More than a dozen Ottawa neighborhood residents plan to hang Pride flags in solidarity after a house was demolished Friday night. The video shows two men standing in front of Jane Harley’s house, one taking a picture as the other climbs onto her porch and tears her rainbow flag. The video, shared by Harley with CBC, shows the two men running away. “It’s cowardly and it’s just a show of hate and disrespect for others,” Harley told CBC on Saturday outside her home on Poplar Street. Harley said that when she told her neighbors the news, 13 of them decided they would also hang the rainbow flag. He said he made 13 flag orders on Saturday afternoon. “So in a few days, whenever the package arrives, there will be Pride flags up and down the street.” He said he had spoken to a community policeman about what had happened, but had not yet decided to report it. An image taken from surveillance footage outside Jane Harley’s home on June 17, 2022, shows two people running away after tearing down the Pride flag. (Submitted by Jane Harley)
“Hate act”
“It is definitely an act of hatred that we do not like to see in our city,” said Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney, after watching the video. “Someone tears a flag and runs; it’s not funny.” McKenney, who identifies himself as non-binary and uses their / their pronouns, said the arrival of Freedom Convoy earlier this year may have left some people more comfortable committing such acts. Hate messages were found among the crowd, including swastikas and other anti-Semitic images and at least one Confederate flag. The Ottawa Police Department still Launches Hate Crimes Hotline to Investigate Protest-Related Crimes. “We all watched in horror in February [when] hatred symbols entered our city. “We had never seen that before,” McKinney said. “And I think these people have been encouraged. And I think what you’re seeing now is that they feel okay.” While hate speech does not happen in Ottawa on a regular basis, McKenney said it would certainly be “scary” if it happened at home. Somerset Koon. Catherine McKenney, who was spotted here in April, called the incident an “act of hatred.” (Francis Ferland / CBC)
It happened during Pride Month
Friday night’s event marks as many people across Canada celebrate Pride Month – a time to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQ community, while acknowledging its history, the hardships people have endured and the progress that has been made. McKinney said the latest act of hatred was another example of the importance of celebrating the month, adding that “the fight is not over”. “There is a lot of transphobia, homophobia in the world,” they said. “So having Pride, people going out and celebrating really conveys the message that the vast majority of people, you know, accept and love.” For Harley, a heterosexual woman who describes herself as an ally of the LGBTQ community, she said she would continue to fly the rainbow flag in hopes of sending a clear message. “[It’s] let your friends and neighbors know that you support and love them “.
