This Township requires the public's support!

Back in 2020, the mayor and council of Emo, a small town in northern Ontario, made a 3-2 decision (in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling) to keep public spaces neutral of special interest flags after receiving a request from Borderland Pride, a local political LGBTQ group, to fly the rainbow flag and declare June as Pride Month. When the township declined the request, it resulted in a years-long tribunal process. It is important to note that the township did not even have a pole to display the flag.

According to CBC news, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) found the township of Emo guilty for not flying the flag or proclaiming pride month and awarded Borderland Pride $15,000, and the mayor was required to attend a 're-education program'. The township was ordered to pay $10,000 and the Mayor, Harold McQuaker, had to pay the additional $5000.

Mayor McQuaker, a well-respected, honourable and long-serving community leader, heroically stood up to the tribunal, calling the $5,000 penalty “extortion” and said he would not take the 're-education program' as ordered.

In response to his stand the HRTO had his bank account garnished for $5000 while Borderland Pride boasted online in a Facebook post on Dec. 6 saying, “Sure, sex is great, but have you ever garnished your mayor’s bank account…”

This is outrageous and an egregious violation against individual rights and our democratic system. The mayor and council are democratically elected officials and their decision must be respected. There is nothing in the Human Rights code that states that lgbtq right's trump everyone else's and if we care about our freedoms we will get behind this brave mayor and council and do whatever it takes to stop these extortionists and bullies from harming anyone else. Please take the following actions.