Toronto councillor wants Pride parade grant axed after event bans police floats
TORONTO — Amid mounting controversy over police participation in pride events across the country, a Toronto city councillor is calling for a municipal donation to Canada’s largest Pride parade to be cut after the event banned police floats from future festivities.
Coun. John Campbell said about half a dozen councillors so far agree that Pride Toronto’s annual grant request, expected in April, should be voted down until the city’s Pride parade returns to its “core principals of equity and inclusivity.”
“It doesn’t sit right with me and with other councillors that we issue this grant in view of the position that they’ve taken with respect to the police force,” he said Tuesday. “We need a certain level of equity and inclusivity attached to the issuance of grants for organizations.”
In an unexpected move at its annual general meeting in January, Pride Toronto adopted a list of demands issued by the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter, including banning police floats from the parade.