The continued attacks by Israel on Palestine have sparked protests worldwide. Last year Capital Pride, the producers of the event, had posted a letter condemning the attacks on Gaza as “acts of terrorism”. The Jewish Federation of Ottawa called the letter “antisemetic” and boycotted last year’s event. The letter also led to the withdrawal of support from Ottawa’s Mayor, Mark Sutcliffe, as well as other sponsors. This year, the messages of support of Palestine had been quietly removed from the Pride website. This was noticed by the group Queers4Palestine, who organized the protest during the Pride parade, blocking its progress. The group called for Ottawa Pride and Mayor Sutcliffe to join the long-running boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against Israel, and to “stand with us and all oppressed peoples, including Palestinians.” A press release from the group stated, “We are in the parade today to affirm very clearly that our Pride is not for sale, and that 2SLGBTQIA+ communities will not accept sponsors and elected officials dictating what we stand for, how we celebrate ourselves, and how we claim our space.” The protesters and Pride organizers were unable to come to an agreement, leading to the cancellation of the parade. Capital Pride had been receiving calls for at least a week before the event to reinstate the message of support for Palestine. It wasn’t until after the parade had been cancelled that the Pride organizers said the statement had disappeared due to a “refresh” of the website, and that the group still stood behind the original message.
