Since Pride Torontos first-ever Pride Month, we have heard from thousands of community members.

Pride Toronto committed to responding to questions heard from community members at our town hall
meetings. We received questions at the meetings, but also received lots of feedback and
recommendations. Many of you have requested and patiently waited for a response. So weve taken the
time in our response to you, that many of you took in the messages you shared with us, to craft an honest
and direct statement from Pride Toronto. We apologize for the delay.
They say you learn more from your mistakes than your successes; and Pride Toronto has had plenty of
both this year. Following the 2016 Festival and Parade, it was critical the organization take the time to do
something it should have done more of throughout the year listen.
Pride Toronto received and read over 1,100 emails from community members. We held two nights of
town hall meetings where we heard from over 700 community members. We took the time to sit down
with our staff and volunteers, several of our stakeholders, including representatives of the Toronto Police
Services. We shared a survey for those of you who were not able to attend the meetings and over 1,000
of you took the time to share your thoughts and feedback with us. Thank you. Toronto is home to a
passionate and engaged LGBT community and we are grateful for your continued interest and
contributions to improve this organization and movement.
While it wouldnt be possible to accurately summarize the viewpoints expressed by all of you, the
responses we received clearly demonstrate a very divided community. The LGBTTI2QQ2SA community
is very diverse. Particularly in a city like Toronto, where our intersecting identities and lived experiences
mean our experiences in this city are very different. While there are countless issues and causes where
we can find common ground and celebrate together there are many issues we struggle with greatly as
a community. Race and gender are, perhaps not unlike the rest of society, clearly the issues with which
our community has the greatest difficulty with.
Pride Toronto wants to begin by apologizing emphatically and unreservedly for its role in deepening
the divisions in our community, for a history of anti-blackness and repeated marginalization of the
marginalized within our community that our organization has continued. Pride Toronto regrets the way
Black Lives Matter Toronto Coalitions (BLMTO) protest was handled by our organization and the
statements made following the Parade that did not represent our organization. We apologize that the
lack of decisive decision-making has left many in our communities feeling attacked. This is the opposite of
what Pride is all about. There has been an unbelievable amount of racism expressed by members of our
community through this organization. For that, we are sorry. Individuals who proudly serve our
communities in law enforcement and other roles in public safety have felt unfairly attacked and targeted
by the community that it turns to for love and support. For that, we are sorry. Through this debate, all of
you have turned to Pride Toronto for clear and decisive leadership and support through this issue and we
have stayed quiet. For that, we are sorry.
When Pride Toronto selected Black Lives Matter Toronto Coalition (BLMTO) to lead the Parade as the
Honoured Group, we did so because it honoured the tradition of resistance and political expression within
our movement, and highlighted the important work they are doing in this city to bring awareness to antiblackness, discrimination and police violence. We knew this choice would be controversial, and that it
would lead to difficult conversations between Pride Toronto and marginalized communities.
While we selected BLMTO with the best intentions and to purposefully create discussion, we were not
properly prepared for the racism this would ignite. At the parade, BLMTO presented us with a list of
demands which highlighted how Pride Toronto could better engage with and support the most
marginalized voices within our community, including the black queer community. Some of these demands
were not new to Pride Toronto and had been raised by our community members in the past; without
progress.
Pride Toronto knew that for many years, the Black queer community has had to fight for their rightful
place in the Pride festivalfight for space, fight for recognition and fight for support. Pride Toronto did not
make enough of an effort to engage with members of our black community who have worked with the
organization for a very long time. We made decisions, like the location of programming by our Black

Queer Youth coalition, without appropriate engagement or consultation with those affected. So, when we
received these demands we understood that they are reflective of a long and difficult history between
Pride and Black queer communities, but now also understand them to be reflective of our current efforts,
or lack thereof, to improve relationships with Prides black community, and other marginalized
communities. For this lack of understanding, effort to address historic wrongs, and repetition of past
mistakes, we are sorry.
Pride Toronto remains committed to all of the demands agreed to and presented by BLMTO, Blackness
Yes, Black Queer Youth, and others. We remain committed to demonstrating progress on each and every
item and, as agreed, working with these groups to hold a public town hall this Winter to demonstrate
progress and plans to deliver on these commitments.
Broadly, we heard clearly from the feedback, that Pride Toronto needs be more transparent around our
decision-making and better consult with and communicate our direction to our community members.
There were many recommendations outlined in the CAP Report to address these concerns. Pride Toronto
will be reviewing these recommendations and updating the community on steps taken at our upcoming
Annual General Meeting.
This year we chose a theme meant to invoke inclusion, and a breakdown of the discrimination along
intersectionalities too common in our community. We expanded human rights programming. We brought
on several partnerships and venues for the first time with new art and cultural organizations. We invested
in six dynamic stages that highlighted incredible performers from our Latinx, 2-Spirited, Trans*, Middle
Eastern, and Black communities, among others. Our streetfair included a Trans* focused marketplace,
family programming throughout the weekend, a health zone, and a Clean, Sober, Proud Place among
other programs. By supporting the Trans March and the trailblazers who began the March (in defiance of
Pride Toronto) we were able to host the largest trans march on the planet this year!
Much of this 2016 Festival was informed by a new Strategic Plan developed last year, after a year of
consultations where we heard from over 1,500 community members. Many of the goals we have been
pursuing as an organization; expanded programming year-round and new festival sites, highlighting
diversity and intersectionality in our community, embedding human rights and family programming in all
future festivals were echoed by many of you over the last few months.
All that aside, it is undeniable that there are a number of fronts where we should have done better. We
should have done a better job at listening to all of you, looking back on past advice from the CAP
Report. We should have done a better job at listening, consulting and communicating to all of you about
our decisions and directions as an organization. From your feedback it is clear that you want an increased
focus on community outreach, accessibility, and expanded programming that includes and reflects many
diverse groups within our community (Black-identified, seniors, Francophone, Latinx, youth, those living
with disabilities, those living with addiction or mental health issues, etc.). Pride Toronto agrees with all of
you and, by listening to all of you, will strive to do better at this every year.
To build a meaningful Pride festival requires, among other things, increased funding to support this
programming. This was an objective on which Pride Toronto has focused on coming out of WorldPride.
We successfully attracted new sponsors and leveraged increased support.
We believe that we have just started this journey of creating a more meaningful, dynamic, diverse and
sustainable Pride. We sincerely regret that our lack of attention to critical aspects of our community has
threatened this work. We hope that by listening, and working together, this organization can continue to
chart a course forward.
So whats next
This isnt the first time Pride has faced controversy, and a complex question surrounding the meaning of
inclusion. It likely wont be the last. In 2012, the Board of Directors, in consultation with the community,
developed a Dispute Resolution Process (DRP). It is our existing decision-making mechanism, which we
believe is the best tool to assess the participation of law enforcement agencies in a manner that is

objective, transparent and involves the participation of human rights experts. When initiating the DRP we
also have to recognize that a decision governing a group that can include as many as 400 marchers and
11 different law enforcement agencies is unique. Recognizing that no one has asked or agreed to a full
exclusion of this group the DRP will however consider the nature of police participation.
In the near term, Pride Toronto must begin the DRP process, working with BLMTO to present their
concerns, appointing officers, and providing all feedback received to date on the issue for consideration.
We will recruit a new Executive Director to the organization, using what weve heard to inform the search.
While this a challenging time for our organization, it is financial mismanagement that has plagued other
pride organizations and we remain committed to effective financial management. At the upcoming AGM,
the Board will present an annual report, audited financial statements, as well as a progress update on our
strategic plan.
Four positions for the Board of Directors will be open for election at the upcoming AGM. This will be a
significant opportunity to broaden the skills and voices that help guide the organization forward. We will
ensure complete transparency around about the timelines and process involved to be elected.
Pride Toronto is part of an incredible movement. In other North American cities, pride festivals have often
splintered off into competing and separate groups. The fact that we have one pride in this diverse and
multi-cultural city is a testament to the work that we have done as a community.
So many of you fight to make the success we can experience today possible. This festival, this platform,
must continue to belong to everyone in our community. It must offer something that speaks to all of us
and the variety of lived experiences in our community. Where we can all feel at home. Its also a
movement born out of struggle, and led by the very same voices that are now demanding their rightful
role in the organization and that their experiences will be validated. We will listen. We are listening. We
hope that together, we can move forward as an organization. If we can do that, we can show the world
how to create a festival that is rooted in our collective experiences, honours our courageous pasts, and
looks forward to creating a better future.