The Victoria Pride Society acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples, and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples have existed since time immemorial. Further to this acknowledgement, the Victoria Pride Society affirms that colonialism, and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it, contributes to systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples.
The Victoria Pride Society (VPS) gives a land acknowledgement at the beginning of each meeting and event to remind us all that the message of Pride is intersectional and we stand with all equity-deserving people. Members of the gender, sexuality, and relationship diverse (GSRD) communities will also share qualities with a myriad of demographics and ethos of Pride is to include and support everyone living at odds with a cisheteronormative society.
VPS is responsible for the hosting and execution of the Victoria Pride Parade (“Parade”) and the Victoria Pride Festival at the Park (“Festival”), in addition to other planned events to celebrate and promote equity, diversity, and inclusion for members of GSRD and intersecting communities. The Society’s central mission, as referenced in the Victoria Pride Festival Parade Applicant Terms and Conditions agreed to by all prospective Parade and Festival applicants, is to support inclusion, diversity, and equity for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and enable the pursuit of greater justice for equity-deserving communities through an intersectional lens recognizing the distinct challenges of all marginalized communities. For this reason, the Victoria Pride Society shall always endeavour to prioritize the needs and advocacy of equity-seeking voices in important decision-making processes within our organization.
There has always been a consistent call from members of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities for Pride societies across the nation to acknowledge and change their approach to the inclusion of law enforcement within Pride parades. Furthermore, many other equity-deserving groups have also been systemically over-policed or harmed by law enforcement and these groups add their voices to the calls from BIPOC communities. These calls to action have been rooted in real and historical intergenerational harms that have been witnessed and felt by these affected members. Both peer-reviewed academic sources [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and government-supported sources [1] [2] corroborate this.
Marginalization refers to the subjugation or oppression of a specific group of people by structural systems of power that results in them being devalued, sidelined, or unheard. Pride has always been a fight against marginalization and oppression which served to ignite the Stonewall Riots that birthed the modern Pride movement. While we have made social progress in the protection and celebration of diversity within our community, there is clearly more work that needs to be done for all members of GSRD communities to feel safe, respected, and loved. We want to be part of a larger initiative to create a positive space for BIPOC members to feel supported and celebrated. After all, that is what Pride is about: providing a compassionate heart and a loud voice to those who have traditionally fallen outside of the cisheteronormative mainstream.
In accordance with this objective, the Victoria Pride Society has determined that the involvement of law enforcement in the Victoria Pride Parade does not align with our central mission at this time and no uniforms belonging to law enforcement may be worn in the parade. This was initially discussed in 2019 and supported by discussions with the Victoria Police Department (VPD). It is the hope of the Victoria Pride Society that this decision will foster a safe and supportive environment for BIPOC community members, and all equity-deserving community members who are disproportionately affected, to celebrate their Pride without the reminders of generational trauma or the fear of ongoing persecution.
The Victoria Pride Society, however, believes that affected parties can build bridges between these institutions and affected community members through consistent and ongoing dialog and we encourage the diversity action committees of law enforcement to continue the important work of social justice and work to change the narrative of their respective institutions.
The Victoria Pride Society will continue to review this position every three years to ensure that this statement is in alignment with the values of the communities we aim to serve.
Due to the large nature of our festival and parade, we must abide by the laws and regulations of the City of Victoria’s Police Department. We’ve been informed that police attendance at the festival as well as the beginning and end of the parade is required. We have negotiated with VPD to have police stay on the perimeter of the festival grounds and to do any “walk throughs” with a Victoria Pride representative.
We thank the VPD for hearing our concerns and working with us to move closer to the ideals we have as a community. We will continue to speak for the needs of our community and we look forward to hearing further feedback from the community on how we can continue to hold our spaces safely while also abiding by the laws in place.
The Victoria Pride Society acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen Peoples and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples have existed since time immemorial. Further to this acknowledgement, the Victoria Pride Society affirms that colonialism and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it contribute to systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples and all marginalized and equity-deserving people. Read more.
