pride despite prejudice: sask. 2slgbtq+ communities undaunted after second pride crosswalk defaced
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jordan stovra (left), blake tait and graham pyett get ready to raise the pride flag in front of saskatoon city hall on monday.
julia peterson/saskatoon starpho
the first day of pride week in saskatoon dawned under some dark clouds: on that rainy june afternoon, organizers learned that a rainbow walkway in neighbouring warman had been defaced with a homophobic slur.
the painted path, located right in front of warman’s middle school, had been graffitied with the message: “faggots prey on kids.”
this is the second time in less than a week a pride crosswalk in saskatchewan has been found defaced, after a similar act of vandalism was reported in tisdale on june 12.
the vandalism was also reminiscent of how a different pride crosswalk in warman was vandalized multiple times during the summer of 2022, which prompted a police investigation at the time.
but by monday evening, as skies cleared and a crowd gathered in front of saskatoon city hall to kick off pride week in the city by raising the rainbow flag, the local queer community was already rallying to help out with re-painting, repairs and messages of care and support.
“we have donated paint to both tisdale and warman,” explained saskatoon pride co-chair blake tait. “i got to drive out to warman today and give them paint, and they were so happy to see us, and i’m proud to say that saskatoon pride is the first place they looked for paint. it really is so nice to see that we are asked to help and able to help, because being able to support and uplift community is so important.”
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not only that, tait said, but all proceeds from saskatoon pride’s merchandise, raffles and various other fundraisers during pride week this year will go to the organization’s new rural pride fund, which will support even more events and programming in smaller saskatchewan communities.
“i’m really, really excited about that endeavour,” said tait. “it’s so important that these communities have pride: it’s so important that we have pride here.”
brenda erickson, communication manager for prairie spirit school division, confirmed on tuesday afternoon that the graffiti had been removed and said the rainbow re-painting would take place later in the week.
“obviously it was disappointing to see that kind of behaviour,” erickson said of the offensive vandalism. “but the refreshing part is to see the community support. it is disappointing, but it’s also reassuring that there is a lot of community support to see it fixed.”
for paulie poitras, executive director of 2 spirits in motion society, days like this are a moment to honour the progress of the past and continue to fight for better futures, where “everybody is included in the circle” and “respect for all my relations — that’s how we end every prayer, ‘all my relations’ — doesn’t mean ‘all my relations when we exclude a few.’
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“through everything, love will always prevail,” she said. “you can’t fight hate with hate: ‘hate with hate’ will never get through. but, love? we can love our way through these things.”
saskatoon ward 6 councillor jasmin parker attended the flag-raising ceremony, which she described as “a symbol of love, courage and community,” on behalf of mayor cynthia block and her fellow city councillors, and challenged fellow civic leaders near and far to look to the rainbow flag for inspiration.
“pride … is a powerful reminder of the strength and resilience of the 2slgbtqia+ community and of our shared responsibility to build a city where everyone feels safe, seen and supported,” she said. “your voices matter. your presence matters. and your pride lights the way for a more just and more compassionate saskatoon.
“let this flag remind us of what we stand for as a city: that we stand for inclusion and diversity; that we stand for human rights and equity; that we stand for celebrations of identity and love in all its forms.”
also in attendance was nathaniel teed, mla for saskatoon meewasin and shadow minister for labour — and, he announced, now also the saskatchewan ndp’s newly-appointed shadow minister for 2slgbtq+ affairs.
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teed noted that, since the provincial government doesn’t currently have a minister for 2slgbtq+ affairs, he’s “not shadowing anyone at the moment,” but he hopes that will soon change.
“later this month, i’ll be really proud to write a letter to the premier, asking him to appoint a minister responsible for 2slgbtq+ affairs — i think the minister for the status of women (alana ross) would do a great job with that work,” he said.
teed says he will also ask for the provincial government to start developing a 2slgbtq+ action plan — “that’s something we should have in the works; it’s something other governments have in the works; saskatchewan needs one” — to repeal bill 137, which forbids young people from changing their names or pronouns at school without parental permission, and for the saskatchewan health authority to adopt the most up-to-date standards of care from the world professional association of transgender health.
pride events in saskatoon will continue throughout the week and culminate with the pride parade and festival on sunday, june 22, beginning at 12 noon between 24th street, 1st avenue and rotary park.
people walk during pride parade in downtown saskatoon on june 22, 2024.
heywood yu
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saskatoon starphoenix
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