Authors' note: While we did not expect our first real blog post to be so political in nature, especially as we are still in the early stages of launching our new platform and find ourselves with an unfinished product now on public display, we could not stay silent in the face of an issue that impacts us so deeply. As we are new to this specific platform, we ask for grace and understanding that, while this was the easiest and most accessible way to get our message out, the website and blog themselves are a work in progress. We thank you for taking the time to read our thoughts. Toni and Zita

To the organizers of the Edmonton Pride Festival and the 2025 Pride Parade,

UPDATE: Within minutes of this post, organizers from the Edmonton Pride Festival reached out to us via phone call. We believe the conversation was productive and remain in communication regarding next steps.

We are writing to express our deep concern with the recent social media post issued by Edmonton Pride Festival in response to the public demands of RARICANOW, under the leadership of Adebayo Katiti. We write this in our capacity as concerned individuals, business owners, non-profit directors, community organizers, social advocates, and members of the Trans and Queer community.

To contextualize this letter, we want to first state that, while we support the demands of Raricanow, we are not involved in its organization in any capacity and are limited in our understanding of the events that took place prior to their public demand letter. The only information made available to us is what has been made public, and our response reflects the impressions left on us, our first-person accounts as external observers of a public disagreement that impacts us. We have not been in direct contact with any of the impacted individuals regarding this letter and do not speak on anyone’s behalf except our own.

That being said, we share RARICANOW's reservations that the current events of Pride Festival Edmonton do not adequately center the urgent sociopolitical climate that the 2SLGBTQIA+ community faces, nor do they adequately speak to the issues of power and privilege that pervade our society. We believe that Pride can and should be celebratory. But first and foremost, it is a call to action: a public act of resistance and a collective demand for social and political change.

We further believe that the most urgent work lies in dismantling the ongoing systems of oppression that impact QTBIPOC communities, as well as the broader Two-Spirit, Transgender, Intersex, and gender-expansive adults and children who continue to face systemic harm and erasure, particularly in Alberta. It is impossible to feel celebratory in the face of political and social warfare.

This letter is not intended to challenge the Edmonton Pride Festival’s desire to represent the broader needs of the community, nor diminish the good work that the organization has done in the past. While we recognize the many positive community benefits Edmonton Pride Festival has had, we believe that the way in which it responded to RARICANOW's demands and highlighted its past involvement was nonetheless egregious and harmful, not only to RARICNOW and its organizers, but to the community as a whole. This letter is specifically intended to address the “how” and "what" of Edmonton Pride Festival's response, not the “why”.

We take particular issue with the out-of-context use of personal images, an act that appears intentionally designed to distract from the concerns being raised by suggesting a false equivalency: that volunteering, performing for, or receiving a grant from an organization somehow disqualifies someone from publicly or privately questioning its future direction.

Past involvement or support does not negate an individual’s right to express valid concerns about an organization’s current or future actions. On the contrary, those who have contributed to a community often do so out of care—and that care includes holding institutions accountable when harm is being caused.

To suggest otherwise is to undermine the principle that accountability and constructive critique are essential components of a healthy, evolving community. Participation in or support from an organization should never be weaponized to silence dissent or invalidate the lived experiences and perspectives of those speaking out.

This tactic is not only deeply harmful to the public reputations of the individuals involved but also a violation of their rights and dignity. We challenge the notion that photo release waivers, as governed by the Personal Information Protection Act. , permit the misuse or misrepresentation of images in this context. Section 7(1) of PIPA states that: An organization may collect, use or disclose personal information only for purposes that are reasonable, and only to the extent that is reasonable for meeting those purposes.

While the post may be thinly veiled and the organization might argue that consent for image distribution was provided, its intent is unmistakable: to name and shame those raising concerns by falsely implying that their past involvement invalidates their present calls for accountability and change. These actions violate the principles of reasonable use and set a dangerous precedent, undermining the very principles of transparency, consent, and respectful dialogue. While the choices may not be clearly illegal, they are undeniably ethically and morally questionable, a choice that compels us to question the intentions of the organization as a whole.

Moreover, this approach causes harm beyond the individuals targeted; it erodes trust across the broader community. Actions like this risk discouraging future volunteers, performers, and grant applicants from engaging, not only with Pride Festival events, but with any organization connected to this work. When participation is weaponized to silence or discredit, it sends a chilling message that honest feedback and critical engagement come at the cost of public shaming. This undermines the very foundation of community-building and accountability that our movements are meant to uphold.

Having had the privilege of working alongside organizers from a range of community organizations, including RARICANOW, and having participated in the protests that led to the interruption and eventual cancellation of past marches due to the blatant disregard for the safety of the very communities they claimed to represent, we stand with RARICANOW in our belief that efforts were made to address these concerns privately before taking them public.

We also acknowledge the inherent difficulty of community organizing—where conflicting needs and interests often create tension, and where it is nearly impossible to satisfy everyone. However, we want to make one thing unequivocally clear:

Centering the most marginalized members of our community does not, in any way, erase or invalidate the experiences of those who hold more privilege within it. To suggest otherwise echoes the very rhetoric often used to undermine the need for Pride itself: claiming that prioritizing justice for the most oppressed somehow diminishes justice from others.

On the contrary, a truly inclusive movement recognizes that equity is not subtraction; it is addition. It is the work of expanding space, not reallocating it at the expense of others. Human rights can not be treated as a limited resource available only to some, and conditional on conformity and acquiescence.

We call on the Edmonton Pride Festival to issue an immediate apology for the misuse and misrepresentation of its performers, volunteers, and grant recipients who have been directly harmed, and to the broader 2SLGBTQIA+ community that has been collaterally impacted.

We further call on Edmonton Pride Festival to engage in a transparent, third-party community consultation process to explore the issues raised by RARICANOW and ensure that its actions align with the desires of those it claims to represent. As a non-profit organization, this is your legal and ethical responsibility, and it is our sincere hope that you will take accountability for the power and privilege your organization holds in this dialogue.

Zita Dube-Lockhart (she/they) and Toni Harris (they/them)

Co-Owners of Action Potential Fitness, Co-Founders of the Centre for Trauma Informed Fitness