Ontario town seeks judicial review after being fined $15K for refusing to observe Pride Month

Town fined for refusing to recognize Pride Month A small Ontario town has a big fine to pay after it refused to recognize Pride Month. Alexandra Holyk has the details.

An Ontario community fined $15,000 for not celebrating Pride Month is asking a judge to review the decision.

Emo, Ont., located 200 kilometres southeast of Kenora, announced Thursday it was seeking a judicial review of a decision by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario made last month.

The community was ordered to pay $10,000, and Mayor Harold McQuaker was ordered to pay $5,000 to Borderland Pride, who filed the initial complaint following a meeting in 2020.

Borderline Pride was asking for Emo, which has a population of approximately 1,300, to declare June Pride Month and fly or display an LGBTQ2S+ flag for a week during June.

The town council voted down a resolution 3-2.

Shortly after the vote, Mayor McQuaker, who voted against the proclamation, said, “There’s no flag being flown for the other side of the coin…there’s no flags being flown for the straight people.”

The comment was called "demeaning and disparaging" of the LGBTQ2S+ community in the tribunal’s report, and it was considered discrimination.

McQuaker and the town’s CAO were both ordered to take sensitivity training.

The town said they would not comment on the decision to seek a judicial review, saying it was going through the courts. In a statement, the town said it did pass a declaration of equality in 2022 that is still in effect.

“The Township recognizes the dignity and worth of all people, as well as the barriers of discrimination and disadvantage faced by human rights protected groups, including members of the LGBTQ2+ community,” the declaration reads in part.

In a statement, Borderland Pride spoke out against the town's judicial review request.

"The decision to pursue judicial review by this council reflects their continued abdication of municipal leadership, their failure to promote community safety and respect for law and legal institutions, a blatant disrespect for taxpayers, and a tacit endorsement of weeks-long threats of violence against members of our organization," the organization wrote.

"We unequivocally condemn this mayor and council. We will vigorously defend our rights, and the rights of all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to be treated without discrimination by public officeholders, regardless of where they live in this province."

-With files from CTV's Alexandra Holyk and Kayla Rosen