'More to Pride than celebration': Hamilton LGBTQ community calls for greater support

As Canada's largest Pride parade takes over downtown Toronto Sunday, some members of Hamilton's LGTBQ community are reminding Canadians Pride Month is more than a celebration. 

"We don't have enough queer joy. But there's more to Pride than celebration. Pride is not just about that. It's about fighting for our rights. And right now that's more important than ever," drag performer Karma Kameleon said.

Kameleon made the remarks at the unveiling of a new rainbow crosswalk in downtown Hamilton, at King William Street and Ferguson Avenue North, earlier this month.

Chris Paul Farias, a children's author and member of the LGBTQ+ community in Hamilton, said signs of visibility and support — like the new crosswalk — have become more important in the past few years.

"There's more hate right now toward queer people, toward 2SLGBTQIA+ community, than I have ever seen," they said.

Communities across Canada have seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ protests, often targeting drag storytime events, in recent years.

Across Ontario this spring, some school boards debated whether to fly Pride flags in June. 

The York Catholic School Board banned flying Pride flags in May, while parents with students in the Greater Essex County School Board in Windsor threatened to keep their children out of class if the school board raised Pride flags in their district. 

A video surfaced in late May of a Niagara Catholic District School Board trustee comparing the Pride flag to a Nazi flag, a direct comparison she has since denied making.

Hamilton police reported that the LGBT+ community were one of the groups to be the most frequently victimized by hate crimes in 2022, along with the Black and Jewish communities. They are now investigating the recent theft of several Pride flags in the city — at several Catholic schools and from people's homes. 

In light of this, Kameleon said members of the LGBTQ community need more support from others. 

"[Pride] is not just about love is love. It's about using your voice, whether you're queer or not to support a community that's in need of it... because right now it's a terrifying time to be queer or to be othered in any way," Kameleon said. 

City has 'long way to go': Pride Hamilton chair

While projects like rainbow crosswalks are meant to show LGBTQ+ people support, some community members say they aren't enough.

"It's good for the people who live in this community, for them to see some sort of visibility for the community. But at the same time, it's not going to erase the current issues that are still in this city," said Kiel Hughes, chair of Pride Hamilton.

Hughes said Hamilton "still has a very long way to go" when it comes to acceptance and inclusion. 

"Being a blue collar city is not an excuse for ignorance," Hughes said, adding that LGBTQ+ community members should feel safe celebrating Pride in Hamilton, instead of having to go to other cities to celebrate. 

Pride Hamilton is organizing the city's main Pride event this year, set for Aug. 27 at Pier 4 Park.

Hughes said the event was pushed to later in the summer due to bumps in the planning process. 

But, Hughes said, the event date is a reminder that Pride shouldn't be constricted to one month of the year. 

"There's no such thing as Pride is only in June. Prides happens across Canada from May all the way up to September... We live 365 days a year, sometimes 366. And that means you should live with Pride and live with love all the time," Hughes said.