Fredericton Pride celebrating 'queer joy' while still fighting increased LGBTQ backlash
Hannah Rudderham | CBC News | Posted: July 21, 2023 10:00 AM | Last Updated: July 21, 2023
The Pride parade on Sunday will see increased security measures, says board member
There will be increased security at Sunday's Pride parade to give people in the parade and watching it peace of mind, says Fredericton Pride board member Jenna Lyn Albert.
"We're very aware that there are some people that are quite averse to the queer community," Albert said Thursday. "And they've been emboldened by some political parties to feel like they can cause a stir.
"So we definitely have some additional measures to keep everyone safe and able to enjoy the parade and the rest of our celebrations."
There are more volunteers this year and additional first aid, Albert said, but for safety reasons, they did not want to go into details about security. There have been no issues so far.
Albert said the turnout at events so far has been phenomenal and organizers are expecting a large crowd Sunday for the Pride parade, which starts at 3 p.m. from behind city hall. At noon that same day, a pre-parade barbecue will be held at Odell Park.
The parade will go up York Street, turn onto King, go down Carleton and onto Queen, finishing at the intersection of Queen and York, according to the route map.
Other events include an Acadian kitchen party on Friday and a nature walk, canoeing, an inclusive free swim and a rock climbing event on Saturday.
Support from allies
With controversial changes to the Department of Education's Policy 713 focusing attention on the LGBTQ community, they said there has been a great show of support.
"A lot of allies have really stepped up to show their support, whether it's signing petitions or physically coming to protest," said Albert.
"Folks are really being made more aware of just how vulnerable the queer community is. So that's been really inspiring, if anything, to see just how much our community has shown their support."
Policy 713, introduced in August 2020, set minimum standards for schools to provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for LGBTQ students.
The policy allowed teachers to respect a student's chosen name and pronoun verbally, for those under the age of 16, even if the parents hadn't been consulted.
In early May, however, the policy was put under review by the Progressive Conservative government.
Education Minister Bill Hogan said teachers and staff will now be banned from using a child under 16's chosen name and pronoun, unless parents consent.
Under the revised policy, if a child says no to including parents, they're to be directed to a school psychologist or social worker to come up with a plan to eventually include the parents. While this process goes on, teachers and staff are required to use the child's birth name and pronoun regardless of what the student requests, he said.
After those changes were announced, the legislature passed an opposition motion asking child and youth advocate Kelly Lamrock to review the changes to Policy 713.
Albert said they that review shows that the queer community won't tolerate revisions like those made by the Blaine Higgs government.
"So our stance is kind of being reflected in the legislature as well, with different political parties, particularly the leaders of the Liberals and the Greens, showing their support for us," said Albert.
Albert said they're really optimistic about the review and hopes the changes will be reversed or the protections made even stronger than before.
Meanwhile, the controversy has "really mobilized the queer community."
"It's taken members that might have been quieter or not as confident to speak out and given them that sense of voice, that sense of community, that we're all here for each other, and we're fighting for one another," Albert said.
"And that includes fighting for children that are going through the school system and deserve to have their rights, too."
Albert said this year's theme for the Pride festival in Fredericton is "queer joy." That theme was partly chosen as a statement of protest to show that despite what has been happening in New Brunswick regarding protections for LGBTQ youth, "we still insist on being joyful."
They said while it's still important for the LGBTQ community to fight for what's right, it's important to "take that time to be happy ... to celebrate."