Move to defund Toronto Pride deferred

[blake 3:17]

Move to defund Toronto Pride deferred to May 28

After several hours of debate April 23, city council’s executive committee voted to defer further discussion of Pride funding and the legalities of banning the words “Israeli apartheid” at city-funded events, ensuring ongoing uncertainty about the future of Pride Toronto’s annual cultural grant.

Early in the day, Councillor Shelley Carroll confirmed to Xtra that Councillor David Shiner plans to ignore the advice of city staff and submit a motion to remove Pride’s cultural grant as a penalty for allowing the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) to participate in the Pride parade.

Instead, Shiner later moved a motion to defer the item until the next executive committee meeting, May 28. It would then head to council in June.

This means that Pride — which attracts more than one million people and annually brings tens of millions of dollars into Toronto — won’t know whether it will receive the city’s annual grant of $123,807 until just days before the festival is set to begin.

This is the third year Pride has faced a censorship battle with a small handful of councillors just as planning for the event kicks into high gear.

Meanwhile, three city staff reports once again determined that the use of the term “Israeli apartheid” is not a criminal offence and does not contravene any city policy.

“This was enormously disrespectful to Pride. It is one of the major summer festivals in the city. To be treated this way is just disgraceful,” says QuAIA member Tim McCaskell. "I can only see this treatment as homophobic."

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam suspects that deferring the issue for a month is a “ploy to intimidate and silence” the activists and community groups who spoke. “These councillors already know how they are going to vote. I can’t imagine why they would defer this,” she says. “If deputants spoke to the item today, they will not be able to speak to the item again on May 28.”

Full article: http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Mo..._28-13461.aspx

Queers Against Israeli Apartheid site: http://queersagainstapartheid.org/

[homegrown terror]

wow, way to hide your homophobia with imperialism.

[Anglo-Saxon Philistine]

Or imperialist hysteria with homophobia - pride events are easy targets, but it seems that what really ticked the councilors off what the mention of Israeli policy. Of course, homophobia probably plays a role here, unfortunately.

I wonder what the response of the bourgeois gay organisations has been. These people have proven themselves to be completely out of touch with most LGBT people - actually, they usually have problems acknowledging the T - and are not above supporting "their" government if they think it will result in some benefit (to the ultraminority of rich LGBT people, of course).

[homegrown terror]

Or imperialist hysteria with homophobia - pride events are easy targets, but it seems that what really ticked the councilors off what the mention of Israeli policy. Of course, homophobia probably plays a role here, unfortunately.

I wonder what the response of the bourgeois gay organisations has been. These people have proven themselves to be completely out of touch with most LGBT people - actually, they usually have problems acknowledging the T - and are not above supporting "their" government if they think it will result in some benefit (to the ultraminority of rich LGBT people, of course).

why do you think "'out' in the military" has been such a big crusade for so many years? because they want more of their poor constituents out there supporting the power structure.