Facing a rising tide of hatred, North Bay Pride picks protest over parade
CBC
North Bay community members will see a protest instead of a parade during this year's Pride celebrations in the northern Ontario city.
Jason Maclennan, North Bay Pride's director of communications, said the switch is necessary to reflect the need for change.
"A Pride parade is people celebrating who they are," he said. "A march is people demanding change, and that's what we need to have right now."
Instead of having a festive tone, the Sept. 16 event will focus on demanding more equity and inclusion.
Maclennan said community members have been facing increased hate, including online comments, death threats, and the normalization of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ discourse in public life.
"People need to stop sharing hate and misinformation about the community."
He said hate groups tend to comprise only a few people, but they are organized.
"They will use buzzwords like grooming, and instead of actually researching and looking into it, [people] fall for that narrative.
"It's an emotional response," he said. "Then they share it, and it becomes bigger, and bigger and bigger."
He added this kind of discourse is detrimental to the 2SLGBTQ+ community in North Bay.
"It's forcing people back in the closet, denying who they are," he said.
"It contributes to suicide rates in youth and people not understanding their children when they come out."
Maclennan said the group has struggled to meet with local elected officials to express their concerns.
"It's so important that political leaders step up against hate and if they aren't doing that, they shouldn't be in politics," he said.