Ontario township, mayor challenge human rights decision over refusal to declare Pride Month

A northwestern Ontario township and its mayor have filed a notice of application for a judicial review of a recent human rights decision made over the township's refusal to declare June as Pride Month.

The situation dates back to 2020, when the organization Borderland Pride requested the Township of Emo declare June as Pride Month and display a rainbow flag for one week.

The township refused, resulting in a years-long process in which the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled against the township last month, determining that the township and Mayor Harold McQuaker "discriminated against Borderland Pride in refusing its proclamation request."

The tribunal ordered the township to pay Borderland Pride $10,000 in compensation, and for McQuaker to pay the organization $5,000. As well, the mayor and township's chief administrative officer (CAO) were ordered to complete a "Human Rights 101" training course offered by the Ontario Human Rights Commission within 30 days.

On Thursday, McQuaker and the township filed a notice of application in Ontario's Superior Court of Justice. It submits that the tribunal's decision and orders "are incorrect in law and are unreasonable," according to court documents obtained by CBC News.

"It's safe to say that most members of our organization are shocked at this municipality's continued waste of taxpayer dollars," said Doug Judson, one of the directors of Borderland Pride.

"There is absolutely no way that those funds are going to be recoverable — and all to send the message to people around the world at this point that Emo, Ont., and its leadership are hostile to LGBTQA+ people."

Emo is a rural township of about 1,200 people, located about 34 kilometres west of Fort Frances along the Rainy River by the Canada-Minnesota border.

Judson said he and other members of Borderland Pride have received international backlash and a "barrage of threats of violence, intimidation and other harassment" from far-right groups since the tribunal's decision.

"I've never seen anything quite like that, and I think that it's very alarming and it's given us a very front row seat to how quickly misinformation can spread in the current political climate," Judson said.

Township stands by Declaration of Equality

CBC News reached out to the township and McQuaker for comment and received an emailed statement from the township's CAO and clerk treasurer, Crystal Gray.

"The Township of Emo and Mayor Harold McQuaker have no comment at this time due to this item being involved in a legal proceeding," she said.

The township issued a media release on Thursday, notifying the public that it is seeking judicial review of the tribunal decision.

"As the matter is proceeding to the Divisional Court, we will not be commenting further at this time. The Township does wish to state that it made a Declaration of Equality in 2022, which remains in effect today," the media release states.

That declaration says that: "the Township recognizes the dignity and worth of all people, as well as the barriers of discrimination and disadvantage faced by human rights protected groups, including members of the LGBTQ2+ community."

However, Judson said the township's refusal to admonish those who have threatened Borderland Pride since the tribunal's decision is revealing.

"We've alerted the municipality that these are our communications that we're receiving from people that say that they are their supporters — and we would have hoped that would have caused them to come out with some messaging to sort of say, 'Hey, look, like even if we disagree on the legal issues, we don't support that.'" 

Judicial review anticipated next spring

A judicial review is different from an appeal, explained Judson, who is a lawyer with Judson Howie LLP in Fort Frances.

"It requires that the decision be found to be patently unreasonable — so, there's a fairly high standard that the applicants, in this case the mayor and the municipality, will need to overcome in order to have the decision set aside," he said.

Judson expects the judicial review will be heard during the next sitting of the divisional court in the northwest region — which, according to the Superior Court of Justice's website, is the week of June 16, 2025.

"We are going to be mounting a very vigorous defence of this because it's not just about our organization and our request of this small municipality in northwestern Ontario — but this will have consequences for people across the province, if not beyond," said Judson.