Toronto Police withdraw application to march in Pride parade

The Toronto police have agreed to withdraw their application to march in the city's annual Pride Parade, following a request from organizers and LGBTQ community leaders.

The relationship between Toronto’s police and the LGBT community has become increasingly tense in recent months amid anger over how the force handled investigations into the disappearances of several men who ended up dead at the hands of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.

On Monday, organizers had in a statement asked that police withdraw their application to take part in the event. On Tuesday, police complied with the request.

"I am conscious of the need to avoid any setback that might undermine the principle objective of coming together and restoring confidence," said Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders in a press release on Tuesday. "My hope is that this move will be received as a concrete example of the fact that I am listening closely to the community’s concerns and I am committed thoroughly to building a better, stronger relationship between us."

"Much more work is needed, of course. But hopefully this moment moves us forward in an important way," he continued. McArthur’s arrest has “added a new poignancy and a new pain to the fears that sit at the heart of anyone who lives a life of difference,” said Pride Toronto's statement on Monday, which was also signed by the LGBTQ advocacy organization The 519, the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation, Sherbourne Health Centre, ASAAP, and the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention.

McArthur is accused of killing Majeed Kayhan, Sorough Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick, Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Skandaraj Navaratnam, and another man who police still haven’t been able to identify. Most of the men were connected to Toronto’s gay village.

“The individual stories and lived experience of each of these people were unique,” said Pride’s statement. “But what they did share was that the investigations into their disappearances were insufficient, community knowledge and expertise was not accessed and despite the fact that many of us felt and voiced our concerns, we were dismissed.”

Since McArthur’s arrest, reports have come out that the 66-year-old had been previously questioned by police, who let him go. Last week, the Toronto Police Services Board launched an external review into its handling of missing persons cases.

“As recently as last December, we were being told by [Toronto Police Chief Mark] Saunders that our longstanding concerns about a serial killer preying on our community were not based on any evidence. He was wrong,” said lawyer Douglas Elliott at a press conference when the review was announced. Many critics have been calling for Saunders to resign. “He had a legal duty to warn us and instead he reassured us,” Elliott added.

“This has severely shaken our community’s already often tenuous trust in the city’s law enforcement,” said Pride’s statement, adding that the relationship with police can’t be “mended through a parade.”

“We are at a pivotal moment where those who suffer from the deepest shame and scantest forms of support could be pushed further from view, deeper into darkness, and closer to danger as a result.”

Last year, Toronto police were not allowed to march in the Pride Parade in uniform, with weapons, or in their cruisers, but they were welcomed to participate in plain clothes. Toronto police floats were also banned. Pride’s recent decision does not discourage police officers from marching as private citizens.

Last year’s ban came after Black Lives Matter Toronto held a sit-in in the middle of the 2016 Pride parade with list of demands, including that uniformed cops be barred from the event, arguing that many members of the community, especially black LGBTQ people, felt unsafe in their presence.

Last week, the police filed an application to march in the 2018 parade, but said they would respect Pride Toronto’s decision.