Saskatoon mayor denies he avoids Pride parade

Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison says he’s “exceedingly disappointed” with anyone who thinks he deliberately avoids attending Pride Festival activities.

Atchison, who attended part of Monday’s Pride flag raising ceremony at city hall, said he has regularly attended the Welcome to the Gaybourhood barbecue.

However, he receives consistent criticism for having never attended the Pride Parade in which most city council members have taken part. He will skip this year’s to attend his father’s 90th birthday party.

“I guess I receive criticism all the time for lots of things,” Atchison said in an interview. “I guess that’s life. We certainly have been to other functions all the time.”

The city’s longest-serving mayor denied he has any personal objection to homosexuality or that he is trying to appeal to a segment of the electorate by staying away.

“If people think that that’s the case I’m exceedingly disappointed,” Atchison said. “That’s not the case at all.” He said scheduling conflicts have interfered with his ability to attend some events.

“Just because you don’t see the mayor out there in a physical form doesn’t mean we don’t support or understand the concerns that they have,” Atchison explained. “Last year, there was a committee meeting. The year before there was something else. There always seems to be something all the time. This year, there wasn’t, so we’re here.”

Atchison said he wants the city to be an inviting place for everyone. He recalled a boy he knew when he was 10 or 12 years old, named David, who was gay and later killed himself.

Pride committee chair Danny Papadatos said the flag at city hall has important symbolic value and noted the mayor’s attendance at Monday’s event.

“That’s a sign of progress,” Papadatos said in an interview. “The entire conversation about where he’s been and what he’s doing, I don’t think that’s relevant any longer.”

Coun. Charlie Clark, who is running against Atchison for mayor in October, addressed the 200 or so people who attended the flag raising. He announced that the city’s police station will soon open its first gender neutral bathroom.

“There are more and more people who no longer feel they have to leave Saskatoon to be themselves,” Clark told the crowd.

Councillors Mairin Loewen, Pat Lorje and Ann Iwanchuk also attended Monday’s ceremony, as did Saskatoon NDP MLA David Forbes.

The Pride Parade is scheduled to snake through downtown starting Saturday at noon.