trying to turn the world upside down in order to reduce our emissions to zero by a particular date, I just think is folly of the first order.”
Abbott said, “the green agenda has given us much higher power prices and in the process we have effectively deindustrialised by exporting most of our emissions intensive industries to countries which are less fastidious about this than we are.”
Johnson and Abbott also discussed the war in Ukraine, as well as the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
On Israel, Abbott referred to Hamas as a death cult. “How can you want an apocalyptic death cult to save face? There’s only one way to deal with an apocalyptic death cult, it’s to get rid of it,” said Abbott.
The Canada Strong and Free Network 2024 conference is taking place from April 10 to 12 in Ottawa. True North’s Andrew Lawton and Elie Cantin-Nantel are on the ground to cover.
