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Author: Maia Mathieu
Tuesday September 12, 2023, the council of the Municipality of Barrington heard a presentation to ban the use of Pride flags on the ‘community flagpole’, a flagpole separate from the municipal flagpole intended to bring awareness and support to marginalized communities. Interested members of the public on both sides of this issue turned up in large numbers.
The request to council, made by Barrington resident Christy Conrad, was attached to the meeting’s agenda posted publicly on the Barrington Municipal Council website and proved to be a rallying point for the Nova Scotia 2SLGBTQIA+ community and allies.
Ms. Conrad’s application states:
“Allegedly, to many people the rainbow flag represents aversion or hostility of Christianity, a radical ideology being pushed into schools and businesses, loss of religious liberty and forced celebration of sexual perversion. This is seen over and over in the news as we see more and more communities standing up against this radical theology, such as Drag Queen book reading being cancelled and LGBTQ flags being taken down across North America.”
That document, although now removed from the Council website, can be read here.
The text of the request was replaced at some point after Sunday September 10. Ms Conrad stated during her presentation that she was contacted 6 hours before the meeting and told to reword her presentation. It was contextually clear that she was told to edit the presentation due to the presence of hate speech, and she is also on the record as having said that “there’s things I would have liked to say but I was told I’m not allowed to.”
Current Warden of the Barrington council, Eddie Nickerson, told those in attendance that no decision would be made that night and that council was not obligated to consult with the community on policy changes. Of note, Eddie Nickerson was part of Council when it responded to the public outcry about activist Eric Smith’s HIV status becoming public by “ask[ing] the provincial government to ban not only gay teachers, but gay students from school as well. While the proposal didn’t get too far, it helped send a message to those members of the gay community living in the area.” (Eric Smith, April 20, 2022)
NSGEU Local President (and Southwest Nova Pride board member) Lynette Hayward-Byrd (pictured second from the right in her NSGEU shirt) was one of the Yarmouth allies in attendance last night. She said she was shocked by the proceedings: “As a straight ally I felt the 2SLGBTQIA+ community who is already oppressed was even more oppressed last night. They were not given a chance to voice their concerns. Even the councillor who was trying to fight for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community was shot down and not given the opportunity to express his concerns.”
Many of the 2SLGBTQ+ community members expressed that their issue was not with the flag policy or potential changes to the policy, but with the language being used in support of that application and the clear targeting of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Councillor Shaun Hatfield pointed out that the only time the community flagpole becomes an “issue” is when a flag from the 2SLGBTQ+ community is flown. Other flags flown on the community flagpole since 2019 include: the National Indigenous History Month Flag, Access Awareness Week Flag, and the Shelburne County Strong Firefighter’s Flag. Councillor Hatfield asked how many other applications Council received to use the flagpole and if there were any competing applications. CAO Chris Frotten did not have that information available.
It is important to note that, in the words of lawyer Kym Sweeny, “Municipalities only have power as vested in them by provincial legislation. Provincial and Federal Human Rights legislation applies to municipal governments and their actions, which includes protection for individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.”
This conversation isn’t over: if anything, it’s just beginning.
May 6th was a beautiful sunny day in Yarmouth, and the rainbow was out in its full, beautiful colours when an important queer elder came to town. The Southwest Nova Pride Association couldn’t have hoped for a better day to host Martin Boyce, Stonewall Riot activist, as part of his ‘Courage to Stand Up’ tour with International Day of Pink (funded by the US Embassy). Equally sunny was our opening act, with local singers (some members of SWNPA, some allies) from Th’YARC‘s recent production serenading us with queer classic Seasons of Love from RENT.
Martin was accompanied by Veronica Merryfield, founder of the Cape Breton Transgender Network, who facilitated the conversation and Martin’s recollections of New York in the Fifties and Sixties, but in particular, the fateful summer of 1969. To say that Martin had a crowd of over seventy of us enthralled is an understatement: we hung on his recollections, from insights into the hierarchies of the groups of gay people who hung around the Stonewall Inn, to remembrances of the struggle and desperation that led to the famous riot. “It was desperate,” he told us, “and it was necessary.” It wasn’t a planned rebellion: it was a shock to those who fought, but it was important. He also recalled the first Pride Parade in New York and how few members of the community were initially involved, but that gradually people rallied and joined them.
Martin noted that, when he was young, he only had older queer people to educate him about what it meant to be gay and part of the community. Nowadays, younger people have the internet and so many more resources, he pointed out. But it was abundantly clear that everyone in Beacon Hall with us realised the echoes there and how important it was to speak with an important queer elder. Jaden Silva, SWNPA board member, commented, “As a young queer person, it was incredible to hear that people my own age made such a difference not so long ago. Listening to Martin describe rebellion with the sassy wit and acerbic tenderness our community is known for made me newly proud to fly the colors.”
Maia, our secretary, brought the conversation up to the modern day with a question that was in all our hearts, considering the work that SWNPA and other pride groups around Nova Scotia are doing: what can or should the modern-day 2SLGBTQIA+ community can do to oppose transphobia and homophobia? Martin’s words were a recognition of struggle and a call for hope. “One of the problems is that we have to live in this situation of reaction, because first we have to see what they want to do. It is quite a difficult position.” But, he clarified, we mustn’t lose hope, because without hope, we lose entirely. History repeats itself and the battle for our rights and equality is never fully won.
Back in 1969, Martin Boyce stood up and defined himself through his actions as a part of our community. Each of us who met him on May 6th, 2023, would agree that his ‘Stand Up’ tour was a passing of the torch to encourage us to follow proudly in his footsteps and, as Jaden said, to ‘fly the colors’.
A big thank you to everyone who attended, volunteered and/or donated to assist in this incredible event. Thank you, also, to Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse for the coverage!
The Southwest Nova Pride Association board has been made aware of the anti-drag protest taking place on June 3rd in Kentville, and we feel it is important that we issue this statement in condemnation of all hate against our community, be it homophobia, transphobia, biphobia or otherwise. Drag is not a crime, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is not interested in ‘grooming’ children or ‘turning’ straight kids gay. We are, however, highly invested in seeing 2SLGBTQIA+ kids flourish as they grow into emotionally healthy adults, supported by their community. To that end, we fully support family events such as this and hope to host our own in the future.
We are concerned and dismayed by the militant, violent language used by those organizing the protest against the ‘Drag Me To Dinner’ event. We strongly urge that anyone attending this event behave in a non-violent manner towards law enforcement and any other attendees.
Some of the members of our board and society will be attending the ‘Come Together‘ counter-protest in support of the family drag event, but we will not be attending on behalf of SWNPA. Those of us who attend will be doing so in an unofficial capacity as private citizens and proud members of our community, and in solidarity with all 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Nova Scotia and beyond.
— Southwest Nova Pride Association Board of Directors.