Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the city is working with community organizations to ensure attendees feel safe during Pride 2023 after organizers and LGBTQ2 members expressed safety concerns.
Pride 2023 kicked off in Calgary on Aug. 18 and will run until Sept. 3. The annual parade will take place on the last day at 11 a.m., beginning at the intersection of 9th Avenue and 4th Street and ending at Fort Calgary.
But Gondek said numerous Pride event organizers and LGBTQ2 community members have expressed safety concerns ahead of the festivities.
Since the beginning of 2023, numerous protesters have disrupted LGBTQ2 events across Calgary.
A viral video on Twitter showed a man being thrown out of a drag queen storytime event hosted by the Calgary Public Library (CPL) in February. In the video, he can be seen yelling homophobic and transphobic statements at drag queen storytime participants and CPL staff.
Chinook Blast organizers had to postpone two performances earlier this year due to anti-LGBTQ2 protests.
A protest opposing trans people in bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity was held at a high school in the Beltline in May.
A man spoke out after being a victim of a transphobic and homophobic incident in downtown Calgary in August.
“I think this year’s Pride events throughout the world are significant. We’ve seen a rise in hate and you have to call it what it is, it’s hate,” Gondek told Global News Monday.
“We have to keep sending the message that that is not okay. We need to stand as allies. We need to stand in strong support for everyone in our community.
“When Pride organizers themselves are feeling the heaviness of this year, it’s incumbent upon the rest of us to make sure that we’re standing with them and lifting them up.”
This comes as hate crimes against LGBTQ2 community members have risen across Canada. Between 2019 and 2021, there was a 64-per cent uptick in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation, according to Statistics Canada.
Alberta RCMP issued a warning in June of what it describes as a “spike” in hate incidents against the LGBTQ2 community and is encouraging residents to report anything that could be considered a hate crime.
In an emailed statement to Global News, the Calgary Police Service said hate-motivated crimes of any kind are not tolerated in the city.
A hate-motivated crime is a recognizable crime (assault, theft, etc.) where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on the personal characteristics of the victim, according to the CPS.
“These types of offences not only harm the victim but can have larger impacts in the community. They can leave others who share the same characteristic concerned that they too may be targeted, which undermines their feeling of safety in our city,” a CPS spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Global News.
“We encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a hate crime, or who may have witnessed one, to please come forward and report it to police.”