The Arden Theatre in St. Albert is facing calls from locals to re-examine its rental policies after a nearly sold-out event on Dec. 15 featuring Artur Pawlowski, a Calgary-based preacher who has repeatedly spread homophobic messages and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
St. Albert resident Dr. Kristopher Wells, a professor at MacEwan University who serves as a Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Issues, told the Gazette he was extremely disappointed to see Pawlowski given the opportunity to speak at the publicly funded theatre.
"Especially with the featured speaker having a long reputation of targeting the 2SLGBTQ+ community with hateful rhetoric," Wells said. "Clearly, the city's and The Arden's rental facility policies, public use policies, need to be examined."
Pawlowski, leader of the provincial Independence Party, has made headlines in recent years through multiple charges and convictions for refusing to follow public-health orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his arrest in February at the Coutts border blockade, where he was charged under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.
The Lethbridge Herald reported in June that Pawlowski will stand trial for the Coutts charges in February 2023 and is on probation until then.
Pawlowski's appearance at the Arden Theatre was for a speaking event also featuring former NHL player Theo Fleury and former Olympic figure skater Jamie Sale.
Fleury, Sale, and unsuccessful Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Joseph Bourgault recently formed a non-profit organization called "Canadians for Truth," through which the three plan to produce media content, according to their website.
Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pawlowski was known for leading Calgary's "Street Church." In 2014, Pawlowski organized a "March for Jesus" in Calgary, which received significant media coverage as Street Church blamed the 2013 southern Alberta floods on "the perversions of homosexuality."
As well, another church Pawlowski led called "Kings Glory Fellowship" lost its charitable status through the Canadian Revenue Agency in 2010 for spending more than 10 per cent of its time advocating on political issues, which were defined as homosexuality and abortion, according to a National Post article published at the time.
City says policy was followed
In a statement provided on Dec. 14, the city said "the Arden Theatre, which is operated by the City of St. Albert, is a public venue that provides private groups with the opportunity to book the space for private events."
"The viewpoints of a private renter do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the City of St. Albert; nor does the facility rental constitute an endorsement of the renter’s viewpoints," the statement reads.
"The City of St. Albert is committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive community, where diversity is respected."
For Wells, the city's statement holds no value.
"Those are meaningless comments that ignore the harm that platforming these kinds of messages does to members of the community," Wells said, adding, "I think it's the city not accepting the responsibility and in fact, I don't accept those statements or those arguments."
"We have a rainbow crosswalk right in front of that building that was supposed to represent the values of our community, and here you have the exact antithesis to that being hosted."
Wells added that he'd like to see a formal apology from the city, and all proceeds the Arden made from the event through ticket sales and rental fees be donated to a local 2SLGBTQ+ organization, such as Outloud.
"Freedom of speech is not unlimited in Canada, and there are reasonable limitations placed on that. Many facilities have public-use agreements that reflect community standards," Wells said.
Similarly to Wells, St. Albert's MLA, Marie Renaud, was also disappointed to see Pawlowski given a platform at the Arden Theatre.
"I'm just deeply disappointed that the Arden Theatre would give space to that kind of hateful demonstration against the 2SLGBTQ+ community," Renaud said. "I have no doubt that the city of St. Albert will work with the Arden to look at their policies and I have no doubt that they will take steps to address this."
"Although [the city's] statement might not say what exactly what the community was looking for, I do still feel confident that going forward, there'll be some positive change," said Renaud.
The Gazette asked the city if Pawlowski's history was known prior to a rental agreement being accepted but didn't receive an answer. Further, the city also did not respond to the Gazette asking if the Arden Theatre has any policy in place to screen potential renters.
Mayor Cathy Heron declined to comment.
"Middle of tyranny"
At the Dec. 15 event, which The Gazette attended, Pawlowski told the crowd "we are in the middle of tyranny," comparing COVID-19 public health measures to his childhood in Poland under a communist government.
Pawlowski also said he calls Canada "Chinada" because of the fines and charges he has faced for breaching pandemic-related health measures.
Other topics Pawlowski spoke about included the convoy protests, the Independence Party, his experience in jail, the UCP government, and Christianity.
Kurt Phillips, a board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a non-profit comprising lawyers, journalists, and academics who monitor and research hate movements, told the Gazette that Pawlowski became a "growing concern" for him in 2017 as a speaker at an event in Calgary organized by a hate group called Worldwide Coalition Against Islam.
Since 2017, Phillips said, Pawlowski has been "really good at latching on to the issue of the day to increase his notoriety."
"He uses his reputation as a pastor to motivate people," Phillips said. "He ramps up the rhetoric and gets people really riled up, and when you get people even angrier, particularly when they're being angry at things that aren't even necessarily true ... and you have a person who assumes the position of authority and respect, a pastor, then people take that much more seriously and they believe it."
As an example, Phillips pointed to the charges laid against Pawlowski at the Coutts border blockade.
At Pawlowski's Feb. 9 bail hearing, CBC reported the court heard soon after protesters agreed to end the blockade and head to Edmonton, Pawlowski gave a 20-minute speech encouraging them not to leave.
"For freedom to be preserved, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives," Pawlowski told the demonstrators.
"If this is our Alamo, then so be it."
Phillips said it was "very troubling" to see Pawlowski given a platform at a publicly funded theatre like the Arden.
"There are people who say, 'Well, you know, even though we don't agree with them, they should have the right to say what they want and that we shouldn't deny them a platform for doing so,' (but) you don't have to give every person a platform for their position," Phillips said.
Phillips said, in his opinion, "when you're giving that kind of person a platform and a really public space, you're tacitly endorsing what they believe, whether you do or not."
"I think it's really dangerous to give this kind of individual a platform because he just uses this to enhance and increase his influence."
