2017-02 Questions For Pride

2017-02 Questions For Pride

This page tabulates questions and comments from our members to take to Pride. The original questions are below.

Adam Reid

Why is the Halifax Police not participating in Pride 2017?

The Halifax Regional Police decided to take a step back from the parade this year to focus on taking part through new festival events, and to explore ways to communicate and engage with the community in more meaningful ways. As many people are aware, especially in light of recent events at Pride Toronto, the issue of police participation in Pride parades has become a widely discussed issue. The HRP are aware that this is on the minds of many across the country and locally, and decided to take this opportunity to engage with the queer community to explore the situation further. Halifax Pride meet regularly with our community partners and strive for open communications and dialogue. This decision to temporarily step away from the parade came from the police and we respect their community minded approach and concern. Although HRP won’t be submitting a parade entry, they will be on hand to ensure the safety of the public, and we expect that the new efforts they undertake at the festival will allow for more interactive and meaningful Pride festival participation.

How will the Halifax Police be participating?

The Halifax Regional Police have committed to taking part in the festival in new ways but the events they hope to organize have not been decided. This is part of the outreach they hope to undertake over the coming months. In addition to taking steps to strengthen ties with the community and gather feedback, they want input on the sort of events the queer community would like to see them host. Ideas such as a panel discussion and community barbecue have been suggested. On Sunday, February 19 Halifax Pride will be facilitating a working group gathering and discussion to allow the public to bring their ideas to the police and allow for some conversation. The structure is still being developed but details will be announced soon on Facebook. For details I can also be reached at adam@halifaxpride.com.

One long time Halifax activist said, "This goes against everything that we worked for."

Halifax Pride recognizes that this decision on the part of HRP was made in response to the current debate regarding police participation in Pride. Both parties see this as an opportunity for the HRP to interact and develop ties with our community. It’s an evolving relationship and we’re proud of the police for taking this opportunity to explore all the ways in which they can engage with the festival and our community. Strong ties with our partners is, and always has been, what we work for.

Has the Atlantic Jewish Council been banned from the Post Parade Festival?

No. No one has been banned from the festival.

Why did you apologize, and what for?

The apology from myself and board was to express our deep regret for our actions and inaction, largely in the lead up to the Annual General Meeting. We want the community to know that we do not feel we did enough to ensure the meeting was a respectful safe space. We should have done more to ensure the dialogue leading up to and at the meeting was more respectful and civil. This caused considerable pain for many, if not everyone in attendance, and we wanted offer sincere apologies. We are taking what we learned and will work with the community to develop new practices to ensure Halifax Pride events are safe spaces.

Are there plans or intentions for all uniformed personnel to withdraw from the Parade? RCMP? Armed Forces? Firefighters? Lawyers? Judges?

Like the HRD's decision, those decisions will be made by each organization or group.

Why isn't there a permanently reserved seat on the Board for a senior from the LGBT Community?

We'd certainly welcome a senior on the Board - the majority of our current board members are in their twenties or early thirties. We recognize that joining the board of Halifax Pride is a major time commitment. Fortunately, with the creation of an Executive Director position to work full time on festival planning and community outreach, we can begin transition from a working board to a visioning board. While the personal commitment required is still great, the hope is this will ease some of the burden on our board members. As we have board vacancies occur, we'll certainly notify the Elderberries so that anyone interested can offer. In addition to that, Halifax Pride is looking to develop new subcommittees which will offer new opportunities to engage and shape Pride without the sizeable commitment of joining the board.

Q: Is Halifax Pride accepting volunteers? How do I volunteer?

Halifax Pride is always looking for volunteers. Sadly Jason Vermes, our wonderful 2016 Volunteer Coordinator, left Halifax in the fall to go back to school, so I’m trying to identify a person to fill that post, but we have a wonderful volunteer program in place and we welcome hearing from anyone who might be interested in taking part. Just drop me an email at adam@halifaxpride.com for information.

From Elderberries Members

The number in parentheses, e.g. (3) indicates how many people asked this or a similar question.

Total respondents: 11

Questions

• (1) Why is the Pride Committee allowing the black community to discriminate against the police department by asking them not to be part of the Pride parade ?
  • "This goes against everything thing that we stand for."
• (3) I would like to know who made this decision. Was the decision not to participate made by the police, and if so, why, or if it was made by the pride committee, and if so, why?
• (1) Will PRIDE Halifax now robustly seek continuing dialog with BIOPIC and other parties offended by harassing tactics at the last AGM?
• (2) Why is Halifax Pride being expanded beyond LGBT? What is Queer? Questioning? Is not LGBT a sufficiently inclusive definition? What is the difference between Bi and two-spirited? Is Halifax Pride still an LGBT event? Or is it a LGBTTTQQIAA event? Who, when and how was the change decided?
• (1) What happened to the registration forms from the General Assembly? We want to be involved but have heard nothing since the assembly. The Halifax Pride site is not accepting volunteers for 2017.
• (1) I would like to ask the Pride Committee as to why there isn't a PERMANENTLY RESERVED seat on the Board for a senior from the GLBT community. For those of us who have fought for decades to get us to where we are today, why is their a lack of respect for our sisters and brothers who have worked so hard?
• (1) Why would Adam Reid, an ED who is very new to his position, or the Pride board apologize? This is an insult to many (and from the people I have spoken with, the vast majority) of us. It was obvious, and I am speaking on behalf of older (30+) gay men and lesbians, that the newly formed Queer Arabs of Halifax and the almost defunct NSRAP attempted to hi-jack the AGM, accused many gay men of being straight Jews, etc. Where is/was the community consultation? Just because they didn't get their way they act like spoiled children stomping their feet?
• Are there plans or intentions for all uniformed personnel to withdraw from the parade? This includes RCMP, armed forces, firefighters, etc. What about lawyers and judges? Some lawyers represent defendants while others represent the Crown. Shouldn't they all be excluded to avoid anyone feeling unsafe?
• (1) And what exactly is "unsafe"? Could Halifax Pride please provide a full list of who will be permitted and who will not, including sponsors.
• Will the Atlantic Jewish Council be allowed to continue to participate in the post-parade festival as they have been doing for many years?
• What is the purpose of the Pride Parade​?

Comments

• Necessity to include any one or group that supports LGBTQ persons and issues including the police. I am disappointed that the committee has bowed to pressure to exclude rather than being inclusive. It is a great public event. We have fought for years for inclusion and now we seem to be regressing and being selective as to who to include.
• I am concerned that Pride is being side-tracked from (part of) its purpose -- i.e., to celebrate the queer community in all its diversity and glory -- and is becoming increasingly radicalized. Until I moved back to Halifax ~5 years ago I never experienced what felt like an entire community (queer and allies) showing up to acknowledge and celebrate queer people and experiences. I have really appreciated both the "official" and non-official events during the week (e.g., I routinely attend the dyke/trans march/rally), and would encourage the Pride Committee to step up and formally sponsor the variety of events offered during the week-plus (including those tailored to those other than cis- or economically-privileged). That said, though, I am queer Jew, and I felt personally targeted by the NSRAP and other motions put forward during the Pride AGM. I am grateful for the recent Pride Committee apology; however, that's because I understood the part of the letter about "a meeting full of racism . . . and hate . . ." as including the anti-Semitic comments I heard that night. (And yes, I mean anti-Semitic, not just anti-Israeli -- of course people can respectfully disagree about the nation-state.) I sincerely hope the Pride Committee goes forward with the intention of welcoming and respecting the entirety of the queer community. I would agree that queer people of colour and people with diverse gender identities need to be included/welcomed/embraced, but PLEASE do not do so by excluding others of the queer community. We become weaker, not stronger, if we try to support marginalized people by in turn marginalizing others.
• Pride is catering to a group of people with a radical agenda, and is in danger of alienating many long-time supporters.
• The LGBT Halifax Police members should not only be allowed but encouraged to proudly march in uniform in the Pride parade.
• Membership in Halifax pride should be for GBLTTQ+ individuals only.
• Publish a clear code of conduct and efficient, respectful procedures to be formally agreed to by members as binding.
• Accurately recorded transparency and accountability for all financial and contractual dealings.
• I think the rights of the police to wear a unifom in the pride parade should be upheld. We have spent many years fighting for the right to wear our uniform or any uniform and we should covet and protect those rights. If I have anymore concerns or questions I will chase the members down.
• I have taken part in all of the Pride parades since 1988 so it is with sadness & anger that I've heard of the new path Halifax Pride appears to be taking.
• I disagree with omitting police in uniform from taking part in the HFX Pride parade. My main concern is the act exclusion because Lgbtq+ folks have so often been excluded and I don't wish to do this to any other group or individual.
• The Pride Parade should have a a float or open vehicle that members of our community can ride on in the parade (not a bus- which hides them from sight and precludes their ability to fully participate). This would enable any member of the community who cannot physically walk the route for reasons of age or disability to be visibly participate in the parade.
• I was appalled and disheartened to hear on the CBC radio news this week that the police will not be marching in this year's Halifax Pride parade. I am aware that the police are not marching in this year's Toronto Pride Parade due to concerns raised by Black Lives Matter. I believe very strongly that the Halifax Pride Parade should continue its history of standing up for inclusion and diversity and that if the police don't participate it sends entirely the wrong message to the public. I feel so strongly about this issue that despite the fact that I have been participating in Halifax Pride since the 1980s, I may not be able to participate this year.
• My concerns are:
  • That Halifax Pride remain an all-inclusive event. That no sector or group be excluded. That Jewish-Israeli groups be allowed to participate without harassment.
  • That Halifax Pride is being infiltrated by extremist groups with esoteric agendas. I do not understand why a First Nation religious ceremony was included in the General Assembly. Why wasn't there a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, a Muslim iman, a Hindu guru, a Buddhist priest? How is it that they were allowed to blow smoke in people's faces in a no-smoking, no scents area. This could have been done outside and not in the assembly hall and certainly not during the assembly time. This was forced upon the participants, I had no choice whether to participate or not. I have nothing against First Nation, but why the special privileges?
  • That Halifax Pride has a clear purpose and agenda: to celebrate freedom to choose your own sexual orientation and not be discriminated against as a result of your sexual orientation. The problem is where is the fine line between an acceptable orientation and deviant behaviour such as bestiality and pedophilia. I don't know where that line is but as a gay man I do feel that there are limits.
• Please consider the application to perform from drake jensen. drake has a tremendous following within the LGBT community here in canada as well as the u.s.. check out his facebook page and his videos on u-tube.
• the bottom line is this: If they are so fucking unhappy, why don't they organize their own goddamned protest. These people aren't doers. They are anarchists. They seem to be very good at complaining but not a single one of them stood up and nominated themselves or someone else for the board. Why should we, the backbone of the gay liberation movement, have to suffer? Divide and conquer -- such a great strategic plan.
• Pride has grown successfully because the number one goal was inclusion. The gay community in Halifax worked for many years to get 'officialdom' to support our push for equality rights. We have had good relations with the police for years now and suddenly they are being excluded from showing their support for us. Many of us have been around too long to accept that the police suddenly decided on their own to pull out. Pride is about inclusiveness. Perhaps the committee could also let us know how much community consultation took place before they decided on this new policy of exclusion of some groups. The problem is that when you start down this slippery slope, who is next? If exclusion is to be the new policy of Halifax Pride, I'm not sure that I can take part in Pride in the future and I certainly don't think the word pride will any longer be appropriate.