‘It’s a human right’: Ponoka, Alta. bakery told to remove Pride flag from window

A bakery owner in Ponoka, Alta. says a Pride flag in her store window has become the cause of conflict between her and her landlords. If she wants to keep her Pride flag up, she may have to do so at a new store.

Sarah Kumar has been baking cakes at her store for over a year and until a few weeks ago she never had any issues with her landlords.

“They had asked me to take down the little Pride flag that I have in the window of my shop. They had also asked me in that letter, to stop hosting any Pride meetups, coffee chats that sort of thing,” Kumar said.

Kumar owns Sarah’s Specialty Cakes at Riverbank Common and has been told by her landlords that the flag and the after-hours meet-ups violate her lease.

“It’s definitely affected my business, it’s affecting my reputation in town. It’s become very polarizing between members of the community and that wasn’t the point. The point was to bring the community together in a safe space,” she said.

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Bruce Blackmore owns the shopping center and says he warned Kumar multiple times that the lease states that there can not be any advertisements or placards in the front window regardless of what they say.

“It’s not about Pride, it could be the Conservative Party of Canada, it could be NDP. It’s politics, religion and that just obviously causes problems,” said Blackmore.

The owners say the shopping centre is a shared space and Kumar would require permission from other tenants to host after-hours activities.

He also says people who come to the centre after hours can not go to other areas where other tenants have their businesses. Which Blackmore says has happened multiple times at the Pride meetings.

” I suggested to her to take these meetings and go to the public library. There’s a public space for that, you’re most encouraged to do so. But my private building, is a commercial space, I don’t need controversy,” Blackmore said.

However, the hours for each store within the centre are staggered. Kumar says the gatherings have taken place when her business is still open but others in Riverbank Common are not.

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The dispute has sparked conversation online, with many coming to the defense of Kumar and some supporters visited the store specifically because of the controversy.

“I was just drawn to support. I’m part of the queer community and I think it’s really important that these businesses get to experience everybody. Especially when you’re really creating a sense of belonging and a safe place for everybody,” said Tamara Boivin.

While the cake store was open for business Saturday, other shops in the centre were closed. Blackmore told Global News it’s because the other businesses were facing harassment in the wake of attention given to the dispute on social media.

“I’ve been accused of all sorts of nasty things, none of which is correct. I have lots of family that are either gay or lesbian, I really don’t care. Everyone is welcome, all this is about is to pay attention to the rest of the lease violations,” said Blackmore.

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Kumar says she may have to break her lease which could cost $10,000, but insists that she will continue to bake cakes and won’t be taking down the flag anytime soon.

“It’s a human right, being a human isn’t political and it’s not religious. We all have a basic right to be our authentic selves,” she said.

Both Kumar and Blackmore are working with lawyers to resolve the matter.