A Jewish group demanded funding for the Edmonton Pride Centre to cease after claiming racist content was being posted on their social media.
The Pride Centre received $138,000 in funding from the federal government in January, which the Jewish organization called “egregious” as it makes individuals in the city feel threatened.
The Centre for Isreal and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said the Pride Centre breached the federal anti-racism strategy, supported attacks by listed terrorist entities, and “issued written support for the sexual violence waged against Jews.”
Shortly after 1200 individuals died from a raid organized by Hamas and other terrorist groups, the Pride Centre posted on Instagram, “We at PCE stand against apartheid, genocide, colonization and state violence”, referring to their support of Palestinians.
In February, the CIJA announced their campaign to strip the Pride Centre of all funding and wrote a letter to Randy Boissonnault, a Liberal MP located in Edmonton.
“The Edmonton Pride Centre has disenfranchised queer and transgender members of the Edmonton community, making them feel excluded, unwelcome, and unsafe,” the letter said.
“It certainly does not warrant the financial support of our national government.”
Boissonnault claimed he was not responsible for the Pride funding and forwarded the letter to Marci Ien, Minister of Woman and Gender Equality and Youth.
Ien stated in her response that all funding will continue despite the Jewish organization’s concerns, as the Pride Centre prevents discrimination against the LGBT community in Edmonton.
Alberta town bans pride flags on crosswalks
While the CIJA launched its campaign in February to strip the Pride Centre of its funding, the town of Westlock voted to ban municipal buildings from displaying Pride flags.
Additionally, the new bylaw will prohibit painting sidewalks and crosswalks with Pride colours and requires all existing flags and Pride-themed crosswalks to be removed.
Leading up to the vote, Westlock Mayor Jon Kramer posted a video urging residents to “vote no” to the bylaw, saying it “stands in opposition to inclusive initiatives.”
Kramer told residents the move could hurt Westlock’s ability to “attract investment and key professionals.”
The town council even launched a “Vote No” campaign in an attempt to persuade residents to accept Pride colours for the sake of the economy.
A total of 663 residents voted in favour of the proposed bylaw, a small margin over the 639 who voted against it.
