Queen City Pride says Pride Parade bigger than ever, but Sask. Party politicians banned

Rose Kuntz, a transgender woman, sat beaming in a trailer covered with fluttering Pride flags as she waited for Regina's 2024 Pride Parade to kick off on Saturday. This year's parade was her first in 69 years.

Part of why it's taken so long for her to join the parade is because she only came out to her family four years ago, she said. Kuntz, who is from the small town of Milestone, south of Regina, said she's known that she's a woman since she was six or seven years old.

"I've come out at home, in a small town, and they accept me, so let's enjoy the day with others."

Kuntz said she was "a bit iffy, scared" before joining the parade, but she said that feeling quickly disappeared once she met people at the parade.

"On a scale of one to 10, 99.999 — that's how fantastic I feel."

Rose Kuntz, a 69-year-old transgender woman, sits in a trailer as she participates in her first Pride Parade. (Shlok Talati/CBC)

The parade started from 12th Avenue at noon, with hundreds of people lining up with floats on either side of the street, as more people cheered on from their balconies and windows. Queen City Pride said there were 129 entrants this year — a number they haven't seen before.

Riviera Bonneau, co-chair for Queen City Pride, said this year's parade is bigger than it's ever been.

Bonneau said that feat is also a reminder of how far they've come — from a protest to a parade.

"Pride started as a protest in Regina here 35 years ago. Folks marched down the Albert Street bridge with masks on their faces for fear of being known as the queer group. Now, we have thousands of people all out here showing who they are, who they love," she said.

Riviera Bonneau, co-chair for Queen City Pride, said this year’s parade is bigger than ever. (Shlok Talati/CBC)

According to Pride in The Prairies, an exhibit by Diefenbaker Canada Centre on the activism that took place in Saskatchewan from the late 1960s through the summer of 2020, the first Pride celebration of any kind in Saskatchewan was held in Saskatoon in 1973.

Saskatoon city council rejected a request to hold a Pride week that year. Despite council's rejection, Saskatoon Gay Action, an activist organization from Saskatoon, held an unofficial Pride picnic at Cranberry Flats later that year.

This year, Queen City Pride barred politicians from the governing Saskatchewan Party from participating in Pride festivities, in response to the government's pronoun policy — Bill 137 — which requires parental consent before a child under 16 can use a different gender-related name or pronoun at school.

Bonneau says the decision to bar Sask. Party politicians from the march was taken after hearing from community groups who had voiced concerns about the law.

"As they stand now with their policies now, they are not allies to the queer group and they will not be welcome," she said.

Speaking to reporters at the legislature last month, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said that the ban is unfortunate, but that he stands by the work the government did to get the law passed.

"I'm not a resident of the city of Regina. Quite frankly, I didn't even know when the parade was supposed to happen this year. But, obviously it's too bad," he said.

Saskatchewan's Parents' Bill of Rights became law in October. It's protected by Section 33 of the Constitution, also known as the notwithstanding clause — a tool that allows provinces to override some human rights.

But earlier this year, a Regina Court of King's Bench judge decided a constitutional challenge from UR Pride Centre for Sexuality and Gender Diversity could proceed. Those who oppose the law say it violates several rights of gender diverse people.

The Saskatchewan government says it's appealing the decision to allow the challenge — essentially trying to block it.

Solomon Bergman, a nine-year-old grade three student in Regina, was at the Pride parade. He said he counts himself as queer because he is a part of the queer community.

"It's a big celebration for my family. My whole household's queer, and it's a big celebration to be here today," he said.

Solomon Bergman, left, a nine-year-old Grade 3 student in Regina, was accompanied by j wallace skelton, right, who says it's important for gender-diverse children to attend Pride so that they know they're being celebrated. (Shlok Talati/CBC)

Bergman was accompanied by j wallace skelton, an associate professor of queer studies in education at the University of Regina. skelton said it's important for children who are part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community to understand — through Pride — that there's a community ready to accept and celebrate them.

"It's important young kids with queer and trans parents get to celebrate their families and see their families as glorious as we are."

skelton called the province's pronoun law a "take rights away from children policy." skelton said Sask. Party politicians do not belong at the parade because they're taking away rights of gender-diverse children.

"There is an easy way to fix that. If you want to be here, you can repeal that law."