[URBAN NOTE] "Proclaiming Our Pride"

[rfmcdonald]

The subtitle of Jamie Bradburn's Torontoist article is "Why Toronto didn't officially proclaim Lesbian and Gay Pride Day until 1991." Responsibility for that, it seems, can be squarely assigned to then-mayor (and now senator) Art Eggleton.

When Mayor Rob Ford refused to participate in Pride-related events in 2011, it was, as Globe and Mail columnist Marcus Gee put it, “an embarrassment for a city that proclaims its diversity to the world.” Ford also reopened old wounds, recalling predecessor Art Eggleton’s refusal to lend support. But Art Eggleton had taken things one step further than Ford—during his tenure from 1980 to 1991, he had refused to proclaim Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, even though his office marked Harold Ballard Day and Walk-a-Dog-a-thon Day.

Eggleton’s reaction to the gay community in the aftermath of the 1981 bathhouse raids foreshadowed his handling of Pride. Eggleton told a provincial committee that the Ontario Human Rights Code should be amended to prevent discrimination based on sexual preference. Questioned further, Eggleton explained, though, that he believed that homosexuals “shouldn’t be allowed to thrust or force their sexual orientation or sexual inclination on other people” and that promoting their lifestyle should be grounds for dismissal. When a report on relations between the police and the gay community appeared later that month, Eggleton feared recommendations such easing arrests for sex in public places would “suggest special status for the gay community.”

Few were shocked when, starting in 1985, Eggleton refused requests from Pride organizers to proclaim Lesbian and Gay Pride Day. He reaffirmed his beliefs when city council’s executive committee recommended a proclamation in early 1989. “It is what I consider a personal matter,” he told the Star. “It is not appropriate for the naming of a day.”

On April Fools’ Day, the Star gave Eggleton a dart for his proclamation refusals, noting his comfort with recent declarations of days honouring notable contributors to Toronto’s cultural fabric like American comedian Red Skelton and the Muppet Babies[.]

[. . .]

Eggleton responded via a letter to the editor. He blamed Muppet Babies Day on an unnamed former Metro Toronto chairman, while Skelton was cited as an entertainer beloved by Torontonians. He defended his record of promoting anti-discriminatory human rights legislation, but reiterated his “private matter” excuse.