Toronto trustees did not debate a motion asking the city to enforce no-nudity laws at Toronto’s Pride Parade this summer. Instead, they took an immediate vote, and soundly defeated it.

The controversial proposal from Trustee Sam Sotiropoulos — which critics called everything from distasteful to homophobic — had asked that the board “immediately write a letter to the mayor and city council of Toronto asking them to clarify whether or not the public nudity law of Canada will be upheld and enforced” at the parade, which the board takes part in.

He said the board is “bound by its code of conduct” and must respect the law, and later said the motion was not against homosexuals, but about upholding the law.

But after he introduced his motion, Trustees Gerri Gershon and Irene Atkinson — who had originally supported it — called for a vote, where 16 trustees were against it, and six in favour.

Trustee Cathy Dandy later said the discussion around the issue was not about nudity but about not tolerating shame, and she was glad the vote went the way it did. Trustee Maria Rodrigues, who later presented her motion affirming trustees’ support of Pride, noted the Toronto District School Board has marched in the parade since 1996.

She said she’s gone to it with her two daughters many times “and they are just fine.”

Trustee Pam Gough, who seconded the motion, said police from Toronto, York and Peel, and this year Ottawa, are taking part in the Pride Parade.

During the discussion about the Rodrigues motion, Sotiropoulos said he’s not a prude, and had visited nude beaches in Europe — though not stripped down. He also noted Hanlan’s Point in Toronto, a nude beach that has signs designating it so.

Trustee Sheila Cary-Meagher, a grandmother, said she didn’t understand the fuss — if people are uncomfortable looking at “dangly bits” then “avert your eyes.”

Sotiorpoulos’ said he received hundreds of emails from people supporting his motion. However, he drew the ire of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, which wrote to the board chair to complain about it and some of his comments on social media.

This week, thousands of constituents in Sotiropoulos’ Scarborough-Agincourt received a robo-call — an expense he plans to charge taxpayers for — explaining his stance: he’s not opposed to homosexuality but rather the nudity at the parade.

They board typically has a float in the parade, which this year costs about $8,000

The board’s education director, Donna Quan, had sent an email to staff explaining why some nudity has been a tradition at the parade. “It started as a liberation protest that rejects shame, bias and judgments for people celebrating themselves for who they are,” she wrote.

The last known nudity arrest was at the 2000 parade, but the charges were dropped, she also noted.

Meanwhile, trustees voted to send a proposal that parents require criminal checks when volunteering — even for one-offs like field trips or fundraisers — back for further study.

“We’ll refine the policy and make sure everyone is comfortable with it,” said spokesperson Shari Schwartz-Maltz, adding the recommendation was made by the jury in the Jeffrey Baldwin inquest “and we made a commitment to honour (that).”

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