Thunder Bay Pride march celebrates LGBTQ joy with focus on protecting transgender individuals

Members of Thunder Bay's LGBTQ community and their allies came out to Saturday's annual Pride march to send a specific message of love and support for people in the city's transgender community. 

More than 100 people took part in the march that began at Waverly Park and ended at the Pride Street Festival on Red River Road, which continued throughout the day. 

With this year's Pride month theme being "U Belong," march participants came to stand with the transgender community and say they deserve to be protected and accepted.

"There's been a lot of action around the transgender community, especially locally," said Thomas Bentz, who is transgender. "I really want to show trans kids that they can thrive to be transgender adults, and they can be happy in their body and happy with their lives."

Rowan Turner is an immigrant from the southern United States. Since moving to Canada eight years ago, Turner said being able to socially and medically transition has "entirely changed [my life] for the better."

"I want everyone out there that thinks maybe [transitioning is] not for them, that they can't do it, to see that there is joy on the other side of struggling and on the other side of transition."

How this year's Pride is different

For Bentz, this year's Pride month is different from due to the recent rise in hatred and violence director toward the transgender community, across North America. This month especially has seen a number of anti-Pride incidents and hatred directed toward LGBTQ people. 

"Beforehand, there wasn't as much focus on the trans community," Bentz said. "So now when I come out, it's very much more of a 'I'm here deliberately. I'm here specifically to represent my community, to represent people who are like me.'"

Turner added that the allyship seen at Saturday's Pride march is needed given the discrimination the transgender community faces. 

Though Saturday's Pride event in Thunder Bay did not have any incidents, other events across Canada have seen tensions between attendees and anti-transgender activists in recent months.

In Ottawa earlier this month, police arrested five people after a tense faceoff between a group of protesters and counter-demonstrators and there were two violent incidents at an event in Vancouver to support the Transgender Day of Visibility in April. 

"The activism and the protesting we've seen has sort of escalated since about mid-May," said Turner. "It feels really necessary to have people here."

Michel Dumont, a two-spirited Métis artist said they came to the march to highlight the transgender community's need for safety.

"We have to come out and show our colours and our stripes," Dumont said. "I think the trans communities are getting their allies on and it's just wonderful to see that allyship in the community."

Call for officials to do more to protect vulnerable community 

Sarah Diviagio and Kris Tonkens said they attended Saturday's pride march to show up for the transgender community. 

"We're facing so many threats of violence right now," said Diviagio. "We need to make sure that Pride is always a fight."

Diviagio said the LGBTQ community within Thunder Bay is still dealing with a lack of accountability from its own leaders regarding transgender people. 

"Myself, and some people, are here today to bring a very trans focused message to really talk about those things and try to sort of reclaim that space," said Diviagio.

Tonkens said they and others within the LGBTQ community want accountability from Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff and Thunder Bay police Chief Darcy Fleury.

"What are you going to do to get [the rise in hate against the LGBTQ+ community] under control?" Tonkens said, referring to Boshcoff and Fleury, "What are you doing to keep our community safe? And why are you not speaking out publicly against the hate, specifically against trans kids in schools?"

Diviagio added that LGBTQ members and allies must remember that "better isn't good enough" and that activism must be discussed during Pride month.

"It's not enough that you go to the bank and you see a rainbow in the window. It's really not, and we need to keep demanding more. And we have a responsibility, a platform and an obligation to our community to do that."