The Plante administration is not ruling out “opening the books” on Montreal Pride and taking a closer look at the organization’s leadership after last Sunday’s surprise and strong denunciation of the parade.
Posted at 11:05 am
Henri Ouellette-Vézina La Presse
“We will all work quickly and efficiently to find answers to what happened on the same day, so in terms of logistics, communication, but also to go back and look at the level of governance and open the books if necessary ” , Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante agreed Wednesday morning.
She recalled that “the city and government of Quebec are investing in this event and that there are also many sponsors”.
According to our information, most of the $600,000 invested by the city government in the Montréal Pride celebrations was used by the organization, which nonetheless conducted several activities over the past week. However, sources indicated that a final installment is still pending. This equates to about 10% of that amount, or $60,000.
It is this latest sum that is now set to be used to fund the independent investigation launched in recent days, as agreed by Pride Montreal CEO Simon Gamache, Chairman of the Board of Directors Moe Hamandi and Mayor Plante , during a meeting Monday night. A mediator will also be appointed in the coming days.
At the provincial level, the Department of Tourism donated $1.1 million to Montreal Pride last year. However, ministry spokeswoman Meghan Houle said the aid was “dedicated to overall programming, not specifically organizing the parade”. The ministry “will be meeting with the organizers of the event in the coming days to discuss this situation,” she added.
“We have to quickly and properly restore the relationship of trust between Pride Montreal, the community organizations, partners and of course the population,” Ms. Plante pounded on Wednesday and promised “that there will be a parade next year”. “It was a huge disappointment for all of us that the challenge was cancelled,” she reiterated.
“I want to thank the board who are in full swing, who also want to find answers and ensure the quality of the next fashion show,” she concluded.
In recent days, the surprise cancellation of the Metropolitan Parade has been denounced by several members of the LGBTQ+ community, many of whom are calling for a review of the organization of this flagship event. Michel Dorion, a well-known gay village personality and former leader of the Montreal Pride Parade, spoke in particular of the organization’s “serious fault” and called for “serious reflection within the management team and also within the AC.
With Vincent Larin