Barbada, the stage name of Sébastien Potvin, has been reading heartwarming stories to children across Quebec for about five years — stories that send the message that it’s okay to be different. He said this is the first time in Quebec that a paid-to-perform event has been canceled in this way. “Everything was perfect. We had signed the contract,” Barbada said. She has since been told the event, which included two readings, was canceled after the programming went to the city council for approval. “It went very, very quickly last week, and I really wish I would have been informed and could have prevented this whole thing.” He said he would have been happy to have presented story time for the council if needed, reading stories such as Gemma Merino’s The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water. The story is about a crocodile who is afraid of water but is enticed to swim. Finally, the crocodile tries one last time to swim, nearly drowns, later sneezes and breathes fire — discovering he may not be a crocodile after all. “It’s about feeling different, not really understanding why you’re different, but eventually finding your true self and realizing that it’s okay to be different,” Barbada said. The event is aimed at young children and doesn’t contain any of the adult-oriented humor you’d expect from a late-night drag queen show for adults, Barbada said. Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa says Saint-Laurent welcomes diversity, but the municipality wants more details on Barbada’s show before giving it the go-ahead. (Jean-Claude Taliana/CBC) Saint-Laurent Township Mayor Alan DeSousa said his township has great cultural diversity, a place where everyone lives together peacefully. “We are mainly concerned about the topics that will be discussed,” he said at the Barbada storytime event. DeSousa said he and other elected officials will meet with Barbada to ask about the content of her show. Those issues could be sensitive, said DeSousa, a member of Montreal’s opposition party, Ensemble Montréal.
No word from the council, Barbada says
Barbada said she hasn’t heard from anyone from the township offering to discuss the matter. “I’m really surprised it’s happening now,” she said. “I have a children’s TV show. I’m a music teacher.” Having performed as a drag queen for 17 years, she organizes conventions, family shows and other events for the general public and said she hasn’t faced this kind of pushback before. While surprising, he said, it is an isolated incident. He said he received an outpouring of support online, and three new events were quickly booked, soon after local media reported on Saint-Laurent’s sudden about-face. The event in Saint-Laurent was scheduled for early November, so Barbada hopes once officials there see the ruckus she’s created, they’ll change their minds and let the storytime go ahead as planned. There will always be a place for drag queens in our libraries and spaces. With their presence and their art, they contribute to making Montreal a more open, fair and inclusive city. 🏳️🌈#polmtl & mdash; alVal_Plant Other Montreal libraries, including the Grand Library, are still on the Barbados agenda, and Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said on Twitter Wednesday that “there will always be room for drag queens in our libraries and spaces.” “With their presence and their art, they help make Montreal a more open, fair and inclusive city,” said Plante.
Dorval’s performance was hit with complaints
The cancellation of the event comes after the town of Dorval on Montreal’s West Island received a wave of complaints in early June after it announced its library was hosting a story hour with Barbada. “We received hate mail. We received threats. Say it – we received it,” said Sébastien Gauthier, a spokesman for Dorval. Family transportation events across Canada, many hosted by public libraries, have been the target of hate comments and threats during Pride month, prompting multiple police investigations and new concerns about the safety of the LGBTQ community. Drag Story Hour events are popular at many libraries around the country and usually feature a performer reading drag books for children about inclusivity. The events have caused little controversy in the past, but amid a surge in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies in the United States, the all-ages attraction events have become flashpoints of outrage here in Canada. More than half a dozen libraries from St. John’s to Victoria, and the drag performers scheduled to perform at those venues, have reported being inundated online and by phone with homophobic slurs and, in some cases, threats of violence. Canceling her show, Barbada said, is a reminder that Canada is affected by what’s happening in the U.S. “We are not immune to all this negativity and hate.”
