Pride Hamilton is an annual

LGBTQ Pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sha ...

event, staged in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Unlike some Pride events, the event does not currently stage a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, but includes a week of LGBTQ-oriented community events culminating with a community festival in the city's Gage Park. The event was launched in 1991 by Hamilton's Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA), but was immediately mired in controversy over mayor

Bob Morrow Robert Maxwell Morrow (August 9, 1946 – February 4, 2018) was a Canadian politician who served as 52nd mayor of Hamilton from 1982 to 2000. He was the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. Political career Born in Hamilton, Morrow fi ...

's refusal to issue a civic proclamation."Hamilton's gays speak out against Morrow". ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'', November 5, 1991. Morrow cited a lack of consensus among

Hamilton City Council Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West. The current council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor i ...

rather than any personal animus against LGBT people, although councillor

Dominic Agostino Dominic Agostino (October 14, 1959 – March 24, 2004) was a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Hamilton East for the Liberal Party in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 until his death in 2004. Background Born in Sic ...

tried to broker a compromise under which Morrow would write a welcome letter instead of a formal civic proclamation."Morrow takes stand on gay pride: Man accuses mayor of prejudice". ''

'', July 5, 1994. GALA filed a complaint with the

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

, which was heard in 1994; in the hearing, Morrow's lawyers mounted the defense that Morrow's actions were not discriminatory as he had no way of knowing that the members of GALA were actually gay, a line of argument which GALA's lawyers dismissed as absurd. The commission ruled in March 1995 that Morrow's refusal to issue a proclamation was discriminatory, and ordered him to pay $5,000 in damages to GALA and to issue the proclamation in 1995. Morrow issued a proclamation that year, but concurrently announced that he would cease issuing any further civic proclamations for any events at all. The event was transferred from GALA to a new independent Hamilton Pride committee in 1996. Bob Wade, Morrow's successor as mayor, reinstated civic proclamations, and issued a civic proclamation of the event in 2001. The 2019 event was disrupted by a violent anti-LGBTQ protest. The

Hamilton Police Service The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) is the police service of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. With 829 officers and 414 civilians employed under the service. It serves roughly Hamilton’s 545,000 residents. The Hamilton Police Service has ...

subsequently faced criticism, both for taking too long to respond to the immediate situation and for its post-confrontation arrests, which initially targeted people who were defending the event against the violence rather than the instigators of it. Later arrests did include some of the protestors. The community reaction included direct pickets of mayor

Fred Eisenberger Fred Eisenberger (born September 3, 1952) is a Canadian politician and former real estate agent who was the 57th mayor of Hamilton from 2014 to 2022. Eisenberger previously served as chair of the Hamilton Port Authority prior to his first elec ...

's home, which Eisenberger characterized as inappropriate harassment of his family and as not representative of the city's LGBTQ community. In 2021, Pride Hamilton filed a formal complaint to the

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , formed = , dissolved = , jurisdiction = Province of Ontario , headquarters = 25 Grosvenor Street Toronto, Ontario , minister1_name = Attorney General ...

over the police delay in responding to the 2019 incident.Brian Bradley
"Hamilton’s LGBTQ communities have long fought a lack of support from police and the city. Now they are headed to the human rights tribunal"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', June 5, 2021.

References

External links

* {{Hamilton, Ontario Festivals in Hamilton, Ontario Recurring events established in 1991 LGBT festivals in Canada Organizations based in Hamilton, Ontario 1991 establishments in Ontario LGBT in Ontario