'It's scandalous,' says Divers/Cité co-founder about Pride's cancellation

It was Dallas. His Puelo Deir, co-founder of Pride's predecessor, Divers/Cité, said. This company organized his LGBTQ+ celebrations in Montreal, including annual parades, from 1993 until he was taken over by Montreal Pride in 2007.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw it in the movies. I thought it was a joke," Deere said, hours before it was due to start on Sunday morning.

"First of all, in my world you don't cancel Pride. To cancel Pride, you have to take action or security in the universe." We need real threats to the threats, and canceling like canceling a night out at a dance party would have been outrageous to me.”

did a great job at the pride event, noted Deir. But they seemed to forget the most important part.

"These events are sideshows to the main his event, the Parade," he explained. "The parade is not an event, it's political. That's what Pride Week is all about."

Montreal Pride organizers initially blamed about 80 for the cancellation said it was due to a lack of participants in He required 200 volunteersto secure the route for the parade. Then on Sunday night, Pride director Simon Gamache told La Press columnist Mario Girard that someone from the organization had worked with about 100 volunteers to secure the route.

Mayor Valerie Plante expressed her shock at the cancellation on Sunday and said she would have known if she had resolved the situation sooner. Had it known, the city would have done what was necessary to ensure the parade took place, he said.

"Montreal Pride's Board of Directors has shed light on the events that led to the cancellation of yesterday's Montreal parade. To this end, an internal post-committee.Montreal Pride will release a statement later this week looking back on the 2022 festival.”

A meeting between the Plante administration and representatives of Montreal Pride will take place on Monday afternoon. was scheduled. For the Montreal Pride, the city provided his $600,000 funding for his weeklong celebration this year.

Quebec's tourism minister also "requested a meeting with the organizers to discuss the situation," said ministry spokesperson Megan Hall.

If there is a bright side to this whole affair, it is in his two impromptu marches on Sunday afternoon after the parade was cancelled. One, led by Afro Montreal, an advocacy group for the LGBTQ+ community in the Caribbean, had a float at the site of the original parade.

What was supposed to be an important event for our community was greatly affected. We spent too much effort, time and money," said Afro-Montreal coordinator Sonya Machuk. and will accompany the spontaneous march. Floats have taken revelers from Dorchester Square to the Olympic stadium. Machuk and a few Afro Pride volunteers remained behind the truck to keep people from getting too close to the float so no one was hurt.

For me, it was a relief to have some kind of celebration," Machuk said. "I think it's important to remember that Pride started with riots. Pride is for the rights of minority groups.

"For me, the whole parade was magical.

Deir said Afro Pride was in a predicament. Although he was "overjoyed" to see him get out of the house, he believes Montreal Pride needs to do some serious self-analysis over the next few days.

"I don't want to see my head spinning," he said. "But if they do not learn from this monumental failure, they should resign." , he is equally skeptical.

"You missed the moment," he said. “That moment was Sunday, August 7th.

"The health and safety of all participants, volunteers and attendees is a top priority for TD," said a spokesperson for the bank, the official presenter of Montreal Pride, in a statement. "While we are disappointed that the parade has been cancelled, we stand by the organizers' decision and look forward to him continuing to explore ways to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community in the future."

Loto- Montreal Casino, owned by Québec, understood as well.

"Lotto Quebec has supported Montreal Pride for several years," said spokesperson Renault Dugas. “There was a lot of activity on the Lotto Quebec stage and at the Montreal Casino last week that delighted everyone. Lotto Quebec will continue to support events around the Montreal Pride Festival to promote diversity and inclusion

STM said it was "disappointed by the turn of events" but said it would continue to work with Montreal Pride.

"We have been partnering with Montreal Pride since her 2016. This is an important event for us," said her Amélie Régis, public relations advisor for STM. "Our partnership is based on an exchange of visibility (and is not financial), so we do not seek compensation."

Using files from La Presse Canadienne

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