THUNDER BAY — A town hall of sorts was held with members of the Thunder Pride, Rainbow Collective, and Thunder Bay Police Service.
Members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community had a chance to hear from city police Chief Darcy Fleury and Deputy Chief Ryan Hughes regarding safety, security, and well-being, along with some predetermined questions hosted by Scotia Kauppi and Jason Veltri.
In three large groups, they also continued discussions and made presentations to the panel.
By the end of the evening, the floor was opened for questions and comments.
While the meeting wasn't allowed to be filmed by the media, reporters were allowed to be present and hold interviews at the end of the session.
It can be reported that individuals who took turns with the microphone had an array of feelings when commenting or asking questions of the two high-ranking officers.
Swinging from anger and frustration to offering thanks and gratitude, most people in attendance took the opportunity to address the chief and deputy chief.
In a post-meeting interview with media, Fleury said the police have a lot of work to do.
"We are here, and we are listening. We're looking forward to their feedback and we got a really good sense of what we need to do.
"We have a lot of work to do with this community to ensure that they're feeling safe and that they feel like they can trust the police and come to the police . . . so we have a little bit of work to do. I think that's the biggest takeaway, is just more and more meetings like these have to happen."
Kauppi, the chair of Thunder Pride and a co-moderator of the event, did have some concerns over a lack of education surrounding the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
"There's also a concern that when we're reported we're not heard, that we're not taken seriously being part of our community.
"The community hasn't really had a chance to be heard, and the police haven't really had the chance to listen with open ears yet."
Chair of Rainbow Collective, Jason Veltri, echoed Kauppi's sentiments.
"A lot of people don't feel safe. We're hearing that across the board - bomb threats, death threats, all of it. It's really hard right now.
"So, I think tonight was the first step in a journey of conversation, listening and learning."
Fleury said he'll be looking at getting a diversity committee established "and start getting some really good input as to some of our programs and our policies.
"This isn't going to be a sprint, but we've got a lot of work to do. This is going to be a long haul."
