In an April 12 report to the executive committee of Toronto city council, city manager Joseph Pannachetti wrote, “City staff have determined that the phrase ‘Israeli apartheid’ in and of itself does not violate the City’s Anti-discrimination policy.”
Read the report for yourself below and check out Hate speech rhetoric threatens Pride Toronto.
The long-awaited report comes in the wake of a July 7, 2010, motion before Toronto city council. The motion, originally intended to claw back city money from Pride Toronto for not kicking the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QUAIA) out of the 2010 Pride parade, was put forward by Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti.
Mammoliti’s motion passed but was heavily amended prior to the vote. Read all about it here.
Pennachetti’s report puts to rest an almost two-year saga of political hot-potato passing and deflection on the part of city officials, compounded by the choices made by former Pride Toronto managers and board members. Read all about it in Pride Toronto censorship: How it came to this. Pennachetti’s report does not necessarily mean that city council won’t still vote to cut support for Pride Toronto in 2011 or 2012.
To follow this story as it unfolded from the very outset, don’t miss Pride Toronto 2010-2011: All coverage in one place.
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