You’ve probably never heard of the Canadian Town of Emo. The small rural township is located along the Rainy River on the border with the US state of Minnesota, and its home to 1,333 people.
The town council is led by Mayor Harold McQuaker and four councilors. Back in 2020 local group Borderland Pride asked if the town would fly the Pride Flag and proclaim Pride Month.
The request was knocked back, and a long legal battle ensued, but the Ontario Human Rights Commision just came down on the side of the local LGBTIQA+ community finding that the town’s decision was based on discrimination.
The court has ordered them to pay $15,000 in compensation, which is broken down into $10,000 for the town, and $5,000 to be personally paid by the mayor.
The town had reportedly already spent at least $38,000 in defending their decision. The mayor has previously commented on the council’s decision saying it would be unfair to fly the Pride flag because there are no flags for straight people, and it would be unfair to only celebrate “one side of the coin”.
Doug Judson, a board member of Borderlands Pride, told local media that they were elated to have the issue resolved.
“We didn’t pursue this because of the money. We pursued this because we were treated in a discriminatory fashion by a municipal government, and municipalities have obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code not to discriminate in the provision of a service,” said Judson.
He said the ruling showed that local governments needed to treat people without discrimination.
In addition to the fine council members will also have to attend a training course called Human Rights 101.
