Montreal Pride Festival cancels parade

Update:Montreal Pride organizer says parade was cancelled because hiring staff was 'never done'

Organizers of theMontreal Pride Festival cancelled Sunday's parade, citing a lack of security staff for the parade route.

The organizers saidthey were short 80 people not enough to keep the parade route safe.

Earlier, Montreal Pride had tweeted that the decision was made in collaboration with Montreal police. They later corrected their statement, saying the decision was made by the organizers alone.

Events taking place at the Esplanade du Parc olympique, including theclosing show with Pabllo Vittar, went on asplanned.

Tens of thousands of people were expected to attend Sunday's parade.

Simon Gamache, executive director of Montreal Pride, said organizers thoughtthe parade could take place up until Sunday morning.

"It's heartbreaking," Gamache said."We hope that we're able to organize something else in the next few weeks, few months to replace what we unfortunately had to cancel today."

WATCH | Organizers cancel Montreal Pride parade:

Montreal Pride parade cancelled due to lack of security staff

2 years ago

Duration 2:26

Montreal Pride Festival cancelled its annual parade due to a lack of security staff for the parade route.

Limited staffing

Although Montreal Pride held several events earlier this week, Gamache says the limitednumber of staffand volunteers was always an issue.

"It was really always close every day," he said. "It went well, but it was not easy behind the scenes."

He says the organization will meet with its financial partners in the coming days.

At a news conference on Sunday, Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante said she was shocked to learn of the parade's cancellation.

"If we had been made aware of the lack of staff or anything else, [we] would have put in the necessary energy," she said.

"My frustration this morning is realizing that it seems there were decisions made, but we were never informed, and that's disappointing," she said.

Off-site pride events

Hours after the announcement, members of Montreal's2SLGBTQIA+ communities started co-ordinatingoff-site events.

Salem Billard, a queer activist, planned a sit-in at Place milie-Gamelin at 1:30 p.m. in protest of thecancellation. A crowd of would-be parade-goers gathered there to march downSainte-Catherine Street.

"We were promised a place for our voices to be heard and now it's been taken away," they said. "I feel like it's a shame, because whether or not it's a security issue, it could have been announced to us way before that.

"We're nowliving through so much violence, even going to Pride events.And we want to take back that place as our home and not a corporate festival [event]."

Celeste Trianon, an activist who independently organizedSaturday's Montreal Trans March with nine other volunteers, called thelast-minute cancellation"a sheerlack of transparency that's hurting so many right now."

"Some people travelled literally from France, from outside of this continent, to participate in this parade.And it's just unacceptable that they cancelled it four hours before it was slated to begin," she said.

Trianonadded thatgrassroots events like the Trans March allow members of communities to protestwithout being drowned out by corporate interests.

"FiertMontrealhad a whole year to organize the march. They have all the resources in the world ... it makes no sense."