A Foothills Pride group is speaking out after a recent escalation of anti-LGBTQ+ crimes.
High River Pride has reported three incidents at three separate residences in town, all of which were displaying Pride flags, over the last few weeks
Founder of High River Pride, Halle Minkler, says one of these homes had been targeted before.
"In May, Paula had her original Pride flag ripped down, and while she had a guest staying with her, someone tried to break into her home. Since then, she's put a beautiful new Pride flag up, and in late September, someone in the middle of the night came and smashed her front window with what we assume is a hammer, because there's no rock left behind or anything like that."
Another resident reported that someone recently attempted to break their front window, and an incident on October 10, which was captured by a security camera, saw someone smash the back window of a car parked at a home.
While these incidents have escalated in the last few weeks, they're nothing new, as High River's new Pride crosswalk was vandalized within hours of being painted, and Okotoks' Pride crosswalk has been defaced twice in the last two years.
Minkler and High River Pride point to rhetoric and policies from the UCP government as the catalyst for the uptick in these incidents.
"Honestly, what we're thinking is Premier Smith's new policies against transgender youth... High River is her home, so for us, it doesn't take too long to connect the dots as far as this person being the one encouraging this sort of bigoted political ideology. This is where she lives and this is where these hate crimes are starting to escalate.
"I'd say it's the political climate that's been empowering these individuals to be more bold with these acts of violence."
Minkler is referring to legislation announced by the Government of Alberta in early 2024 that would require parents to be notified if their child starts using a name or pronouns other than the ones they were assigned at birth, while restricting access to gender-affirming care for youths.
It's set to take effect within a month.
The legislation saw immediate backlash from educators and Pride organizations, among others, who expressed concern over the well-being of students who may now feel the need to suppress their identities and could be denied access to the healthcare they need.
More recently, the UCP government faced backlash for voting MLA Jennifer Johnson into its caucus.
In 2023, Johnson was elected as the MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka but was forced to sit as an independent due to backlash over comments she made the year prior regarding trans youth. Johnson referred to a hoax alleging that litter boxes were being provided in school bathrooms for students who "identify as cats," and likened the presence of trans acceptance in schools to a "teaspoon of poop in the cookie batch."
Johnson was welcomed into the UCP caucus on October 9, with a statement from the party referencing meetings between Johnson and representatives from the LGBTQ+ community, stating that Johnson "engaged on topics of importance to the community and is committed to continuing that work as a member of the government caucus."
The move was met with widespread criticism, particularly in light of a joint statement from several Pride groups highlighting their dissatisfaction after a video call with Johnson.
For Minkler, Johnson's prior comments are an example of how widespread misinformation about LGBTQ+ issues is, and her acceptance into the UCP caucus demonstrates a lack of regard for the issues the community faces.
The UCP's members will consider more policies surrounding LGBTQ+ individuals at their upcoming AGM, including one policy resolution that would reclassify gender-affirming care as "cosmetic surgery," and another that would prohibit non-binary gender identifiers on government documents.
These recent hate-motivated incidents, says Minkler, are a result of hateful individuals feeling emboldened by the provincial government's actions surrounding LGBTQ+ people.
"We can't help but think it's not a coincidence that these kinds of harmful policies are starting to reflect in our communities. It's not just happening on paper... It's causing our community members to not feel safe in their own homes. It's just important to raise awareness that the political climate has an impact on people's everyday lives, especially kids."
"Some of these folks that experience these attacks have young families. If these policies are supposed to be protecting the children, it's honestly, from what we've seen, just putting them at higher risk."
The United Conservative Party website lists several actions the party has taken to foster inclusivity, including recognizing the Transgender Day of Remembrance and Pride Month.
According to Statistics Canada, hate crimes have been rising steadily in the last few years in Canada, with a 69 per cent increase in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2023 compared to the year prior.