Carolyn Bennett on WorldPride
June 29, 2014
I’ve attended Pride celebrations in Toronto for the past 20 years and it seems to me that they just keep getting better and better.
Toronto hosted WorldPride this year as a result of the leadership provided by Canada’s LGBTTQ community to the world. At events over the past ten days, I have been so proud of the international recognition that Canada has received for its leadership on equality, same-sex marriage, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. I have also, however, been acutely aware of the extent to which the delegates from around the world want and need the Canadian government to support their efforts in combatting the appalling situations that frequently unfold abroad.
It was so inspiring to hear the stories and struggles of gay activists from around the world: Uganda, where they continue to demonstrate incredible courage in the face of government persecution; and the Caribbean – especially Jamaica – where they face shocking discrimination and danger and where an anti-gay march took place this weekend.
But something is not quite right here in Canada.
Our Foreign Minister has quite rightly spoken out against the anti-gay legislation in Uganda. But where was the federal government during WorldPride?
I was proud to march in the WorldPride parade with representatives from almost every political party in Canada. I was truly disappointed, however, to note that there was no representation from the federal or provincial Conservative parties – not one elected member was present.
In his passionate sermon at the Metropolitan Community Church service, Rev. Brent Hawkes reminded us of how far we’ve come as a society when it comes to LGBTTQ issues. He looked back to when he had to explain to church goers that there were LGBTTQ ‘believers’ in their midst and when he had to explain to the patrons of gay bars that there were Christians in their midst. We’ve made a lot of progress – but we still have a long way to go.
Rev. Hawkes is rightfully angry, for example, that legislation aimed at enshrining the rights of transgender people still hasn’t been passed in the Conservative dominated Senate even after having been passed twice in the House of Commons.
The rainbow flag is about inclusion.
I can still remember a difficult caucus meeting that took place ten years ago when the Liberal Party was introducing same-sex marriage legislation. My late friend Andy Scott stood in front of caucus and explained why he was now supporting this legislation when only a few years before he had voted in favour of the Reform motion on the ‘traditional definition of marriage’. He told us, “last time I voted for my parents – this time I’m voting for my children.”
Elected representatives from the Conservative Party need to get with the program; the times are no longer ‘a-changing’ – they have changed.
The Prime Minister’s refusal to participate in WorldPride 2014 demonstrates just how out of touch he is with the core Canadian value of equality. He is on the wrong side of history.
I was so proud to stand with Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, and hundreds of fellow Liberals as I looked into the faces of the more than one million people who came out to celebrate LGBTTQ rights. There was a massive rainbow stretching across the Toronto sky on Sunday night; I can’t think of a better way to cap off the celebrations of love and equality that filled our city this past week.
Pride makes me so very proud.
Dr. Carolyn Bennett, M.P. (St. Paul’s)