3 days ago
Sask. Party MLAs remain banned from Pride parades in Regina, Prince Albert, Battlefords
Regina's Queen City Pride (QCP) and other organizations have decided to maintain their ban on Saskatchewan Party MLAs during Pride month festivities in June.
Responding to Bill 137, which passed in October 2023, Pride groups around Saskatchewan last year barred Sask. Party MLAs from participating in Pride events.
The bill, also known as the Parental Bill of Rights, requires students under 16 to obtain parental or guardian consent 'before the pupil's teachers and other employees of the school use the pupil's new gender-related preferred name or gender identity at school.'
As a result, the Pride flag is not being raised at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building for a second year in a row. According to QCP co-chair Riviera Bonneau, if the government isn't willing to reverse its policy, then neither is QC Pride.
The province did not respond to a request for comment before the Leader-Post's print deadline.
'The existing Government of Saskatchewan has not done anything to rectify Bill 137,' Bonneau said Friday. 'They have not spoken with any queer organizations to try to do better.'
The Queen City Pride Festival — an annual 10-day celebration of Regina's gender and sexually diverse communities — officially opened Friday with a flag-raising ceremony at Regina City Hall. The annual Pride parade from which MLAs were banned last year is scheduled for next Saturday.
Several groups are holding the line on their policy, with Prince Albert Pride and Battlefords and Area Pride maintaining their respective bans.
'They're not welcome,' said Kelly Waters, secretary of Battlefords and Area Pride. 'They haven't changed their positions.'
Waters said it's important for the organization to create a safe environment for its members — and inviting the MLAs would 'not be safe.'
Andromeda Eremondi, chair of Prince Albert Pride, said the organization would consider an application from Sask. Party MLAs. However, it would only happen if they denounce Bill 137 and commit to repealing it while also refusing to engage in 'any of the change-room nonsense' which reared its head during the provincial election in October 2024.
The provincial government subsequently announced that Saskatchewan school boards would be required to implement change-room policies regarding trans and gender-diverse students.
'We are hesitant to allow politicians that aren't proven allies,' Eremondi said via email. 'We're wary of those saying they love our community while working to attack members within our community.'
During Friday's flag raising in Regina, speakers focused on the importance of visibility while sticking to the root of Pride's cause as shown through protests and political action.
Asked what she feels the response will be to the continued MLA ban, Bonneau said: 'I think the response from the Saskatchewan government will be apathy.
'I unfortunately do not think they care about us, which is why it's incredibly important for us to stand up every year and make sure we tell them: we do not like what they are doing, and we will oppose it, and we will stand against it every year.'
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'They're not our allies': Queen City Pride bars Sask. Party from Pride month celebrations
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