Justin Trottier

Justin Trottier
Born	Justin Trottier (1982-12-04) 4 December 1982 Montreal, Quebec
Residence	Toronto, Ontario
Nationality	Canadian
Education	Bachelor of Applied Science, Engineering
Alma mater	University of Toronto
Occupation	Political Candidate, Executive Director of an Educational Charitable Organization, Writer, Public Speaker
Years active	2002-present
Employer	CFI Canada (current),
Relatives	Lorne Trottier

Justin Trottier (born December 4, 1982) is an English-Canadian columnist, public speaker and media personality, political candidate, former manager and current spokesperson for an educational charitable organization. In 2009 he was one of the main spokespersons for the Canadian atheist bus campaign. His areas of interest include science, atheism, scientific skepticism, gender issues and civil liberties.^[1]

Early life

He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in Engineering Science. His uncle, Lorne Trottier, is the co-founder of Matrox computing.

Major areas of interest

Freethought activism and public education

In 2005 Trottier founded the University of Toronto Secular Alliance with Jennie Fiddes. The organization successfully lobbied for the secularization of the University of Toronto's graduation ceremony through the removal of convocation prayers.^[2]

In March 2006 Trottier opened the Secular Freethought Centre, the first community centre in Canada for secular humanists. By January 2007 the Secular Freethought Centre had become the Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFI) and Trottier was hired as its first Executive Director. CFI currently operates 10 branches in Canada as a national educational charity. Trottier oversaw its national office, which coordinates its educational programs, campus and public outreach, social and community services, multimedia, and legal work.

In June 2010, Trottier hired Nathan Phelps, the estranged son of Pastor Fred Phelps of the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, to head up the Calgary, Alberta, branch of the Centre for Inquiry. Nathan Phelps has worked with CFI to promote gay rights issues and to advance tolerance and equality.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Trottier was dismissed from his position as CFI National Director.^[3] He was rehired by CFI in March 2012 as National Communications Director.^[4]

Civil Liberties

Trottier speaks frequently in defense of freedom of speech and helped launch the Campaign for Free Expression and its now annual Blasphemy Rights Day, which was covered by USA Today.^[5] He is a leading Canadian secularist, founder and first President of the Canadian Secular Alliance,^[6] and writes articles exploring church-state separation issues.^[5] He assisted in the formation of the One School System Network,^[7] a coalition of secular advocacy, religious, civil rights, and teacher and trustee organizations advocating for the defunding of the tax-payer supported Roman Catholic School System in Ontario. The One School System Network was an important part of the effort to oppose Ontario Progressive Conservative Party leader John Tory's 2007 election campaign proposal to fund all private faith-based schools in Ontario fully. Trottier is one of the coalition's primary spokespeople,^[8] during which he debated then Education Minister Kathleen Wynne on live television.^[9]

Trottier participates in multifaith public events, including the Hamilton World Religion Conference, and has spoken on areas of shared ethical concern at both liberal and conservative Churches. Trottier is an advocate for civil liberties and human rights. He organized several events and conducted a number of interviews for Think Again! TV related to the prohibition on Gay Straight Alliance student clubs at certain high schools in Ontario.^[10]

Trottier also lectures, speaks and performs interviews related to skepticism and critical thinking. Major areas of interest include alternative medicine,^[11] especially homeopathy^[12] which was explored in a controversial episode of CBC's Marketplace in which Trottier's organization was featured.^[13] Trottier is critical of scientific claims made within new age spirituality and performed a lecture tour speaking on "The New Age Movement and Science: A Love-Hate Relationship." .^[14] In June 2011 he published secret footage from a Peter Popoff faith healing event hoping to demonstrate how con artists manipulate crowds.^[15] He was a guest speaker at The Amazing Meeting, the largest annual skepticism event, hosted by the James Randi Educational Foundation in Las Vegas July 2011.

Trottier co-founded the University of Toronto Astronomy & Space Exploration Society in 2003. He served as the organization's first President from 2003 until 2006, coordinating three symposium that were the largest public astronomy and space sciences events held at the University of Toronto. In 2005 Trottier joined the Board of Directors of the Canadian Space Society and has served as the Society's External Director and as the managing editor of its publication, the Canadian Space Gazette.

Atheist bus campaign

Trottier is the founder and former President of the Freethought Association of Canada. During his leadership he acted as one of the primary spokespersons for the 2009 Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign. The Canadian Atheist Bus Campaign received considerable media attention, including coverage by CBC, the National Post, Global TV, CityTV,^[16] the Globe and Mail,^[17] CTV News,^[18] This Magazine,^[19] Kelowna Daily Courier,^[20] Crossroad Television,^[21] and other outlets.

Trottier appeared on an episode of TV Ontario's The Agenda, hosted by Steve Paikin, to discuss advertising atheism.^[22]

The Canadian Atheist Bus ads sparked counter campaigns in response, which Trottier publicly supported, including an ad sponsored by Syed Sohawardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and another by the United Church of Canada. Trottier was noted for championing free speech rights for all groups that had provocative messages censored in public space. A variety of cities refused to run the ads, although some withdrew their prohibition after a Supreme Court ruling found banning political or controversial ads a violation of the free speech provision in the Canadian constitution.^[23] In May 2011, he published a video investigating missing atheist ads in Kelowna, BC, arguing the city failed to protect the ads and to adequately support the free speech of citizens.^[24]

While at CFI he was the founder and was to serves as Chief Spokesperson for the new Extraordinary Claims Campaign, which uses the slogan, made famous by Carl Sagan: "Extraodinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence." ^[25] However, he left CFI Canada before the bus campaign was put into effect.

Media work

Since January 2011, Trottier has appeared regularly on the John Oakley Show's Tuesday morning Culture War segment on Toronto Radio AM640.^[26] His debate opponents have tended to be conservative religious leaders, including Reverend Charles McVety, Pastor Scott Masson, and Rabbi Mendel Kaplan.

Trottier was a guest on The Michael Coren Show's Faith Matters panel about once a month from May 2008 until the show went off the air in July 2011.^[27] Trottier is a frequent guest on The Rob Breakenridge Show on AM770 Calgary Radio.^[28]

Trottier has appeared on CBC's The National,^[29] CTV's Canada AM^[30] Global's 16:9, TVO's The Agenda,^[31] CH TV news, and CP24. In January 2011 Trottier was featured on the cover of Eye Weekly (now The Grid) magazine.^[32] In June 2011 interviews with Trottier were a major component of Vision TV's two-part documentary "Godless" ^[33]

During 2008 Trottier was the secular humanist columnist for the Globe and Mail's online "Faith and Ethics" panel. In April 2009, he was invited to become a contributor to the National Post's online Holy Post blog.^[34] In addition, he contributes to several other blogs, including the CFI Canada blog, and the Equalism Activism website which he uses as his personal blog.

In 2011 Trottier launched Think Again! TV, a YouTube-based show focusing on news skeptical news critical of religion or the paranormal. It attempts at aiming at a younger youth audience.^[35] Since leaving CFI Canada, Justin has also left the Think Again! project.

Gender issues

In January 2009 Trottier launched The Pendulum Effect podcast to discuss men's rights, male issues, and perspectives on gender, equality and diversity.^[36] In 2011, he became the leader of the Toronto Men’s Issues Awareness Campaign and was interviewed by the Toronto Star about the campaign.^[37]

Political career

In 2011, he became the Green Party of Ontario candidate for the Parkdale-High Park riding in the 2011 Ontario general election.^[38] Incumbent Cheri DiNovo kept her seat while Justin Trottier placed 4th in the election.^[39]

References

External links

• Holy Post Justin's column in National Post online edition