The Plante administration mandates Philippe Schnobb, former chairman of the board of directors of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), to lead the independent investigation which aims to shed light on the circumstances that led to the cancellation on day of the Montreal Pride parade last Sunday.
The Montreal Pride Board of Directors has assured Philippe Schnobb of its full cooperation. The latter was given the mandate to trace the thread of events that led to the cancellation of the parade, but also to analyze the governance structure of the organization.
Remember that Montreal Pride canceled its parade on Sunday morning, the festival’s flagship event, which was to take place for the first time since the pandemic.
Tens of thousands of people, including many from the United States and Ontario, had planned to attend the parade. About 100 groups, organizations and businesses were to be part of the contingent.
Criticized from all sides, the general manager of Pride Montreal, Simon Gamache, had justified his decision by a lack of volunteers to ensure security. However, neither the City nor the merchants of the Village had been warned of this lack of resources.
In the hours that followed, Mayor Valérie Plante expressed her annoyance at seeing the parade canceled with a few hours notice. She also quickly insisted on the need to carry out an independent investigation in order to see more clearly. “The Pride Parade is an unmissable event in Montreal that helps celebrate and promote Montreal’s diversity. It was essential for us to ensure that mechanisms were quickly put in place, in order to shed light on this cancellation and, more broadly, to ensure the success of the next editions of the parade, ”she reiterated on Friday. by press release announcing the appointment of Philippe Schnobb.
A journalist at Radio-Canada for many years, Philippe Schnobb is known for his involvement in the LGBTQ + community. Among other things, he is the chairman of the governance committee of Fondation Émergence, whose mission is to raise public awareness of the reality of people of sexual and gender diversity.