To Mayor Fred Eisenberger, Hamilton City Councillors, and Hamilton Police Chief Eric Girt:
We, the undersigned, are trans and gender-diverse residents of Hamilton. We voted for you, we live in your city,
we work in your city. We belong here, the same as anyone else, no matter who they may be. Recent events in
the city have left us feeling unwanted and unwelcome by you as our elected and chosen leadership. Collectively,
we are angry, frustrated, and hurt by your choices of action, including your choice of inaction.
The flashpoint for our anger is, of course, the violence at Hamilton Pride 2019. We are angered not only by the
alt-right bigots trying to attack our celebration; we are angered more by Hamilton Police’s decision not to
defend our vulnerable trans and queer population from these attacks. You were given advance notice as to
when and where the alt-right Pride protest would be taking place; you did not listen. When violence occurred,
when we and our allies were being beaten, you stood aside and watched. You only moved in when we dared to
defend ourselves and fight back, and you escorted the alt-right protestors out of Gage Park. Hamilton Police
cared more about protecting the rights of bigoted, hateful speech by the alt-right than it cared about
protecting the bodies and lives of trans and queer people peacefully celebrating. If not for the actions by trans
and queer people and our allies, there would have been nothing holding back the alt-right from invading the
actual premises of the Pride event and committing further violence. As it stands, the bigots tried to attack
several members of our community (including children and youths) leaving Pride. You chose to let them go free.
You did not defend us or our rights as Hamilton residents.
Do not forget either that the current status of Pride is due to your cowardice. You have failed to confront the altright groups mobilizing in Hamilton; you have let them publicly demonstrate on City of Hamilton property for
over two years. During this time, neither the city, nor its leadership, nor Hamilton Police, have taken any effort
to stop these alt-right groups from fraternizing, or demonstrating in public spaces. Their demagoguery is hateful
and hurtful. It is not Charter-protected speech, and by allowing it to continue you have failed us as residents of
Hamilton once again. Hamilton Pride no longer includes a march because you have given the space to the altright protestors instead. We are unwilling to appear tolerant of their hate in any way or form, and we cannot
march to celebrate our identities in front of a background of bigotry.
These events are just the most recent in your demonstrated unwillingness to make Hamilton a safe space for us
as trans residents. Your administration lost a Human Rights Tribunal case when you tried to ban a trans woman
from using her chosen washroom on city property; as part of the settlement, you agreed to write and publish a
new non-discrimination policy against trans and gender diverse residents. Years later, that policy is still delayed
and inadequate: you have shown that you do not care about our rights as residents of Hamilton. Instead, you
have employed and kept employed Marc Lemire, a publicly admitted Neo-Nazi; when his employment was
discovered the city began an “investigation.” If being publicly hateful towards marginalized, oppressed peoples
in Hamilton is not grounds for immediate dismissal, what is? We told you that we were uncomfortable flying
the queer and trans Pride flags at City Hall while Lemire was still employed. You disregarded our wishes as a
community and held a flag raising anyway, disgracing the power and symbolism of our Pride flags and creating
hollow, fake, performative allyship for yourselves.
When your own LGBTQ advisory committee members spoke up about your hurtful actions, you tried to dismiss
them to avoid any criticism. When that same committee held a public meeting to discuss your shameful
treatment of queer residents in Hamilton, you attended in full police uniform and attempted to intimidate the
speakers. You complained that you were denied a recruiting booth at Hamilton Pride, and insinuated that your
own officers did not defend us because you felt hurt by that denial. We refuse your privilege and attempts to
claim our spaces. You do not decide who is allowed to have a booth at Pride; the queer and trans community of

 Hamilton does. That same community attempted to create a dialogue with you and come to an agreement
about police participation in Pride, but you refused to participate. No matter how much your feelings might be
hurt, you have a responsibility to defend and protect the residents of Hamilton. You failed us. You did not do
your job, and your petulance is no excuse.
As a result of Hamilton Police actions, Cedar Hopperton, a member of Hamilton’s trans community, was
incarcerated in a Milton prison for approximately a month. She was incarcerated because she spoke up against
your inaction, because she called Hamilton Police out for not protecting trans and queer people against
violence. The role and responsibility of the police in Canadian society is to protect and defend people in Canada
against violence and aggression. Instead of protecting trans people, you have arrested queer community
members trying to defend us against bigoted violence; you have used your institutions as tools to commit more
bigoted violence and to criminalize our dissent.
Mayor Eisenberger, you have repeatedly attacked and derided the members of our community as “fake queers.”
You have singled out anarchists and activists as not belonging to the queer and trans communities in Hamilton.
You are wrong. You do not decide who belongs to our communities; we do. Anarchists and activists are the
lifeblood of the trans community in Hamilton, and they have dedicated their lives to defending and advocating
for us for much longer and much more effectively than you have. Instead, Mayor Eisenberger, you have refused
to listen to the trans community (especially trans women), and have surrounded yourself in private meetings
with trusted advisors. We see you. We see your refusal to address us squarely. We know you haven’t ever
attended Hamilton Pride. And we see that the anarchists and the activists are the real defenders of the trans
community in Hamilton, the real people working to keep us safe. We reject your politics, and return to
solidarity with our siblings. We speak on behalf of our entire community, as your policies have made many of us
feel unsafe and unable to speak up for ourselves publicly.
As residents of Hamilton, we demand the following actions be immediately taken as a starting point in order to
make Hamilton safe once again for trans and gender-diverse people:
●

●
●

●
●

Incarceration is inhumane and we demand the immediate withdrawal of all charges against and release
from custody for the trans and queer community defenders you have arrested. Conversely, Hamilton
Police Services needs to begin pressing charges against the alt-right combatants at Hamilton Pride,
towards rehabilitation and meaningful change, not traumatic incarceration.
An independent arms-length investigation must be made into Hamilton Police Services’ actions
regarding Hamilton Pride 2019, the alt-right demonstrations at City Hall, and related events.
The City of Hamilton must take action to prevent alt-right protestors on city property, and needs to
develop a strategy to stop such hateful groups from existing in our city. This strategy must not be used
to criminalize or repress trans and queer communities and activists within Hamilton.
The City must release and commit to its non-discrimination policy against trans and gender diverse
residents.
Mayor Eisenberger and Police Chief Girt, we have no faith in your ability to lead our community out of
this trauma. You both need to immediately resign in order for us to move on.

The trans community is done with your lack of leadership. We need better.

 Signed By:

Autumn Black

Erika Muse

Mara Elena

Autumn Getty

Aleisha C.

Will Rowe

Abra Bergen

Dakota Lanktree

Luna Jasz

Alexis Hennen

Hope DiPietro

Chris Night

Frances Spires

Noël

Jacob Rushton

Calvin P.

Elia Hamelin

Kaiden P

JM

Ben B.

Phoenix Friesen

Bridget Liang

Bronwnyn Friesen

Jessica Reardon Smith

Steacy Easton

Rosa Hernández

AG

Rebecca Lester

Sean Cullen

James Diemert

Ally Ray-Borsc

Allison F

Rebekah Clayton

Luisa Caruso

Jen Price

N.M.

Haley Reap

Gabe B.

Paige McAleney

Scarlett Gillespie

Rachelle Olivia Elizabeth Hill

Falen Michael Savage

Rosalyn Forrester