The Quesnel Pride Society showed its growth over the last year, and voiced continual concerns they have to Quesnel’s City Council.
Quesnel Pride Society’s President, Julia Dillabough, and Vice-President Mikaela Ezowski gave a presentation on the Society’s yearly membership, events, and counselling reports.
The Society does a lot of work within the Quesnel 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. Dillabough showed that the Society has set a new record of memberships with 71 members.
Dillabough says the Society briefly paused memberships in 2024 to rebuild and reorganize programs to make it cheaper for members and more user-friendly to sign up. Dillabough says the Society relies on grants and sponsorships, and the rise in memberships is showing a greater need in the community, and helping the Society get more funding.
Ezowski followed by speaking on the growth in the Society’s monthly Rainbow Nights— Safe space events for the Society’s members, and Queer Communities. Ezowski highlighted that in the last year, the Rainbow Nights’ attendance was in the 20s and low 30s, now the Society says its getting anywhere from 40 to 75 participants per event.
“Kudos to the Society,” says Councillor Laurey–Anne Roodenburg after the meeting. “The work that they have done to make the community part of the community. It’s outstanding, it’s making our community more inclusive and hopefully making people feel safer to come to the community.”
The Pride Society Delegation discussed last year’s Pride Parade and the impact that it has had on the community.
The upcoming Pride 2025 Parade was brought forward next. The delegation was happy to announce a new theme for this year, ANEW You, and that the Society has seen increased sponsorships already invested in the Parade from last year.
Dillabough commented that she sees “some, but not many” of the councillors at the Pride Parade, openly invited and asked Council “that the greater majority” make an appearance.
Mayor Ron Paull said that he would highly consider attending, but he might have prior engagements, going to his birthday party on the same weekend of the Pride Parade.
The Pride Delegation showed a video of a pickup truck “firing up” and making skid marks on the Pride Sidewalk in Quesnel’s downtown square. Dillabough says, “it’s not the first time, it’s not going to be the last either” that these concerns and defamation of support have been shown in Quesnel.
“It’s just hate,” says Dillabough. “These are things the 2SLGBTQIA+ community sees daily, that make others feel unsafe. We are asking the council to look into measures that can be taken so the symbols of support to the Queer community be protected.”
Lastly, the delegation brought forward their own questions to the Council. Primarily, an answer to the question on whether the Council and City of Quesnel Employees have completed any Diversity and Inclusion Training, and whether any has been implemented.
Councillor Roodenburg answered curtly that “no,” there hasn’t been any done or implemented, and there “isn’t really a good excuse why it hasn’t been”, but says it is something the Council needs to address.
“Putting into policy some form of training would be appropriate for us as council,” Roodenburg says. “That starts to show the community that we need to be a part of an all-inclusive community. We do have to take responsibility ourselves to continue with learning.”
The Quesnel Pride Parade is on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
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