PRIDE TORONTO’S DIVERSITY AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES

SACRIFICED IN FAVOUR OF POLITICAL FUNDING

An essay by Dr. Nick Mulé

Diversity Our Strength is the official motto of the City of Toronto. Diversity is also cited in
Pride Toronto’s mission in celebrating the history, courage, diversity and future of Toronto’s
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, 2-spirited and
allied communities (LGBTQ). Yet, diversity is being sorely forgotten in the otherwise
ludicrous and unnecessary politics surrounding the Toronto Pride Parade and the participation
of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) in the Pride Festival.

‘Diversity’ for the City of Toronto captures gender identity and sexual orientation; ‘diversity’
for Pride Toronto is to capture diversity of opinion, values, lifestyles, behaviours and political
thought. This should be of prime importance to City politicians and Pride Toronto alike but
seems to have short-circuited with Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti and Mayor Rob Ford, and
slipped out of Pride Toronto’s grasp of knowledge – all of whom show a lack of
understanding not only for the political analyses being made by QuAIA, but also their right to
participate in the Pride Parade, which City Manager Joe Pennachetti recently ruled as not in
contravention of the City’s non-discrimination policy.

Indeed, unlike Ford, Mammoliti or Pride Toronto, the City Manager understands not only that
various forms of political expression are welcomed in the Parade, but that there is absolutely
zero basis to exclude QuAIA from the parade – and by extension, the rest of the festival –
since QuAIA‘s focus is to challenge the discriminatory policies of a government (in this case,
those of Israel) much to the disagreement of pro-Israeli groups that were also allowed to
participate in the Pride Parade last year.

However, Ford and Mammoliti continue to argue for City funding cuts to Pride Toronto based
on the unsubstantiated view that QuAIA is a hate group, despite the City Manger’s ruling that
the group does not communicate hate speech. This shows not only an inability to listen to any
alternative perspectives, but a tremendous disrespect for the democratic processes in place at
City Hall and the carefully-considered analyses that were made by Pennachetti and other City
staff. It also shows very little tolerance for entirely legitimate (albeit unpopular or
controversial) political expression within the City, which is of deep concern given that the
City’s Anti-Discrimination Policy also requires the City to protect people from discrimination
based on political affiliation and creed, which should also include political convictions.

If Mammoliti and Ford want to continue arguing for the ‘hatefulness’ of QuAIA’s political
messaging, then it should heed the City Councillor’s recommendation and take up the matter
with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

For its part Pride Toronto is currently and hastily implementing a dispute resolution process
(DRP) – an ill-informed mechanism that was recommended in a report written for Pride
Toronto by the questionably-formed Community Advisory Panel (CAP) – which amounts to a
veritable witch hunt. Indeed, it will let a quasi-judicial body of legal experts (not all of whom
are LGBTQ-identified) to rule on the admissibility of groups within the Pride Festival, based
on the public complaints that are brought forward to them by any individual or group.

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By entering into this awkward and futile political dance with the City and other major
funders, Pride Toronto continues to demonstrate its political ineptitude as was so apparent
during Pride 2010. It would do Pride Toronto well to take the more courageous and
community-affirming moral high ground and stake a position in support of Toronto’s LGBTQ
community groups -- all of them – defending their right to participate in the festival by virtue
of the fact that they are all part of the diverse LGBTQ communities, regardless of whether
one personally agrees or disagrees with their politics or expressions. This is after all, in Pride
Toronto’s mission statement.

Sadly, both the City of Toronto and Pride Toronto have turned this issue into a political
football that continues to be tossed back and forth. Admirably, QuAIA withdrew from this
year’s festivities leaving both parties sputtering in their respective pathetic attempts at
policing messages (‘Israeli Apartheid’) and behavior (QuAIA’s participation in parade) as
seen by Ford and Mammoliti’s threatened funding cuts and Pride Toronto’s DRP mechanism.
As a result, both the City and Pride Toronto are implicated for their disregard to freedom of
speech and freedom of expression, encouraging not only a disengagement with and
censorship of complex political issues, but an unproductive game of finger pointing as well,
which devalues diversity and erodes democracy.

It is possible to be proud of our diversity and not compromise democratic values in the
process.

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Written by Nick J. Mulé, associate professor at the School of Social Work at York University
and chairperson of Queer Ontario.