UPDATE (7/12/24): Fierté Fredericton Pride has cancelled its entire 2024 festival, citing harassment of its board members as the reason—although the earlier announcement of Fredericton Palestine Solidarity serving as grand marshal of its July 21 parade wasn’t referenced in the statement.
UPDATE (7/13/24): A different group of community members are hoping to organize their own parade in its place.(The original report follows below.)
UPDATE (7/18/24): Fredericton’s parade is now back on for Sunday, July 21.
A pair of Pride parades in Atlantic Canada are set to have pro-Palestinian marchers at the forefront on July 21—a move that is raising concern amongst Jewish communities in the capital cities of New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Fredericton Palestine Solidarity was selected for the honorary role in that city, Fierté Fredericton Pride announced last month. And the lead role in St. John’s was granted to the group Palestine Action YTT.
Organizers will not be accepting sponsorships from businesses or organizations who are listed on the Canadian boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) coalitions list. Banks and other groups on that list will also not be permitted to march in the parade.
Also barred from marching in Fredericton will be the University of New Brunswick, in solidarity with activists who are asking the school to divest from Israeli businesses and partnerships, although student groups can participate.
Keffiyehs and Palestinian flags are being expressly welcomed—and Fierté Fredericton Pride emphasized a no-tolerance policy toward anyone expressing their opposition to those symbols.
Ayten Kranat, the vice-president of the Sgoolai Israel Synagogue in Fredericton, started a petition in response to the parade prioritizing Palestinian solidarity.
She’s concerned her community and those who support the synagogue will avoid the event out of concern for their safety. (The Palestinian group responded by starting a counter-petition.)
Kranat and her partner moved to Canada from the U.K. in search of better life for their themselves and their daughter—who she says was threatened and assaulted there. But now she’s disappointed in her new home.
“We feel let down by our government,” Kranat said. “If they don’t stop this, it will get worse.”
Sgoolai Israel was vandalized back in January, coinciding with plans to hold a Shabbat service on the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
While the City of Fredericton is listed as a sponsor of local Pride festivities, it replied to The CJN stating it doesn’t play a role in decisions surrounding the event.
Meanwhile in St. John’s, Beth El Synagogue president Michael Paul is concerned about the decision to allow Palestine Action YYT to lead the Pride parade in his city. Paul said he can’t understand why his city would allow intolerance toward Israel.
In addition to naming the pro-Palestinian group as grand marshal, Pride St. John’s has also adopted the BDS list.
Harvey’s Home Heating, a business in St. John’s, pulled their sponsorship from a multi-year event called Pride on the Pier, because the BDS list includes PepsiCo—and the local bottler of Pepsi drink products shares ownership with the heating company.
Chris Forward, the Harvey’s manager who describes himself as proudly gay, says the Pride festival has decided to “cherry-pick organizations off of that restrictions list.”
In response to a CBC News report on the decision, Pride St. John’s clarified that Pride on the Pier was never connected to the larger organization, but they considered it an affiliated party “because it created space for queer people to come together.”
The event was a fundraiser for Quadrangle, a St. John’s-based organization that supports the LGBTQ community. Harvey’s Home Heating plans to instead donate its sponsorship funds to a different community group.
Similar to the response from Fredericton, the City of St. John’s declined to comment on decisions made by the parade that it is listed as a sponsor of.
Toronto’s annual Pride parade on June 30 was blocked along its route by a pro-Palestinian protest, but the procession was stopped about an hour early, citing safety concerns. Organizers also refused to sign a list of demands from protesters, which they presented as a condition for clearing the path for the parade to continue.
