A Canadian town was fined for its refusal to fly a rainbow flag outside its municipal building during pride month. According to reports, Emo, Ontario, a small town of approximately 1,300 people, violated the Ontario Human Rights Code imposed by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for refusing to fly the “LGBTQ2 rainbow flag.”
The municipality faces a fine of $10,000 and town leaders were ordered to undergo a reeducation in the form of mandatory “human rights” training. Reportedly, the incident stems from a 2020 incident in which Emo was confronted by an LGBT group known as Borderland Pride, which asked the town to declare June as pride month.
Fox News reported that Borderland Pride requested for the town to draft a proclamation that would include statements such as “pride is necessary to show community support and belonging for LGBTQ2 individuals” and “the diversity of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression represents a positive contribution to society.” Furthermore, the group asked Emo to fly the pride flag for a week.
However, Emo decisively voted in a township council meeting not to take up Borderland Pride on the request, where Mayor Harold McQauker asserted that “no flag being flown for the other side of the coin… there’s no flags being flown for the straight people.” The move from Emo sparked a response from authorities who determined it to be discriminatory.
Human Rights Tribunal vice-chair Karen Dawson opined that the comment from the mayor was “demeaning and disparaging of the LGBTQ2 community of which Borderland Pride is a member and therefore constituted discrimination under the Code.” Dawson further concluded that McQauker’s comment “constituted discrimination under the Code.”
In the aftermath of the decision from the town council, Borderland Pride pursued a $15,000 fine to be imposed on Emo as well as $10,000 fines for each other town council members who voted no in the 3-2 decision to not honor the request from the group. However, it was ultimately settled that the township would pay a fine of $15,000 and Mayor McQuaker would pay $5,000. Furthermore, McQauker and another town official were ordered to complete an online course called “Human Rights 101” and provide proof of completion.
The incident has subsequently sparked a massive discussion on social media where conservatives have questioned whether Canadians have basic freedoms. Progressive critic Meghan Murphy wrote, “The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal orders the township of Emo to pay damages after refusing to declare June as Pride Month and display a rainbow flag in 2020.”
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“The tribunal ruled Borderland Pride will be awarded $15,000, with $10,000 coming from the township itself and the other $5,000 coming from the mayor,” she continued, questioning, “Do Canadians live in a free country??” Another person wrote on X, “This is FORCED Religious Conversion. Emo is an isolated town of 1200 people located in NW Ontario. Residents are being denied freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This is merely the start of the insanity that will ensue as the Liberal gov’t censors more with #BillC63·”
Slamming the Human Rights Tribunal, author Mia Hughes said, “This story is completely insane. In 2020, a Pride group demanded that an Ontario town declare the month of June as Pride Month. The township refused, resulting in a human rights complaint on the grounds of discrimination. The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal just ruled *against* the township. Not only does the mayor have to pay $5,000 of the $15,000 fine, but he also has to complete a human rights training course. So in Ontario, it’s basically “celebrate us and worship the God of Pride for an entire month or we’ll have you brought up on discrimination charges.” Ontario’s Human Rights Commission is an absolute joke.”
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Featured image credit: By Ludovic Bertron from New York City, Usa – https://www.flickr.com/photos/23912576@N05/2942525739, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14831997