Pride Toronto apologizes for racial discrimination

The organization in a statement signed by its board of directors, said that it had received over 1,100 emails as well as heard from above 700 people at its various town hall meets. The statement came after the controversy that followed over its parade in Toronto in July.

"Pride Toronto wants to begin by apologizing emphatically and unreservedly for its role in deepening the divisions in our community, for a history of anti-blackness and repeated marginalization of the marginalized within our community that our organization has continued," it reads.

In July, the Pride parade where Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau also made his appearance, for the first time, was temporarily blocked by a Black Lives Matter Toronto protest. The event resumed after 30 minutes following an agreement by top Pride executives to a list of demands for next year’s festival, including a ban on police floats at the parade.

Following day, after the parade, Mathieu Chantelois, Pride Toronto’s former leader, said the organization never agreed to exclude police from its events. However, they will discuss with the police about their future involvements in the event.

The organization said it was not prepared for the racism that followed its decision to make BLMTO as an “honoured group” at the parade and it “remains committed” to demands by BLMTO, Blackness Yes, Black Queer Youth, among others.

BLMTO wants Pride Toronto to ban police floats and booths from Pride marches, parades and community events.

"Broadly, we heard clearly from the feedback, that Pride Toronto needs be more transparent around our decision-making and better consult with and communicate our direction to our community members," it reads.

Pride Toronto however mentioned it will use its dispute resolution process to regulate the nature of police involvement at future Pride events

"It is our existing decision-making mechanism, which we believe is the best tool to assess the participation of law enforcement agencies in a manner that is objective, transparent and involves the participation of human rights experts," it reads.

The organization further announced it will recruit a new executive director, and at its upcoming annual general meeting, four positions on its board of directors will be open for election.

(Reporting by Debarati Mukherjee)