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Members of Canadian Forces Base Edmonton and their families made history on Friday, marching in the first Pride parade to take place on a Canadian military base.
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Acceptance and love were celebrated in an emotional ceremony, where the Pride flag was raised, followed by a parade of military members and their loved ones through the base, with military police vehicles, tanks and trucks decked out in Pride memorabilia.
Master Sailor Antoine Lavoie, co-chair of the Defense Team Pride Advisory Organization (DTPAO), said Friday was an important day, that showed the LGBTQ2S+ community is supported.
“Knowing that we can be here and there’s not this binary and we can be who we are and serve, that means the world,” said Lavoie.
Maj. John McDougall, champion for the DTPAO, said he has now been a part of “three firsts.” He marched in the first Pride parade in Toronto that allowed military members, and he raised the first Pride flag on the base in 2013.
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“Today, I cannot define how I feel,” he said. “The support, the respect, the inclusion, everybody wanting to join this, we can put out policy, but we can’t make people be inclusive. And these people are here because they chose to be part of our family, part of our queer community.”
McDougall was arrested by the military police and RCMP in the early ’90s when it was still illegal to be gay in the military.
“I used to have to put on two uniforms. I’d put on my military uniform, and then I’d put on the ‘straight John’ uniform,” he said.
“Now I get to wear just one uniform, a uniform that says we’re inclusive, we’re welcoming, we want this to be a safe place for anybody who wants to be part of the Canadian Armed Forces. It’s a sign of relief. My shoulders are lighter. It feels amazing.”
Col. Rob McBride, commander of the 3rd Canadian Division Support Group, said Friday was a historic day.
“I’ve been in the military now for 29 years, and I can say during that 29 years, we’ve come leaps and bounds ahead of where we were,” he said. “The inclusivity now, the strength that inclusivity brings to the defense team is truly phenomenal.”
Lavoie added that it felt surreal he could march in a Pride parade on the base while in uniform.
“I was welcomed, and everything went so flawlessly, and the support was tremendous,” he said.