Pride seeks public input on allowing political parties to march in parade
Whether to once again allow political parties to march in the Calgary Pride Parade was the focus of a public consultation session in Calgary on Saturday aimed at guiding policies for future city celebrations.
Some members of the local LGBTQ community said they felt compelled to attend the forum after last year’s blanket ban of political parties left them frustrated, especially considering the New Democratic Party had previously been approved to march by a blind jury.
“If a party has demonstrated that they have policies that help the LGBTQ community, that in the past they have actually progressed rights and fought for us, they should be allowed to march,” said attendee Brandon Beavan.
“Ones that have actually rolled back our rights and have worked against us should not be allowed. It’s just that simple.”
Participants were asked to weigh in on three options related to the inclusion of politicians and political parties in the parade: no restrictions, a juried process or invitation only. People could also submit alternate ideas.
“Pride always has been and always will be inherently political,” said Parker Chapple, executive director of Calgary Pride. “It’s about creating space for community feedback, particularly for those who are most marginalized and most vulnerable.”
Chapple said opinions on last year’s decision varied and the organization felt it was important to engage the community to guide future policies.
“It’s an evolving conversation because, at the end of the day, this conversation reflects people and people grow. People change. People learn. The Pride Parade that you see today is very different from the Pride Parade you would have seen 50 years ago,” Chapple said.
The juried process, in which applications submitted by political parties are reviewed and scored by a blind jury to determine inclusion, was used last year. Based on scores, only the NDP would have been approved to march.
Ultimately, Calgary Pride decided on a blanket ban for all political parties, deciding that including only one would unfairly paint other parties as being against the LGBTQ community and would exclude community members whose political allegiances lie elsewhere.
Attendee Matthew Ondrejka said transparency is key when looking to the future.
“This process is great because there’s transparency finally, which I found was the main issue last year because these decisions just leaked out,” he said.
Both Ondrejka and Beavan said a juried process was their favoured option, but only if Calgary Pride follows through with its results.
People at the weekend consultation were encouraged to place green, yellow or red stickers (roughly representing yes, maybe and no) and comments on posters around the room with each option highlighted.
Red dots outnumbered green and yellow in relation to the option of full involvement by political parties.
“It has been proven that most political parties are in it for their own gain with the intention of making the event all about them and not about Pride,” one sticky note read. “We need to hold them accountable for their policies and actions.”
The invitation- only option would see politicians welcome to participate in the parade as guests of local groups that serve the city’s LGBTQ community.
However, Calgary Pride said this option could place a burden on community groups to decide who they will invite.
Opinions from the public ranged, but yellow stickers outnumbered a hard yes or no.
“Allyship is earned, not given,” wrote one participant.
Calgarians can submit their feedback by email at community@calgarypride.ca or by phone at 403-536-4077 by Monday.
Calgary Pride said it will post new guidelines for the inclusion of political parties and politics on its website by April.