The Canadian Prime Minister sets record Trudeau makes history in Toronto Pride parade.
Justin Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to march in a Toronto pride parade. This year’s parade included a brief sit-in by the Black Lives Matter coalition, which stopped the event for about 30 minutes.
According to the report the parade goers have said that, Pride is about more than a party, it’s a catalyst for changing the world.
Francesco Caruso, who visited Toronto from Ottawa just for Pride stated that, It’s a good first step but he hopes that he doesn’t just stop at pride, people are still dying.
The dynamic and people’s prime minister had personally tweeted .
Proud. #PrideTO pic.twitter.com/syfEwPACRQ
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 3, 2016
Justin Trudeau was also quoted saying,
Youth homelessness, the Red Cross’s ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men and violence against the LGBTQ community are problems that need to end.
This year’s jubilee is tinged with sadness, in light of the devastating shooting that took place at Pulse nightclub, a gay bar, in Orlando. The parade will be dedicated to the 49 victims of the mass shooting.
A river of multi-coloured floats and marchers came to a halt on Yonge Street and stood in silence along with the masses of onlookers to remember the shooting’s 49 victims, predominantly LGBTQ.
According to Aaron GlynWilliams, Co-Chair of Pride Toronto’s board of directors, they will not let the hate persist . The hatred and discrimination will not prevail.
He also told media that the federal government is exploring the possibility of gender-neutral identification. Ontario announced last week that it would allow the use of a third gender indicator, X, for driver’s licenses and health cards.
A group of several marchers, dressed in pastel-coloured robes, each carried signs with the name and age of an Orlando victim as they worked their way down the route.
The parade paused for a moment of silence at 3 p.m. Soon after, Black Lives Matter protestors staged a sit in, grinding the parade to a halt until they could speak with Toronto Pride officials.
Mathieu Chantelois, the Pride Toronto executive director, later spoke with members of the Black Lives Matter coalition and signed an agreement banning Toronto Police from having a float in next year’s parade.
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