A Scarborough church has terminated its more than three-year-old contract with a Toronto sign company over the sign company’s refusal to post « gay-positive » and other messages on the church’s behalf.
St. Paul’s United Church is the latest to be embroiled in a dispute with Archer Mobile Signs Limited.
Windermere United Church in west-end Toronto has launched a human rights complaint against the company over its refusal to post messages, which Archer Mobile Signs owner Steven Thompson said are contrary to his religious beliefs.
Rev. Daniel Benson, the pastor of St. Paul’s United Church, said its contract with Archer Mobile Signs had commenced prior to his arrival at the church more than three years ago.
He said the problems started on June 17, when he sent an e-mail to Thompson requesting some updates to the sign.
« The front of the sign was to say ‘Happy Pride: The rainbow is God’s promise of unconditional love for everyone,' » Benson told CBC Toronto.
« The rear should say ‘Aboriginal Week of Prayer: AkweNia’Tetewáneren. All my relations.' »
But Benson received an email back from Thompson saying they needed to talk, and that he’d like to stay clear.
There’s a lot of hate and bigotry around and I think [we need] to stand up to it.– Rev. Daniel Benson, pastor of St. Paul’s United Church
Benson said Thompson refused to communicate further via e-mail or on the phone and when they eventually met, Thompson would not allow him to record their conversation.
« He basically told me his story about his faith journey and that given where he believed he was and his relationship with God he could not put this content up, » Benson said.
« The rationale seems to be that if we put up something that was gay-positive on the sign it might be vandalized. »
Contract terminated
Benson said even though he stressed that the church is the client and the importance of the message for its ministry in staking its claim of who they are in the community, Thompson would not budge.
He said he eventually took the matter to his board, which was very supportive of the content and authorized him to immediately terminate the contract with Archer Mobile Signs Limited.
Benson said he plans to reach out to Windermere United Church pastor, Rev. Alexa Gilmour, about joining her human rights complaint.
Gilmour said she was forced to take action after Archer Mobile Signs Limited refused to post a message that encouraged people to wish their Muslim neighbours a Ramadan Mubarak [Happy Ramadan] and another that encouraged people to celebrate diversity during Pride Week.
Windermere United Church pastor, Rev. Alexa Gilmour, said she was forced to take action after Archer Mobile Signs refused to post a message, which encouraged people to wish their Muslim neighbours a Ramadan Mubarak [Happy Ramadan] and another that encouraged people to celebrate diversity during Pride Week. (Martin Trainor/CBC)
In the complaint, Gilmour said interfaith dialogue and action is a central part of her faith and ministry, and if Windermere United cannot post the messages they choose then they cannot do the ministry they feel called by God to do.
« I understand that he is allowed to have his own faith even if I disagree with his beliefs. I’m not asking him to change his and embrace mine. I’m asking him not to censor mine, » Gilmour told CBC Toronto.
« We have a right to put a message of faith and put our faith into practice by using that sign and that’s what we’ve been doing for years now and that’s what I was asking to be done going forward. »
Gilmour said the sign was one of the ways Windermere United Church shows its inclusion and welcome of the community, and when that ability was taken away by Archer Mobile Signs she feared that the church’s Muslim neighbours would wonder why they were not included.
« I don’t know how I could post words of inclusion and love one week and then not stand against exclusion and hatred the next, » she said.
Prejudice lurks, fight for justice is real
For Benson, the entire episode shows that it can be quite easy to underestimate where prejudice lurks.
« We make assumptions, particularly in a place like Toronto, that it’s gay-positive, it’s racially positive. It’s easy to make those assumptions and I think we are constantly in a place of having those assumptions tested and challenged on many, many fronts, » he said.
« We tend to think of Toronto as being cosmopolitan, and yet as we know there’s a lot of hate and bigotry around and I think one of the things is to stand up to it. »
He said the fight for justice is still a real one on all sorts of fronts, whether it’s women’s rights, the #MeToo movement, black lives matter, aboriginal rights and reconciliation or LGBT issues.
Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline.
Starburst Visuals and Symbols
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Starburst XXXTreme Features
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The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity.
What We Think About The Game
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In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.
Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.
With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.
Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”
“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.
The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.
When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.
“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”
MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.
MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.
The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.
The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.
Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.
STUDIO SHORTAGE
The film industry is cramped in Montreal.
According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.
With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.
Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »
« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.
She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.
« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.
There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.
« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.
Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.
For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.