Hi everyone,
Please find attached a recent QO statement in support of Capital Pride's Statement in Solidarity with Palestine. The text of this statement also appears below.
A related petition is available from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.
For those in the Ottawa area this weekend, please make your voice heard!
In solidarity,
Leonard
Leonard Halladay
Chair, Queer Ontario Steering Committee
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August 23, 2024
Queer Ontario Stands in Solidarity with Capital Pride
As Pride season winds down amid ongoing efforts to silence those calling for an end to the genocide in Palestine, Queer Ontario stands in solidarity with Capital Pride.
Following the release of a Statement in Solidarity with Palestine on August 6, 2024, numerous organizations and individuals – including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, the Ottawa Hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Liberal Party of Canada, Public Service Pride Network, the Bank of Canada, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, Giant Tiger, Loblaws, the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board – have publicly withdrawn their participation in Capital Pride, citing concerns ranging from a lack of community safety to the desire to avoid the perception that participating may call into question their commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
By misconstruing the substance of Capital Pride’s concern for rising levels of antisemitism, islamophobia, the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, and an uptick in hatred toward 2SLGBTQIA+ communities across the country, these withdrawals are a cowardly bow to Zionist pressure in the face of global injustice. Moreover, they contribute to the pinkwashed perception that Pride is reducible to highly commodified parades and parties made possible by professional institutions, politicians, and corporate sponsors. In short, the selective deployment of these tropes and the conditional support they offer 2SLGBTQIA+ people are as insulting and ill-informed as they are tired. Experiencing discomfort is not the same as being unsafe.
In resolute opposition to this backlash and those perpetuating it, Queer Ontario applauds Capital Pride for outlining a principled stance and taking reasonable actions to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. Similarly, and in contrast to the approach of Pride Toronto to these issues, we are grateful to Capital Pride for having the courage to act in the spirit of Pride by reminding people across Ontario that Pride is rooted in protest.
Standing against oppression and injustice is the backbone of queer resistance. With this in mind, Queer Ontario calls on 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and their allies across the province to join us in standing with Capital Pride!
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https://capitalpride.ca/capital-pride-statement-in-solidarity-with-palestine/
https://www.cjpme.org/support_capital_pride
Hi Gary,
Thanks for your email. You raise some excellent points. In going a bit quickly with my message from earlier today, I now see that I departed somewhat from the original intent of the QO statement. This was an oversight.
I should clarify that we never intended for a wholesale endorsement of Capital Pride’s position in relationship to its sponsors, or their solidarity statement. I agree that, in several respects, it does not go far enough.
Nonetheless, Capital Pride is taking a lot of heat over their position, and we thought it important to defend them while distinguishing their efforts from those of other Pride organizations, especially Pride Toronto.
There are other QO statements in the works about the ongoing genocide in Palestine and related issues. Though these are unlikely to deal with the specific situation pertaining to Capital Pride, the concerns you raise are important and I will absolutely keep these in mind as we think through upcoming statements.
Thanks again for your message.
In solidarity,
Leonard
From:
Gary Kinsman <gkin...@laurentian.ca>
Date: Friday, August 23, 2024 at 1:30 PM
To: qo-...@googlegroups.com <qo-...@googlegroups.com>
Cc: qo-steering <qo-st...@googlegroups.com>, Nick Mulé <nick...@gmail.com>, Leonard Halladay <Leonard...@cmail.carleton.ca>
Subject: Re: [qo-news] QO Stands in Solidarity with Capital Pride
[External Email] |
Thanks for this statement. In my view Capital Pride needs to be defended from Zionist, state and other attacks but their statement is actually quite inadequate. They do not call for an arms embargo or criticize the Canadian governments support for genocide. While they mention BDS their main sponsor remains TD Bank which actively supports genocide through its investments in General Dynamics and Elbit Systems.
In solidarity,
Gary
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