Ottawa mayor says he won't participate in events organized by Capital Pride following pro-Palestinian statement

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he will not be participating in any events organized by Capital Pride this year, including the Pride parade, following the organization's statement earlier this month expressing solidarity with Palestinians.

The organizers of the annual Pride festival in Ottawa issued a statement with four commitments for Pride festivities, including "recognizing the ongoing genocide against Palestinians" in opening remarks at all signature events, pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, hosting a "queer Arab showcase" and integrating the Palestinian Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) National Committee's boycott list in its review of current and future sponsorships.

While the statement condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the acts of terrorism committed by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, it also accused Israel of "pinkwashing" the war in Gaza, by portraying itself as a protector of LGBTQ2S+ rights, and criticized racist and Islamophobic notions that all Palestinians are homophobic and transphobic.

While some groups, such as Queers4Palestine Ottawa and Queers Against Pinkwashing applauded Capital Pride, its statement drew immediate backlash from many Jewish residents and groups, including the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, which announced it would not participate in the Capital Pride parade this year.

Sutcliffe earlier said he had spoken with Jewish leaders in Ottawa and with the director of Capital Pride about the issue and "encouraged the organization to meet with Jewish community leaders as soon as possible to hear their concerns and try to work together in a spirit of collaboration and inclusivity before this year's events take place."

But in social media posts on Thursday night, he said he was disappointed to see Capital Pride stand behind its statement.

"This decision by the board, days before the start of Pride, has unfortunately created an atmosphere where many now do not feel welcome to participate. Pride has always been and should continue to be a celebration of diversity and inclusion where no one feels excluded for who they are. I encourage the board of Capital Pride to take steps to ensure no one feels excluded this year," he wrote.

"I will be attending Pride activities in the days ahead but unless there is a change in approach, I will not be participating in events organized by Capital Pride this year," he said.

He did not specify which events he would be attending.

Some in the Jewish community hope Capital Pride has a change of heart.

"It was incredibly hurtful, even more so, for them to return on Tuesday and to share that there was no space for our concerns," said Rabbi Daniel Mikelberg of the meeting the Jewish community had with Capital Pride organizers. "And so I really challenge the leadership of Capital Fierté to recognize that there continues to be an opportunity to recognize the pain that they have caused the Jewish community and to imagine how we can live our values and to find a place so that perhaps we can march next week together."

Sutcliffe marched in the Capital Pride parade in 2023 as mayor and in 2022 as a mayoral candidate prior to the municipal election. More recently, he attended a pride flag raising event in Stittsville on Monday.

"The Capital Pride Festival is a time to unite against rising hate and demonstrate our support for Ottawa’s diverse 2-S-L-G-B-T-Q-Q-I-A+ community," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. "There are so many opportunities to participate in this year’s Pride festivities across our city."

In a statement, Capital Pride said it was "disappointed" Sutcliffe will not be taking part in its events.

"Capital Pride is, and always will be, committed to combating all forms of hate, discrimination and intolerance, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. As a community facing rising levels of hate-motivated crimes, we know all too well how hate erodes our cohesion," organizers said Friday morning.

"We invite Mayor Sutcliffe to listen to 2SLGBTQ+ community organizations about the importance of taking part in our city’s pride activities."

There are now calls for the city to revoke the funding it gave to Capital Pride this year. Sutcliffe says it's too late.

"We always review all of the funding that happens out of that budget on a regular basis. So we'll see about the future but that's not something I've given much thought to so far."

The annual Capital Pride festival begins Saturday, Aug. 17 with the parade scheduled for the 25th. 

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--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katie Griffin