The continuing saga of Toronto Pride: anti-Israel group now says it won’t march in parade

The continuing saga of Toronto Pride: anti-Israel group now says it won’t march in parade

QuAIA members doing in 2008 what they won’t be doing in 2011 (Image: Neal Jennings)

As part of what it’s calling a challenge to Rob Ford, the anti-Israeli gay group QuAIA says it won’t march in the parade at this year’s Pride festival. According to a statement by QuAIA, the group thinks it’s got Ford right where it wants him:

QuAIA’s new plans will pose a challenge for Mayor Rob Ford, who announced that he would cut more than $100,000 in city tourism funding for Pride Toronto if QuAIA continued to march. “Rob Ford wants to use us as an excuse to cut Pride funding, even though he has always opposed funding the parade, long before we showed up,” says Elle Flanders of QuAIA. “By holding our Pride events outside of the parade, we are forcing him to make a choice: fund Pride or have your real homophobic, right-wing agenda exposed.”

QuAIA says it will still be participating in Pride, just far off the parade route. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is still not convinced—he plans to put forth a motion that the festival’s funding be made contingent on Pride guaranteeing in writing that QuAIA will not participate. However, he’s now lost a powerful ally; Bernie Farber, head of the Canadian Jewish Congress, says the matter is now closed. Now, if only all parties can keep from pulling the football away at the last moment, Lucy-like, the city can move on from this whole brouhaha.

• QuAIA to Mayor: Find another pretext for your Anti-Pride Agenda [QuAIA Toronto]
Councillor demands Pride promise to ban Queers Against Israeli Apartheid [Toronto Star]