Mayor John Tory should 'stay in his lane' amid Pride protest uproar, Black Lives Matter says

Black Lives Matter Toronto doubled down on its calls to keep police floats out of the city's Pride parade on Thursday and warned Mayor John Tory to stay out of the debate.

The activist group, which was invited to help lead last Sunday's parade as an honoured group, held a sit-in that halted the parade for some 30 minutes. The parade resumed only after Pride Toronto's executive director, Mathieu Chantelois, signed a list of the group's demands surrounding future Pride celebrations.

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The most controversial demand Black Lives Matter Toronto (BLMTO) made was to ban police floats from the parade and booths at other Pride events. Tory, the police association and at least one gay officer have spoken out against the idea, arguing its important to include police in the parade.

BLMTO's Rodney Diverlus said Tory "has no place in this discussion and he needs to stay in his lane."

"We are not interested in going back and forth with him," Diverlus told reporters at a news conference in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood. 

Tory, speaking at a news conference about affordable housing, said he believes he took a reasonable position by supporting police at Pride.

"I think we're all about inclusivity in the city of Toronto," Tory said.

The mayor added he didn't criticize BLMTO's actions and doesn't need to be involved in the negotiations between the group and Pride Toronto.

BLMTO rails against Pride

The activist group also criticized Pride Toronto's leadership for going back and forth on the list of commitments it made with the group — including commitments to provide space for the Black Queer Youth group, double funding for the Blockorama event and a vow to increase the number of people of colour on the Pride Toronto staff. 

"The way that Pride handles blackness … is abysmal," Alexandra Williams, BLMTO's co-founder said. 

Williams blasted Chantelois for breaking the commitment he made to her organization on Sunday.

Earlier this week, Chantelois said signing the document constitutes an agreement to discuss the issues, but that Pride Toronto hadn't committed to anything. He signed the document, he said, to keep the parade moving.

BLMTO reiterated its demands on Thursday, which the group says were driven by the black LGBT community.

Williams said she's OK with gay police officers marching in the parade, but doesn't want the symbol of police vehicles there, calling them a "triggering image" for many people in her community.

Distrust for the police comes from "lived experience," she said, but also incidents like the police shooting deaths this week of two black men in the U.S.

​Pride Toronto member steps down

BLMTO said it hasn't had any official discussions with Pride Toronto since disrupting the parade.

However, at least one high-profile member of the Pride organization has stepped down in support of the group. 

"I got your back," Jacqie Lucas wrote to BLMTO in a public Facebook post.

Lucas praised the group for its dedication to breaking down barriers for everyone in the community and for pushing for changes regarding issues like the police practice of carding.

She also took aim at anyone suggesting BLMTO's issues are somehow separate from those of Pride or the LBGT community.

"They are us. Part of our community," Lucas wrote.

"Pride is a community organization that is not owned by sections of a community, but the entirety of it."