Pride Toronto asks, “Should we wait?”

Pride Toronto (PT) wants queers to weigh in on whether to postpone the AGM until after its community consultations are completed.

In June, PT agreed to begin a community consultation process — with the help of Metropolitan Community Church pastor Brent Hawkes and others — in order to get a sense of queer and trans priorities for the festival. It was also designed to help heal the rift caused by PT’s decision to ban the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, a decision that threatened to derail festivities until it was retracted at the 11th hour.

Some have argued (including me) that the community consultations could represent a dodge on accountability at the AGM, with PT leaders directing concerns to the consultation committee, rather than dealing with them directly.

On Sept 10, Pride Toronto posted the following note on its Facebook page:

Having read the latest Xtra editorial, which
states: “Meanwhile, after hearing loud and clear that the AGM should be
postponed until the consultations are finished, PT turned a deaf ear,”
Pride Toronto would like to know if the community would prefer it to
postpone the AGM to a later date, after the results from the
consultations are received. Kindly respond via this forum or by
emailing office@pridetoronto.com.

Marcus McCann

Marcus McCann is an employment and human rights lawyer, member of Queers Crash the Beat, and a part owner of Glad Day Bookshop. Before becoming a lawyer, he was the managing editor of Xtra in Toronto and Ottawa.

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