St. John's Pride names pro-Palestine advocacy group as grand marshals for annual parade

With Pride celebrations in St. John's about to get underway, the announcement of thegrand marshal for this year's parade has been met with mixed reactions.

On July 21, Palestine Action YYTwill lead the annual parade, which will wind its way through downtown St. John's and end at Bannerman Park for the Pride in the Park event.

The group has protested throughout the city for months, with downtown marches downtown calling for aceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, vigils for those who have died in the conflict, and tent encampments and the occupation of Memorial University buildings to call on administration to divest from companies that are funding the war.

Pride external co-chair Eddy St. Coeur said his organization approached Palestine Action YYT.

"The board had been thinking about the grand marshal for the parade for some time and we had seen and different board members had gone down to some of the solidarity marches that they were doing on Saturdays we had kind of gotten a sense for what other organizations were represented by that group or were showing up for that group and then we saw a lot of our community members as organizers," St. Coeur told CBC News on Wednesday, adding some of the members themselves are Jewish.

"At its core for Pride, the liberation of all people is really important, because if they're going for one set of fundamental human rights it's just a step to get to ours."

Palestine Action YYThad its own set of commitments St. John's Pride had to agree with before getting involved. They include supporting the boycott and divestment of institutions on the boycott, divestment andsanctions or BDS list, welcoming everyone to join the events with the understanding that law enforcement uniforms and logos are banned, and committing to ongoing reconciliation with Indigenous and racialized community members.

Palestine Action YYT also asked to address attendees at the conclusion of the parade.

In a statement posted Saturday on its website and social media accounts, St. John's Pride wrote, "After consultation and reflection, the board of directors concluded these actions align with the spirit of Pride. We stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable members of our community and will work in good faith to implement all commitments."

St. Coeur said the only real addition to St. John's Pride's commitmentsisthe BDS list, which includes dozens of companies, some based in Newfoundland and Labrador, that are being boycotted for having any involvement with Israel.

St. Coeur said everyone is welcome to participate in Pride, including employees ofthe companies that are being boycotted. Companies themselves are being asked to stay away.

"The board of directors picks a grand marshal to kind of elevate a cause that's going on and it's something that we're seeing here," he said.

Some division

But not everybody is on board. Many community members responding to St. John's Pride's Facebook post supported the decision but some criticized it.

"You've not made everyone inclusive, you've made it a position march for this YYT group," one member wrote.

Another commenter, pointing to pro-Palestine demonstrations that prompted the cancellation of Sunday's Pride parade in Toronto, said they were concerned that Palestine Action YYT's protests would overshadow Pride itself.

"Mark my words, they're going to take over just like Toronto. I don't know who's on the board this year but this is crazy," they wrote.

St. Coeur said there shouldn't be an issue.

"I wouldn't call it a hijacking. A lot of our community are people who have been organizing in St. John's and people who are really trying to advocate for human rights. We saw where the Venn diagram overlapped for us," he said.

The Pride flag ceremony is July 10 at St. John's city hall followed by events every day afterward until the parade and Pride in the Park on July 21.

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