Moncton’s ‘River of Pride’ making big strides in community

Organizers of Moncton’s “River of Pride” celebration say the city is making big strides when it comes to support for the LGBTQ community.

Organizer Charles MacDougall says this year’s celebration is shaping up to be the biggest yet.

“It is the largest in the scope of activities, it’s the largest in the scope of buzz — we’ve gotten from people all over Moncton,” MacDougall said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is the largest in the scope of activities, it's the largest in the scope of buzz — we've gotten from people all over Moncton," MacDougall said.

READ MORE: Flag raising and ‘Ride for Pride’ kick off Moncton Pride Week festivities

MacDougall says roughly 65 businesses and community organizations have signed up to take part in this year’s pride parade and park celebrations — the most community involvement to date.

Moncton’s Elise Fougere will join in the festivities for the first time this year. She recently came out, identifying herself as pansexual.

“Pansexual means that I love a person for who they are, for how they make me feel, for what is in their hearts. I don’t care what their body brings forward or what they identify as on the whole gender scale,” said Fougere.

She says she found the courage to be her true self through the support of a loving partner, but she says the greater community still needs to be more accepting.

‘Safe Spaces’ program inspires confidence

“There is always going to be some people who push back who don’t believe or choose not to associate,” Fougere said.

That’s why MacDougall is encouraging more local businesses and organizations to get involved, not just during pride week, but in AIDS Moncton’s “Safe Spaces” program.

“We actually have specific training it’s called the ‘Ally Initiative’ and it can be for anybody who works with people,” said Sarah Jayne Doiron, who heads up the program for AIDS Moncton.

Doiron says the ally training teaches people how to better understand and respect people’s gender and sexual diversity.

“As long as there are people in our community that are being discriminated against or don’t feel safe or who are not safe, then we need to correct that,” said MacDougall.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "As long as there are people in our community that are being discriminated against or don't feel safe or who are not safe, then we need to correct that," said MacDougall.

READ MORE: ‘Unbelievably tragic’: New Brunswickers shaken by Orlando shooting

Moncton’s public library went through the ally training just a few months ago.

“We were always a safe space for all here at the library and we decided to follow the training just to kind of to brush up on terms and to get a better understanding of the different communities that exist in Moncton,” said library manager Catherine Vienneau LeClair.

Safe Spaces stickers posted in the window certify the library as a safe space for LGBTQ community members.

This year, the library staff will also take part in Saturday’s pride parade for the first time

“I think that sends a really nice loud message to say ‘you know what, you be who you are and we accept that,’ and I think that’s amazing,” Fougere said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I think that sends a really nice loud message to say 'you know what, you be who you are and we accept that,' and I think that's amazing," Fougere said.

Moncton’s River of Pride parade takes place on Saturday.