Councillor Campbell to ask council to withhold grant from Pride
Councillor John Campbell says Pride is not living up to a goal of inclusivity if police officers can’t march in uniform in its parade.

TheStar.com
May 23, 2017
David Rider

A Toronto councillor plans to ask colleagues to “suspend” a $260,000-grant for Pride Toronto’s annual parade, despite pleas for time to find consensus in a dispute over police participation.

Councillor John Campbell said Monday he will ask council this week to withhold the grant unless Pride “reaffirms its core value of inclusivity” by scrapping a request that officers who march not wear their uniforms, carry weapons or use police vehicles.

Pride made the request in January in response to demands from Black Lives Matter Toronto, which stopped the 2016 parade for about a half-hour accusing festival organizers of “anti-blackness,” and, in the past clashing with police and city hall over issues including carding.

Campbell is lobbying potentially likeminded councillors to back him and figures at least 15 will do so. He would need a majority — 23 if all 45 council members are present — to amend a cultural grants item that will be debated at the council meeting starting Wednesday.

“Whether the officers are straight or gay, the parade is a lot about being proud about your identity and what Pride has done is tell police officers to deny their identity,” Campbell (Ward 4 Etobicoke Centre) told the Star.

“They can make any political statement that they want, but as soon as they come to the City of Toronto looking for money, they’re . . . (going) to be held up to scrutiny.”

The Pride cultural grant is among 10 totaling $7,914,695 recommended by city staff. Others include $1.6 million for the Canadian Opera Company and $684,000 for the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Asked why those grants don’t get as much scrutiny as Pride’s, Campbell replied: “Imagine if the Art Gallery of Ontario was bent on displaying art work from (Holocaust denier) Ernst Zundel or (schoolgirl killer) Paul Bernardo. You don’t think we’d have a say about that?”

When told those hypothetical examples seem different than asking officers to march in street clothes, Campbell said: “You asked for an example of where we might hold another cultural institution up for scrutiny . . . (but) I really prefer to deal with just this (Pride) issue.”

Asked about Campbell’s efforts to suspend city funding for the June 25 parade, Pride communications manager Ryan Connelly said: “We are not offering comment on this at this time.”

Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto’s only openly gay councillor, said she failed in a Tuesday meeting with Campbell to convince him to abandon his “destructive” defunding campaign, or to see why some gay and trans people fear police and aren’t comfortable with them at Pride.

“He doesn’t understand the wide and broad diversity within the LGBTQ communities,” she said.

Mayor John Tory told reporters he wants to see police march in the parade as soon as possible. However, he is heeding advice from Police Chief Mark Saunders and Pride executive director Olivia Nuamah to let them continue discussions in hopes of finding a consensus.

The Toronto Police Association has strongly criticized Pride’s decision, as have LGBTQ officers. They have welcomed an invitation from New York’s Gay Officers Action League to march, in uniform, with its members at that city’s parade which also falls on June 25.

Speaking after Tuesday’s Toronto police board meeting, Saunders said his officers will not wear their uniforms if they attend the parade.

“My officers won’t be in uniform. They can go to the Pride festival if they want to and I hope that they would, but just the uniform won’t be worn.”

Saunders said he supported officers who are interested in marching in New York, saying there is a “brotherhood and sisterhood” in policing.

Brian Downey, president of GOAL, said his group is not disputing that Black Lives Matter Toronto might have legitimate points, or that there are divides between gay communities and criminal justice institutions.

“We believe LGBTQ officers should be celebrated because they are bringing their unique circumstances and struggles, and they are trying to change these institutions from within,” the NYPD detective said in an interview.