Brandon Pride calls for rainbow display

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This article was published 18/07/2023 (907 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon’s battle between local religious and LGBTQ+ groups continued at Brandon City Council meeting on Monday evening with an argument surrounding the establishment of a permanent rainbow display in the community.

Aly Wowchuk, chair of Brandon Pride, was on hand to give council a presentation on the organization’s activities over the past year, including Pride week last month.

As part of that presentation, Wowchuk asked that the city create a permanent rainbow display like a mural, sidewalk or crosswalk in honour of the local LGBTQ+ community.

But before Wowchuk’s presentation, the member of the public who asked the Brandon School Division’s board of trustees earlier in the year to ban books featuring sexual and gender identity content from school libraries voiced a complaint.

Former school trustee Lorraine Hackenschmidt said she was opposed to the establishment of a rainbow display on religious grounds, asking councillors if they would put up flags or a display in honour of Muslim or Métis groups as a couple of examples.

By coincidence, Wowchuk’s presentation — for which slides were submitted to the city in advance — contained discussion of Brandon Pride’s work to oppose Hackenschmidt’s book ban proposal by holding a solidarity rally with CUPE Manitoba members in town for their annual general meeting as well as mobilizing opposition to the ban at the school board meeting where it was debated.

She said the organization closed its Facebook comments for a while in response to hostile comments being made during that time.

In creating a rainbow display, it might seem like a small gesture, but it would be a permanent display of support for the local LGBTQ+ community that is seen briefly every year when the Pride flag is raised during Pride week.

This could be especially important, Wowchuk said, after hearing the stories of what queer people in Brandon experienced during the book ban debate. On top of showing support, she said it could also serve to help boost tourism.

Mayor Jeff Fawcett voiced support for creating a display, saying that it’s time to do so after hosting other flags and images — like Métis and Treaty 2 flags — representing local communities on city property for decades.

Other events Wowchuk discussed included a screening of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” for Valentine’s Day, a vigil for those killed in the Colorado Springs shooting last year, a commemoration of Trans Day of Remembrance and the Pride rally and march in June.

This year’s Pride week theme was “growing Pride on the Prairies,” which Wowchuk said was in honour of the growing LGBTQ+ community not just in Brandon but across the rest of the Prairie provinces.

When Dauphin held its first-ever rally march on June 28, Wowchuk said Brandon Pride representatives attended in solidarity.

Brandon’s Pride week will be held next year from June 9-15, with a theme to be announced at a later date.

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