Borderland Pride has offered to drop a human rights complaint against The Township of Emo, if a set of conditions are met.
The Pride organization issued a formal complaint against the Township to the Human Rights Tribunal, after council voted against a Pride affirming proclamation and flag raising heading into June, 2020.
According to an open letter, which was sent to the Mayor, council and Township CAO on April 5, the Tribunal will see the case over a five day period this June. The letter was critical of the Township for spending taxpayer funds on legal fees, which can’t be recouped at the Tribunal.
“All of this is an inexcusable and foolish waste of taxpayer money at a time when your council is also hiking taxes and cutting local services,” states the letter. It specified the Library, which saw an unexpected increase in expenses, and has been accepting donations, and has cut staff to help mitigate its financial situation.
Although the letter states the Emo Food Bank has been donating to the Library, it is the Emo Thrift Store has been providing relief; the fundraising entity provides funds to a variety of causes in and around Emo, including the Food Bank.
“One would think that a small municipality with a small tax base that finds itself in a hole like this would stop digging. But here we are, on the eve of Emo being added to the list of homophobic towns in publicly reported Tribunal decisions, and you are still scratching your heads wondering why the municipality can’t entice new medical professionals to live and work there. It is breathtaking that you have not connected the dots between your defence of anti-2SLGBTQIA+ bigotry and its damage to the public image of your community. Your untenable legal position is simply worsening your municipality’s other challenges,” stated the letter.
It goes in to present an option to stop the hearing, under several conditions. They are written as:
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- You will agree to the settlement terms extended to you by our legal counsel at Cambridge LLP in March 2022, including the published apology, financial compensation (reduced from what we will seek from the Tribunal), diversity and inclusion training for council, and a commitment to adopt Pride proclamations in the future without stripping out their 2SLGBTQIA+-affirming language.
- Borderland Pride will donate one-third of the financial compensation paid to us by the municipality directly to the Emo Public Library, on the condition that it host a drag story time event, free to all to attend, on a date of our choosing this year.
- Borderland Pride will, before the end of 2024, host its next charitable drag event in Emo, the proceeds of which will support the Emo Public Library. The municipality will provide facilities for this event at no charge.
“This is a good deal. You should take it. The alternative is to continue to waste taxpayer money fighting a losing battle in defence of bigotry and hate. That path will be embarrassing for your municipality and council, not to mention all of those with ties to your community and who expect better from its leadership.”
The Township has been given until May 3 to respond.
The Times reached out to mayor Harold McQuaker for comment on the letter. Because the matter involves an active legal proceeding, he declined to comment.
The full text of the open letter can be found on the Borderland Pride facebook page.
