A group of northwestern Ontario pride organizations have released a joint statement stating they have paused their relationship with Kenora Pride.
The group comprised of Borderland Pride, Rainbow Alliance Dryden, and Rainbow Collective Thunder Bay, released the statement highlighting that they cannot in good conscience continue to recognize Kenora Pride as an effective or proper advocate for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“We want to showcase and send a message to Kenora and to the community of Kenora, and the 2SLGBTQ community there that we are with you, that our organizations want to work with the organization in Kenora, but we are concerned about actions that have happened,” said the President of Rainbow Collective Jason Veltri. “We all need to walk the walk together, we need to be a collective unit to fight back against the hate and increasing violence that is happening in the community and the region.”
The group is hopeful Kenora Pride will rejoin the collective, advocating for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Kenora, while representing the municipality in regional-based pride discussions.
