Ontario Human Rights Tribunal fines Emo Township for refusing Pride proclamation

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The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has found the township of Emo will have to pay damages after refusing to proclaim Pride Month back in 2020.

Borderland Pride requested Emo to declare June as Pride Month and display a rainbow flag for one week but the township refused, resulting in a years-long process in which the tribunal ruled against the township.

The tribunal ruled Borderland Pride will be awarded $15,000, with $10,000 coming from the township itself and the other $5,000 coming from Emo mayor Harold McQuaker.

Doug Judson is a lawyer in Fort Frances and one of the directors on the board of Borderland Pride, and said they're elated to have finally brought it to a close and is a significant victory for the organization.

"We didn't pursue this because of the money. We pursued this because we were treated in a discriminatory fashion by a municipal government, and municipalities have obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code not to discriminate in the provision of a service," said Judson.

"The tribunal's decision affirms that. That is the important thing we were seeking here was validation that as 2SLGBTQA plus people, we're entitled to treatment without discrimination when we try to seek services from our local government."

In addition to the compensation, the tribunal also ordered McQuaker and the Chief Administrative Officer of the municipality to complete a "Human Rights 101" training course offered by the Ontario Human Rights Commission within 30 days.

Judson said one of the messages it sends to other townships and municipalities is that Pride needs to be in the smallest and most remote communities just as it is in larger cities, and in some of the places "where it can be really hard to help people understand why it's so important"

"I hope that it emboldens and strengthens people in communities like Emo and other places like that across Ontario to know that they have entitlements from their government," said Judson.

Going forward, Judson said he would like to see the relationship between Borderland Pride and the township of Emo be more positive, with the municipality being a more active supporter of their programming.

"Having a place like Emo as part of Pride and having leadership figures take part in Pride, it lends a lot of support to the movement. It validates and legitimizes that the message is important for the entire community, and so we hope that that is the case moving forward."

CBC News reached out to the mayor of Emo for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.