York Pride collaborated with several partners to keep the community safe as thousands gathered for activities at this year’s Pride Festival.
The organization previously only teamed up with York Regional Police but decided to expand its reach and invite more organizations to prepare for every possible outcome.
“We’ve taken people from across the region with all their training and expertise and brought them all in one room to create a powerhub of support for a growing event,” said Jacob Gal, director of operations.
The group worked with the Town of Newmarket, York Regional Police, Allied Universal, Central York Fire Services, the York Region Amateur Radio Club, St. John Ambulance, York Region Paramedic Services, and many organizations to ensure the festival went smoothly.
“We proactively asked all the emergency management agencies within the region to help us with our emergency preparedness and we all worked collaboratively together on a plan,” said Jennifer McLachlan, director of emergency preparedness.
The organization kicked off the festival on June 14 and 15. It included a Trans March, a fashion show and a concert stage, and was capped off with a parade along Main Street. About 25,000 people visited the event and 2,500 participated in the parade, including political dignitaries and officials. The group conducted a risk assessment and established an emergency operations centre ahead of the festival to prepare.
“We installed remote cameras. We were in an undisclosed room and every lead had their own spot,” said McLachlan. “From noon to 6 p.m., all the leaders of these organizations worked collaboratively behind the scenes to make sure any response is 60 seconds or less.”
The response is crucial as members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community continue to feel oppressed for their sexual orientations and genders. According to Statistics Canada, the number of hate crimes reported by police across the country rose from 2,646 incidents in 2020 to 3,360 in 2021, a 27 per cent increase. There have been higher numbers of hate crimes targeting religion (up 67 per cent at 884 incidents), sexual orientation (up 64 per cent at 423 incidents), and race or ethnicity (up six per cent at 1,723 incidents) accounting for most of the reported increase from 2020 to 2021.
“It starts with safety and how we provide services to our community,” said Gal. “It’s how we keep ourselves protected and how we can grow harmoniously with, I hate to say it, hate in the community.”
York Regional Police has worked with York Pride for 24 years. It has been involved in flag raisings and community safety villages. However, Gal said the force is mindful of the number of officers on site to ensure people are not intimidated by their presence.
“When you have cruisers on site, when you have police on site with bulletproof vests and guns, they can be very intimidating for individuals who do not agree with police at Pride and don’t feel safe with police being at Pride,” he saud. “You have to look at it from both perspectives. There are people who feel safe when police are there and people who have not had a good relationship with police historically and don’t feel safe with them there. They can’t safely enjoy the event because they are worried about their well-being because they don’t know what the police’s response is.”
He said the group wants to continue to develop relationships with the police, which is why police attended the event out of uniform and with rainbow epaulets.
“Their rainbow cruiser is not only painted for June,” said Gal. “That is a year-round cruiser that responds to calls, and the officers typically driving the car have sensitivity and language matters training.”
The group also worked with Bill Needles, retired superintendent of the Toronto Police Service, to show how well the group works with York Regional Police for Pride festivities.
To promote the event, the organization placed signs and billboards ahead of the festival on the side of roads in town. They, however, received a complaint from an individual who reported one of the signs was defaced with black marks scribbled on it.
“You never expect things to get vandalized, but you go in knowing there is always a possibility of someone not agreeing and showcasing their feelings,” said Gal. “There are no cameras in the area where these signs are placed, so it’s hard to determine if it’s a youth spray-painting it, someone messing around, or if it’s a hate-motivated incident where somebody is actively targeting the sign because it’s related to Pride or the 2SLGBTQ+ community.”
This was the first time York Pride had any marketing campaigns that were forward-facing to the community. They used to only post on social media, where people would leave derogatory comments, but they wanted to engage with the community more and invite them to their inclusive festival. The vandalization of the sign was certainly upsetting for the group as it questioned the motive someone would have in voicing that displeasure.
McLachlan worked on the group’s security plan to include hate-motivated incidents. She felt sad for 2SLGBTQ+ people hurt by someone who felt a need to show hate.
Gal said people who tend to showcase their hate or opinions through vandalism don’t attend their events.
“They have not seen the festival first-hand,” he said. “They have a general assumption or a fear of what they don’t like and apply it to the situation.”
He wants more people to be informed. He finds it upsetting that opponents haven’t seen how many families attend the event, from grandparents to families with children.
He ties the increase in incidents to misinformation, particularly with gender-affirming healthcare, which requires consultation with medical staff and psychiatrists. He said not every household is a haven for youth. He wants parents and guardians to open their minds and hearts and educate themselves with credible facts and information.
“You have a lot of great families, but you have a lot of dysfunctional families out there that simply don’t educate their kids, don’t have conversations with their kids, and the actual environment for them growing up is not safe,” said Gal. “So, when a kid does not come out to their family, the simple reason could be that they’re not creating an atmosphere that can make it comfortable or safe for them to share personal information that is deeply rooted to that individual.”
York Pride is getting ready to plan for its 25th anniversary. It expects to have more events and will continue to work with agency partners as more hate-motivated incidents can arise.
