Kelowna Pride's New Alliance: When Tolerance Becomes Indifference
Anti-SOGI Rally at Stuart Park, Kelowna, BC September 21, 2023 - Photo Wilbur Turner
It may seem innocuous to most folks. A celebratory post on a Pride Facebook page with a contest giving away free VIP tickets to a Christmas expo. Let's take a little journey back to September 2023 and connect some dots. Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Kelowna at Stuart Park waving signs that proclaimed "There are only 2 genders," "Leave Our Kids Alone," and "I belong to my parents, not the state." This mostly older crowd with a few children sprinkled among them were there to join a Canada-wide event billed as 1 Million March for Children. It was a bunch of people riled up by misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity resources in schools known as SOGI 123.
The Kelowna event was organized by Kelowna Harvest Church and its leader Art Lucier. Lucier called the crowd to gather around and started the event out with telling them "Do not engage with the groomers." The term groomer has been recycled from decades ago when it was used to dehumanize gays and portray them as sexual predators and a danger to children. Now it is used to do the same to anyone who supports sexual and gender diverse youth. This includes teachers, queer advocates, drag queens, and pretty much anyone who supports human rights for the queer community. Lucier then led the crowd in a chant of "Groomers go home!" aimed at the few dozen counter-protesters.
Kelowna Harvest Church Preacher Art Lucier leading a chant of "Groomers go home!" Video - Facebook
This was just part of the hate speech at the event. One of the other speakers from the church stated that most parents of trans kids are child molesters, and another said that people were gay due to childhood sexual abuse. You can read a dossier on Art Lucier and the transcript of his full speech at this event here.
Art Lucier and members of Kelowna Harvest Church planning the September 21, 2023 protest in their "War Room" - Photo Facebook, September 13, 2023
The taunts, slurs, hate, and yelling from the crowd at counter-protesters added a chilling layer to the already traumatic atmosphere. I saw young trans people crying, their bodies shaking with fear as the verbal blows assaulted them. They were there to stand up and fight for their very existence and were vastly outnumbered. When the rally goers left to march around downtown, those of us who were counter-protesting gathered in a circle to share words of comfort. Many of the young people were showing signs of being in shock.
Counter-protesters with signs at Stuart Park, September 21, 2023 - Photo Wilbur Turner
Hate speech, discrimination, and targeted attacks toward the 2SLGBTQIA+ community coming from faith-based organizations and their leaders is not new. The queer community shares a collective trauma from this religious battle going back decades. The cry of parental rights is now being recycled from the war cries of the Anita Bryant era when it was all out war against the gay community. It is now showing up in legislation limiting the rights of trans and non-binary youth. The most draconian of these laws have just passed final reading in the Alberta legislature.
According to podcaster and investigator Tara Jean, on their podcast Heaven Bent, Lucier of the Kelowna Harvest Church is labeled as one of the leaders of this anti-SOGI movement in Canada. This Christian Nationalist movement is seeking to put God and religion into public education and government.
Now let's head back to the free VIP tickets to the Christmas Expo. Guess where it's being held? At Kelowna Harvest Church.
The email was titled "Warning Regarding Slanderous Comments and Posts." The email ended with "Failure to address this behavior may leave us with no choice but to consider further action to safeguard our organization and its members." As a longtime advocate for the queer community and someone who continually fights for safe spaces I was shocked at this language being used against me, particularly given the context of the issue.
Next came a public post by the Kelowna Pride president on their personal page and tagging Kelowna Pride. The post further doubled down on the decision to give away tickets along with some gaslighting about hate and fear mongering. The post in part reads: "Hate and fear-mongering have no place in our society. It's disheartening to see attempts to stifle our expression and push us out of public spaces. Yes, I understand that the Kelowna Harvest Church has been a point of contention in the past. However, it’s important to recognize that the church is merely a tenant of the Main Street Centre, which is a rental space that I, as well as many others, have been welcomed into. We’re here to celebrate and uplift our community, not to be silenced by those who wish to create division. Boycotting spaces does not lead us any closer to unity or acceptance. For example, Stewart (sic) Park has also been known for hosting hate rallies, yet it remains a place where we come together to celebrate our community. By participating in events like the Christmas Expo, we can work to transform these spaces into places of joy and acceptance."
Who is trying to silence whom?
My message to Kelowna Pride is this. Kelowna Harvest Church is more than just a point of contention from the past. Even though the congregation apparently gave you a "warm and friendly" tour of the facilities this week it doesn't offset their Christian Nationalist agenda which will NEVER accept you or our community, and if fact it covers the up that they are actively trying to erase us from existence. They are part of a movement that is putting in place anti-queer legislation in our country. There are many places to safely celebrate our community and a shared space with a church that promotes hate is not one of them.
The following comment from a reader on the President's post sums it up well, also noting the President was promoting their own business via Kelowna Pride.
Given the past trauma caused by religion and the recent activities of Kelowna Harvest Church and the damaging impact on the queer community I feel it is completely irresponsible for Kelowna Pride to be associated in any way with them. The event clearly states it is hosted at the church - that should have been the first red flag of many. Tolerance of this church's behaviour sends the message that hate and abuse is okay. It says "We'll just smile and play nice and pretend we're friends."
It is this indifference to hate that will only lead to further degradation of our human rights.
Sadly, in failing to listen to community concerns and doubling down to justify this decision, Kelowna Pride is letting down the very community they are here to serve. I think it is time for an apology. At a minimum.
Update: Since this blog article was published, Kelowna Pride has deleted the three posts on their Facebook page where they were promoting and defending their involvement in the Christmas Expo.
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