STATEMENT
On December 17, 2024, Borderland Pride made the following statement:
"Yesterday it was brought to our attention that Paul Fromm, a prominent Canadian neo-Nazi and white nationalist, was planning to organizing a protest of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in support of Mayor Harold McQuaker and Emo's municipal council. Fromm's social media post indicates that his organization, Canadian Association for Free Expression (CAFE), would be protesting at the Tribunal's Toronto office.
"We have no information as to whether that rally is going ahead, but obviously, protesting a court or tribunal for applying the law is inappropriate.
"What should shock the public is that this is the type of support that Mayor McQuaker and his council are generating. While Borderland Pride and the queer community have been repeatedly and falsely smeared as 'fascists' by the municipality's supporters since November 20, it is the Township of Emo that has earned the endorsement of actual neo-Nazis and white nationalists.
"This is happening at the same time that Emo's mayor and council have declined, for over 2 weeks, to condemn the ongoing threats of violence, death threats, antisemitism, and homophobic and transphobic hate and abuse that has been targeting Borderland Pride and its chief volunteers since November 20. Several of those threats have resulted in police investigations.
"This council's actions continue to reflect a complete abdication of municipal leadership, a failure to promote community safety and respect for law and legal institutions, and a blatant disrespect for taxpayers, who remain in the dark about how many hundreds of thousands of dollars of their money was used to defend a homophobic and discriminatory decision of council.
"Mayor McQuaker and the municipal CAO are required to complete their Tribunal-ordered human rights training by this Friday. Should they refuse to do so they can be found in contempt of the Tribunal's order. We invite them to respect the Tribunal's order, learn from their mistakes, and move forward."
For more information, please contact:
Douglas W. Judson (he/him)
Director/Co-Chair
Email: borderlandpride@gmail.com