Pride Toronto says it didn't agree to police parade ban

Toronto's first ever Pride Month wrapped up yesterday, but the conversation about next year's event is just getting started, especially about whether or not police will be able to march in next year's parade.

Yesterday, Black Lives Matter Toronto staged a sit-in during the annual Pride Parade, stopping the procession for about 30 minutes until Pride Executive Director Mathieu Chantelois signed a document agreement to the group's demands.

Among their demands, Black Lives Matter wanted to remove the police float from all Pride marches and parades.

Having police in the parade makes some communities feel unsafe, said Janaya Khan, a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter, to CBC's Metro Morning earlier today.

Yet, Chantelois told CP24 this morning that he didn't agree to all of Black Lives Matter's demands yesterday - especially regarding the police float ban - but was rather opening up the floor to discussion.

As VICE reports, Mike McCormack, the Toronto Police Association President, says he wants an apology from Pride Toronto organizers after they signed the documents at yesterday's parade.

According to the Toronto Star, Chantelois says he doesn't decide who marches in the parade. It's now up to the community to determine what happens next.

Photo by Hector Vasquez.