Montreal Pride Parade | Lots of color and emotions

Lee Carrier
Press

“I’m proud of my city, I’m proud of my community coming together. I do not think there will be so many!

The annual meeting of people of sexual and gender diversity, and their associates, ended the week-long festivities, taking a break from last year – for the first time in 30 years. He came back this summer: drums, track queens and even a Brazilian samba group, we know with a festive and explosive spirit. Starting with its colorful participants.

“It simply came to our notice then Extra in his style. It’s a way of expressing one’s identity, ”testified Callisto Ford, who wore a star skirt and a non-binary flag. A loyal participant of the Fierde Montreal, he missed the show. “Me, that’s what I’m waiting for, summer!” It is very important to meet people like you. Especially for people who are in the closet or feel lonely. “” We are a family! “, Than her friend Roosevelt Dusainte.

The kick-off was given at 1pm at Jean-Mans Park, and the walk ended at the village, Rue Saint-Catherine, just after 3pm.

New political demands

“I feel part of a renaissance, at the same time, going back to the beginning of the Parade of Pride. [dans leur cheminement]. We’re really going back to the basics, the human connection, “said Sandy Duperwall, spokeswoman for Fierde Montreal.

But the parade was not only good humor and celebrations: it was also a claimant. In light of the discovery of the graves of hundreds of children near former residential schools, Montreal Pride called for “an urgent need to impose a greater collective awareness of atrocities against indigenous peoples” and condemned any racism against blacks and aborigines. Arabic speaking, Asian and Latin people.

Sandy Duperwall recalled the importance of advancing these fights in parallel to the struggles for sex and gender. “The people we represent are part of many crossroads. We owe them their rights. For example, I’m a lesbian and a black woman. When I leave home, I leave with that identity. If I face discrimination, it may be in one aspect or in all aspects. ”

The fight, led by Camille Pinesat-Lavalle, who attended the march, is a good recognition of the rights of the trans people. “Currently, we are very badly respected in the public sector. That needs to change,” he said. An example? In a recent legal dispute over the care of a child, the judge insisted on calling her “father.” “For the third time, I left the courtroom,” he says in Quebec on September 5, organizing a hunger strike with Action Trans Quebec.

Imprisonment will not be easy for LGBTQ2 + communities that thrive on a sense of solidarity. It is essential to be creative in this field during the past year, in the Social Studies and Intervention Committee (GRIS-Montreal) that affects sexual identity and sexual orientation in schools.

“In adolescence, getting support is very important. Often, we think we are alone to experience something and feel that way. A support group is necessary,” explains Steve Franுவாois, executive at GRIS-Montreal.

An election campaign in the background

Two hours before the march began, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his way to Rido Hall in Ottawa asked the Governor-General to dissolve the government and begin the election campaign. He has not missed a Montreal Pride parade since he was elected in 2015, and his absence is obvious. Melanie Jolie, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, was on Sunday afternoon to represent the Liberal Party and show “solidarity with the LGBTQ2 + community”.

Constituency President Yves-Franசois Blanchett and New Democrat Vice President Alexandre Pelleris were in attendance. Both expressed support for communities of sexual and gender diversity, and reiterated that it was not appropriate to hold a federal election at this time. Conservative leader Erin O’Dwyer did not attend the rally.

* Callisto is Ford’s non-binary and uses the nickname “iel”.