Sudbury Pride cancels annual Pride March in response to criticism of police involvement
CTV
Fierté Sudbury Pride has cancelled its annual ‘Pride March’ following statements made by Black Lives Matter Sudbury.
Fierté Sudbury Pride (FPS) has cancelled its annual ‘Pride March’ – a staple of the organization’s Pride Week in July – following statements made by Black Lives Matter (BLM) Sudbury.
“After careful consideration and in solidarity with our friends at Black Lives Matter,” said Sudbury Pride in a statement posted to Facebook early Saturday morning.
“We have made the decision to cancel the Pride March.”
On June 30, the local BLM organization issued a statement calling for FSP to “decenter police within their programming and to acknowledge their harmful actions” referencing historical events where police have targeted ‘queer spaces’ or criminalized 2SLGBTQ+ people.
“We were incredibly disappointed when informed that Fierté Sudbury Pride had been in close contact with Greater Sudbury Police Services and that police will be involved with the march,” BLM – Sudbury said in their statement.
“Let us not forget that without the longstanding community organizing work largely done by Black and Brown 2SLGBTQ+ activists we would not be where we are today.”
FSP agreed and acknowledged BLM - Sudbury's statement and agreed that “pride is a protest.”
