Pride Panel 2019: Five years after the violence at Gage Park

Art Gallery of Hamilton hosts panel discussion to
reflect on the violent incident at Gage Park during Hamilton’s Pride event in 2019.

cw: violence against 2SLGBTQIA+

On the evening of June 27, a panel discussion at the Art Gallery of Hamilton was held to address the events leading up to and following the violent altercation at Hamilton’s Pride event in 2019, which was Pride Hamilton’s first festival as an organization. The panel was set to discuss what progress still needs to be made for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community five years later.

In June 2019, members of the YellowVest movement and other far-right extremist groups, including the Canadian Nationalist Party, joined a group of Christian preachers in opposition to Hamilton’s first Pride festival. This came after efforts to expand Pride events to smaller cities and rural areas around Hamilton.

The situation turned violent as many demonstrators chanted hateful messages. The protest led to an escalated confrontation with those attending the festival in which several community members were injured.

Pride Hamilton’s board of directors stated in a Facebook post that only a small number of Hamilton Police Service officers were present and were stationed on the opposite side of Gage Park where they were unable to respond to the violence in a timely manner.

Panelist and political activist Chris Erl was interviewed by the Silhouette
prior to the panel. Erl stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the challenges faced by the queer community in Hamilton continue to exist and have yet to be meaningfully addressed.

“. . . [T]he panel is going to remind people that we haven’t fixed the problems that were present in 2019. In many cases, they’ve gotten worse because they haven’t been addressed,” said Erl.

One issue raised by Erl is the lack of police protection and the unequal treatment of the queer community. Erl mentioned that the community is often targeted and policed disproportionately.

An independent review conducted by Toronto lawyer Scott Bergman stated that the Hamilton police could have anticipated the presence of agitators at Pride 2019 event but ultimately failed to do so. Bergman’s report stated that there was inadequate preparation, which led to a failure to protect those at the festival. This resulted in the queer community losing trust in the Hamilton police.

Erl mentioned that some people are reluctant to attend Pride events due to fears of another violent incident and events not having adequate security.

“There’s an understanding that if you go to these events, you might need to have security . . . you might be thinking in your head, is this person who’s also at the event going to try to harm me or intimidate me?”, said Erl.

Despite the outbreak of violence at Pride 2019, Erl mentioned that there are signs of hope and healing. Erl expressed that members of the queer community and their allies have been coming together to organize smaller scale sports leagues and events since 2019.

“It’s really important that we not let hate define us and recognize that building community is something that happens every day in small ways … It’s about simply being who you are and building connections with the people around you,” said Erl.

The panel discussion was to serve as a further step towards making Hamilton a more inclusive and safe space for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

“I think that building community is the first step . . .Building community means we as members of the queer community work together every day in our own ways to do what’s right for each other . . . And part of that means having conversations about what institutions need to change,” said Erl.