The day after the City of Toronto launched Pride Month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed that he will not be attending this year’s Pride Parade.
In a statement, the premier said that his attendance at the parade is contingent on whether or not uniformed police officers were allowed to march.
“Premier Ford has always said he will attend Toronto’s Pride Parade when our front-line police officers are allowed to participate in uniform,” a spokesperson for the Premier’s Office said in a statement issued on Monday.
“He wishes all the organizers of Pride Toronto all the best for a successful month and festival weekend.”
In January, Pride Toronto’s membership voted to exclude uniformed officers from the parade for the third year in a row.
While discussions took place last year about lifting the ban, the ongoing tensions between the LGBTQ community and the Toronto Police Services over the handling of the Bruce McArthur investigation and missing persons investigations in the city’s gay village have put a halt to the progress.
Pride Toronto executive director Olivia Nuamah previously told CP24 that uniformed officers will not be allowed to participate in the parade without full support from their membership.
“Right now that membership, while divided, have landed on the side of needing to see more done and needing to experience, more positive outcomes from the police service before they can fully participate in Pride events,” Nuamah said.
Ford has always been non-committal towards his participation in Pride Parade, saying in June that he will make the decision once he is elected as premier.
The parade is scheduled to take place on June 23.
