#capital pride

More groups including the Liberal Party of Canada have chosen not to participate in events organized by Capital Pride in Ottawa this year in response to a pro-Palestinian statement issued by the organization earlier this month. On Aug. 6, Capital Pride put out a letter stating it was "concerned by the rising tide of antisemitism and Islamophobia" in Canada. Organizers condemned both the terrorist act committed on Oct. 7 and the "endless and brutal campaign in Gaza," which it said is causing the deaths of "innocent Palestinians — many of whom have friends, families and loved ones in our communities." Capital Pride also issued four commitments: integrating the Palestinian BDS National Committee's boycott list, hosting a "Queer Arab Showcase" during the festival, noting the "ongoing genocide" in certain speeches and calling for a permanent ceasefire.

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partway through the march, Q4P halted the advance to protest both the snub and local politicians, causing many paraders to disband to save themselves from standing around in the summer heat and the parade being cancelled by organizers

afterwards, Q4P continued the parade on their own.

you WILL see people trying to paint this as homophobia by the eeeeevil muslims, and you WILL see ambiguous language describing it as an "attack" or "disruption" implying violence, when in reality,

Capital Pride, Ottawa's (the capital of Canada) pride parade got forcibly canceled by pro-Palestinian protesters, under the name "Queers For Palestine".

This isn't false news. This is my country, and this happened to my friends. I'm angry and disheartened and honestly somewhat confused.

Capital Pride is not government run. It's independently ran, and it's the only pride parade done in the nation's capital. It's queer run for queer people. Last year, Capital Pride made some pro-Palestine statements and in response it was boycotted, multiple corporate sponsors pulled out. The parade was a fraction of what it was supposed to be. This year was supposed to be a beacon of hope- both as a recovery from last year, a parade full of vibrant community, and as a show of strength in the face of the horrors we have been seeing this past year from the UK and the USA. This was supposed to show that we are still safe here.

Q4P was invited to participate in the parade. Instead, Q4P stopped the parade before it made a quarter of its entire route, by physically blockading it, and refused to move until Capital Pride was forced to cancel. Q4P has stated that the blockade was to stand against Mark Sutcliffe, Ottawa's Mayor, who advocated for the last year's boycott.

I'm gonna be doing some fact finding and come back to this. I want to be very careful with the statements I make because Pride and Free Palestine are two causes I support in earnest. I want to be clear that while I am angry and frustrated with the orchestrators, I am not against the causes they support.

Last Tuesday, Capital Pride issued four "commitments," pledging to recognize the "ongoing genocide" in Gaza in opening remarks, integrate a boycott list into its sponsorship reviews, host a "queer Arab showcase" and call for a ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and increased humanitarian aid.

[...]

Haley Robinson, Capital Pride's grand marshal, also weighed in while attending CANFAR's brunch.

"I don't think the statement was meant for anybody to feel unwelcome," Robinson said, adding that it's necessary that Pride remains open to polarizing conversations — including ones about global conflicts.

"People have to remember that Pride isn't just about a parade and celebration," they said. "It's always been advocacy. It's always been a fight … so I think it's really important to continue to show your support for Palestinians and for other folks who are marginalized."

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After electing a mayor who advocated defunding Pride, every Ottawa Pride has been marked by controversy. I will explore below why I think this is not by chance.

Years ago, perhaps the best known parade protest occurred at Toronto Pride. BLM stopped the march with demands such as that police marching in the parade not come in uniform. Toronto Pride accepted. The parade continued.

Capital Pride adopted the policy with no pushback from then mayor Jim Watson or police. Any issues were handled out of public view. The parade was not disrupted nor would another be disrupted by BLM.

I bring this up as an illustration of approach. Some see it as Pride being held hostage by BLM but BLM, like Queers for Palestine, was a movement with a lot of grassroots support among young, conscious LGBT people.

These are the future of Pride - passionate youth who show up, volunteer, and organize. It makes sense to take them seriously and history has shown that doing so can build beneficial relationships and does not lead to escalation.

Similarly, Queers for Palestine worked constructively in Pride last year. Their communications with Pride got us a showcase night and a solidarity statement. Pride navigated the political moment exceptionally well.

Several days after the statement, mayor Sutcliffe denounced Pride and led a boycott of the event. I have excerpted the key portion of the statement below. It is factual and thoughtful. It rightly condemned antisemitism. Pride was attacked solely for standing against genocide.

The parade went on that year and was wonderful. In a beautiful display of solidarity the workers from most boycotting institutions showed up anyway with the floats they had built. Bosses and politicians, it seems, were the only ones absent.

One might think the saga was over but months ago the mayor seems to have threatened Pride into removing the statement. This baffling move put Pride in the exact position it had avoided by working with Queers for Palestine, like BLM before them, in good faith.

Tensions were inflamed instantly. I saw calls to disrupt pride almost immediately. I don't think this tactic was right at all given the clear solidarity the vast majority of parade goers have shown, but I can empathise deeply with the feelings of betrayal in the face of genocide that no doubt led there. A betrayal born of the Mayor's singleminded need to deny Pride their free expression.

This climaxed on Sunday to much discourse. The parade was disrupted by a massive gathering of young LGBT activists as well as allied organizations like Independent Jewish Voices. The mayor refused to speak to them, and in a sad stalemate the parade was cancelled.

Now Mayor Sutcliffe says Pride must do something prevent this, as though they hadn't done just that before his overreach. If Pride acquiesces to heavy handed action they will create a generational rift that could destroy their future. If they choose to mend the rift, they may face defunding and denial of permits.

Bad for Pride. Good for the man who wants to defund it.