Feeling proud, celebrating Pride

It's Pride week in Halifax and people are happy.

It wasn't always so; the history of Pride in Halifax had a very modest start some 27 years ago. It’s not a long time ago, but at the first march some of the participants wore paper bags over their heads, concerned that their participation might be harmful to their career or their safety.

In those early years, politicians occasionally showed up to offer support. Now they all show up to find support.

This weekend over 100,000 people will line up to participate in, and watch the parade. When it comes to Pride we hit way above our weight, with the 4th largest Pride Festival in Canada.

We have come a long way, and there is still a journey ahead of us.

Just a decade ago I was elected to Parliament and in the first session of that Parliament, Prime Minister Martin introduced Bill C-38, The Civil Marriage Act. It was a very contentious issue at a difficult political time. I was proud to serve on the special Legislative Committee that was formed to manage the bill through Parliament. (Keep in mind that we were also managing through a difficult minority Parliament in which the government could have fallen on a vote of non-confidence.)

Our committee heard a huge number of speakers on both sides of the Civil Marriage Act and I had numerous occasions to speak in the House on my support of this legislation. The debate in Parliament and across the country was heated and my office was inundated with letters, emails and calls.  Some were very unpleasant.

It is hard to believe how difficult the issue was at the time. Cabinet ministers left cabinet rather than support the legislation. An NDP member was stripped of her critic position because she opposed the legislation. Some Conservatives publicly supported the legislation including Gerald Keddy of Nova Scotia. And it was a factor when Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to join the Liberal Party.

I remember saying in Parliament that I believed in 10 years no one would want to reverse the decision. In fact, it was a lot less.

Canada was the fourth country to legalize same sex marriage. Today it is legal in about 20 countries including the UK, Brazil, France, Spain, South Africa and others. States in the USA have voted to allow it, and the President of the United States endorsed it in 2012. Canada played a leading role in the acceptance of same sex marriage in the world and it is one of my proudest moments from my time in Parliament.

Just as Canada was front and centre when it was a difficult issue, so were others. TD Bank, under the leadership of Ed Clark, took a position in favor of supporting same sex employees when it was seen by some as a radical position that could harm the business. Mr. Clark was stalwart in ensuring that the principled position didn't waver, even when the bank might have faced pressure and loss of business from its position. I have joined Ed and the TD team each of the last two years during Pride Week celebrations here in Halifax.

Ten years ago some people suggested I didn't need to be part of Pride festivities. It was said by someone that my support for equality was well known and I didn't need to be part of the 'radical' stuff. There are still some great people who think that Pride is too 'out there' and 'flamboyant'. 

Perhaps that's the whole point, that after years of being silent and hidden, we now celebrate how far we’ve come. It is a wonderful time in Halifax where people are exuberant, where we can celebrate our differences and a middle-aged male Mayor can wear a dress at a baseball game and have fun.

But we do have a journey to complete. Two years ago we lost Raymond Taavel and last year Scott Jones was attacked and permanently injured. Scott,a remarkable man, is the Grand Marshall of this year’s parade. So as we celebrate gains made, we continue to work toward a more equal society.

With all of the issues and challenges our society faces, surely we can agree that managing who loves whom is not one of them.