Misunderstanding still reigns after the announcement of the cancellation, due to a lack of staff, of the Montreal Pride parade which was to take place on Sunday.
• Read also: Wave of disappointment and anger among the participants
• Read also: Montreal Pride parade canceled due to lack of volunteers
“We had a procession, a car, we had prepared everything, and more than a hundred people were to come and join us,” explains Rafaël Provost, general manager of Young Gay Adults of Montérégie. “For organizations like us, community, underfunded, it’s quite a commitment.”
Mayor Valérie Plante said she was “disappointed” with the announcement, and wants an explanation. Moreover, she is demanding explanations from the leaders of Pride Montreal, with whom she has a meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Photo QMI Agency, Thierry Laforce
“The image of the company, the direction of the company […] is a little tainted,” said Patrice Lavoie, vice-president of communications at H+K Strategies. “As for the image of Montreal, I would say that the city still has a good reputation internationally for various reasons.”
At a press conference, Prime Minister Legault made a point of saying that “it’s not the fault of the City of Montreal, [ni] the fault of the SPVM and [ni] the fault of the government of Quebec”.
Whose fault is it, then?
According to Pride Montreal, there was a lack of volunteers to supervise the parade.
The City of Montreal says it could have provided the resources to make the event happen, but the organization spearheading the event simply didn’t ask for help.
Strong reactions on social networks
Several Internet users reacted strongly to the announcement of the cancellation of the parade.
Hundreds of festival-goers took the initiative to organize a spontaneous demonstration with the help of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal.
The route, which was transmitted to the authorities, meandered on Sainte-Catherine Street before ending at Émilie-Gamelin Park.
“I believe the organization will learn from its mistakes,” said Mr. Lavoie.
Montreal Pride does not wish to speak to the media. A press release should be sent later this week.
An internal committee of the board of directors was created on Sunday to analyze the file of the cancellation of the parade. The committee will try to shed light on the thread of events to understand what happened.