Rep: TO needs new discrimination policy
[attach]4408[/attach]The battle to secure city funding for Toronto’s Pride Parade is still raging on even though Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, also known as QuAIA, says it will not march this year.
In 2010 city council decided to withhold funding for Pride until after the parade. The funding would be conditional on Pride Toronto ensuring that all registered participants adhere to the city’s anti-discrimination policy.
A May 24 report from the city manager concluded that Queers Against Israeli Apartheid was not in violation of the policy, a decision that came as a surprise to some councillors.
“Much to my shock and dismay, city staff determined that the term ‘Israeli Apartheid’ did not violate the city’s anti-discrimination policy,” said Ward 10 councillor James Pasternak. “The city’s anti-discrimination policy, it is clearly flawed and if you can drive a truck through it on this kind of matter then it needs rework.”
Pasternak said that he would work with colleagues to rewrite the policy. He also said funding will be withheld if the group participates in the parade this year.
“If they don’t keep their word and march, Pride Parade will not be getting funding,” he said. “If they are nowhere to be seen, Pride Parade will get their funding.”
Kulanu Toronto, a group representing Jewish members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in Toronto supports Pasternak’s position.
“We’re in agreement with it,” said executive director Justine Apple. “We maintain that the city should not fund Pride if (Queers Against Israeli Apartheid) is allowed to march in the parade.”
While she said no incidents or altercations have occurred between the two groups she mentioned that some members of Kulanu Toronto are intimidated by the group’s presence.
“In the past few years that they’ve been participating a number of our … members have expressed to us that they feel unsafe to attend the parade and march with Kulanu Toronto,” Apple said.
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid member Savannah Garmon told the Town Crier that her group promised it would not be attending the parade.
“We said we aren’t marching and we meant that, we’re going to stick to that,” said Garmon. “But we will be present at Pride Week.
“We will be visible. I won’t say more than that.”
Garmon said the group considers Israel an apartheid state, but said her organization is not a hate group. She noted that Israel was making strides in the arena of gay rights.
“Israeli (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) activists have made a lot of progress in recent years,” she said. “That is laudable and commendable.”
As for the parade organizers, they will be doing all they can to make sure the Pride Parade is a safe environment, says Glen Brown, interim executive director of Pride Toronto.
“We won’t be taking any specific measures about that group,” Brown said. “In fact, we’ve developed a whole policy called the dispute resolution policy that would apply to any group who is accused of violating our policies.”
As stated in city documents, funding for the parade is conditional upon Pride Toronto requiring all registered participants to comply with the anti-discrimination policy. The group has not registered as a participant. Brown said that any group that shows up without having registered in advance will be asked to leave.