The Pride flag was raised Saturday morning in Fort Macleod’s Centennial Park. Overnight, someone cut the flag pole down and set fire to the flag.
Fort Macleod council on Monday condemned acts of violence and aggression toward weekend Pride events in the community.
Council issued a joint statement at its Monday meeting and spoke individually in response to actions at Pride in the Park and vandalism to the historic Empress Theatre.
“Our community recently witnessed acts of hate that left us appalled and disheartened,” Mayor Brent Feyter said, reading the prepared statement. “In times of adversity, we must come together, reaffirming our commitment to the values of inclusivity, tolerance, and respect that we strive for in our community.”
The fourth Pride in the Park event and the third annual drag show at the Empress Theatre later that night went as planned.
The day was not without incident as someone created a stink in the Empress Theatre during Drag Out the Love: Not Guilty.
RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney said in a news release officers on patrol were alerted to a disturbance in the theatre at about 8:30 p.m.
“It was alleged that someone had discharged a smoke bomb,” Slaney said. “Investigation has revealed it was fisher and marten lure oil.”
The oil seeped into the historic drapes, carpet and wooden floor, and the theatre remains closed while damage is assessed and clean-up contemplated.
RCMP arrested two suspects and the investigation is ongoing. Charges had not been laid at press time.
Slaney said they are young offenders, who cannot be identified.
Overnight, someone cut down a flag pole in Centennial Park, which the Town of Fort Macleod had installed in 2019 at a cost of $2,751, and burned the Pride flag.
There was a strong RCMP presence in Centennial Park on Saturday with as many as eight uniformed officers patrolling on foot.
Six RCMP cruisers were parked on the westbound one-way adjacent to Centennial Park to keep protestors at bay, and police at the same time ran a traffic patrol to nab speeders.
Sgt Christian Lafleur, who has command of the Fort Macleod RCMP detachment, said the strong police presence was due to on-line comments that posed a threat.
Lafleur sought the assistance of the RCMP Hate Crimes Unit to ensure everyone in the park was respectful and safe.
“We just wanted to make sure every went smooth,” Lafleur said.
A small group of 15 to 20 protestors had gathered in Centennial Park but did not cause problems and left soon after the event started.
“Things have been very good,” Lafleur said Saturday morning. “People have different views but have been respectful of each other, which is great.”
A crack in that respect occurred Saturday night when someone was able to create a stink in the Empress Theatre, despite Main Street being blocked off between Second and Third avenues, and RCMP on patrol inside and outside the theatre.
The show, which featured 14 performers, continued without interruption.
Then overnight someone sawed through the flag pole and set fire to the Pride flag.
Close to 50 people attended Monday’s meeting to hear first-hand council’s response.
In its statement, council said the Empress Theatre was the target of a “vile act of hate and vandalism.”
“The act of vandalism damaged the building and negatively affected the event,” Feyter read. “This attack on our 2SLGBTQ+ community and the Empress Theatre is an assault on the rights of members of our community and our shared history. The Empress Theatre has long been the gem for our community, a place where we come together to celebrate art, expression, and togetherness.”
Council in the statement labelled cutting down the flagpole and burning the Pride flag acts of hatred that strike at the values of freedom of expression and choice.
“We are committed to ensuring that every person in our community can live without fear, knowing their rights are safeguarded and their freedom to express themselves is protected,” Feyter read.
“We firmly believe that the majority of us are compassionate, respectful, and devoted to building a stronger, more inclusive Fort Macleod. Let’s continue on this path to building a strong community.”
After reading the statement, Feyter said he was away last weekend on a family camping trip that had been planned for a year.
“I was grieved to learn what had taken place at the Empress Theatre,” Feyter said of his return to cell phone service.
Coun. Mackenzie Hengerer, who brought greetings on behalf of the Town of Fort Macleod at Pride in the Park, said everyone left that event happy.
Those feelings changed with the attack on the Empress and the overnight damage in Centennial park.
“You brought hate into our community,” Hengerer said. “You hurt our community.”
Mackenzie said Fort Macleod must heal and urged people to temper their comments on social media, which are serving only to widen the divide.
“Please stop,” Hengerer said. “Do better. Be better.”
Coun. Marco Van Huigenbos said he has strong conservative, Christian values but condemned the vandalism and hate.
Van Huigenbos said he was at Centennial Park on Saturday to act as n intervenor with people he recognized who might cause problems.
“I was looking to show up and make things relatively calm,” Van Huigenbos said.
The actions of the few, Van Huigenbos said, are not representative of Fort Macleod’s faith-based communities.
Coun. Jim Monteith was “disgusted and disappointed” with how the weekend unfolded.
“Nobody should have to go through that,” Monteith said.
Coun. Gord Wolstenholme also expressed disgust and anger.
“We can do better, and we should do better,” Wolstenholme said.
Coun. Christina Fox, who has friends in the Pride community and considers herself an ally, said no one deserves to be so ill-treated.
“We can’t stand for this in our community,” Fox said.
Coun. Aaron Poytress said he was raised to treat people the way he wanted to be treated, and that people should love one another
“We all belong in this community,” Poytress said with a nod to Fort Macleod’s slogan.
“In Fort Macleod, we understand that we don’t all have to see eye-to-eye, and we don’t have to agree on every matter,” Feyter read. “What we must do, however, is respect one another. These acts were carried out by a few individuals who do not represent the values of our community.”
Sgt. Chris Lafleur said the Empress investigation is ongoing and the RCMP can proceed with criminal charges or perhaps some kind of community service that holds the young offenders accountable. That decision will be made higher up in the chain of command.
The audience made it clear they did not favour leniency.
As that portion of the meeting concluded Feyter urged Fort Macleod to work toward inclusion and understanding.
“This is an unstoppable conversation,” audience member Trent Moranz said. “Let’s keep talking.”
