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Community Contract with Pride Toronto
Since 1981 Pride Toronto has publicly represented Toronto’s queer and transcommunities. In 2014 it will be representing us to the entire world. But we, theundersigned, feel that the Pride board of directors has increasingly lost sight of itsroots, history and responsibility to our local communities.A philosophy of growth at any cost has meant that Pride is now completelydependant on its corporate sponsors and government funding. Community supportand development has been eclipsed by the demands of marketing and tourism. Pridehas therefore become vulnerable to external interests and political pressures thatincreasingly dictate the shape of the festival.This is unacceptable. It is time to restore community accountability to Pride.With this in mind, we propose the following contract between Pride Toronto and theToronto LGBT community.
1. All Pride events and activities must be financially, socially, andenvironmentally sustainable and accessible to all.2. Freedom of expression must be guaranteed.
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All queer and trans groups and individuals must be free to expressthemselves politically, culturally, etc. as they see fit at Pride.
3. Non-for-profit grassroots community events at Pride must always takeprecedence over corporate sponsorships and corporate events.
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Community-based events (including, but not limited to Blockorama, FunkAsia,and the Trans stage) must always have
first priority
in choosing stage areas.
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Once a “hub” of community events is established, the playing field may beopened to others.
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Free events should be given priority over events with entrance fees.
4. Local queer and trans artists must be given preference over “headliners”
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75 % of all artist and cultural-related expenditures must be focused on theGTA local community.
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Queer and Trans artists, including those from outside the GTA, must be givenpreference over artists from outside these communities.
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All artists must be free to express their political views.
5. Local small businesses must be given preference over corporate sponsors.
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Vendor space must be allocated with preferential choice for local communityqueer and trans businesses.
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Participation fees for local businesses should be set at 25 % of similar corporate fees.
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Advertising expenditures should be focused on bringing new customers andtourists to local queer and trans businesses.
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