'We will not be registering to march in the parade this year,' Const. Carol McIsaac told HalifaxToday.ca in an email

For the second consecutive year, uniformed officers from Halifax Regional Police won’t be joining the annual Halifax Pride parade.

The move follows talks between Pride and police officials and is part of an enduring national debate, which began more than a year ago, about police participation in Pride parades.

Halifax’s popular Pride parade is about 10 weeks away, set to take place on July 21.

Pride officials don’t anticipate HRP registering for the event.

This was confirmed Thursday by a spokeswoman for the police department.

Individual officers can still march in this year’s parade, while off-duty and wearing their own clothes, and are welcome to sign up to volunteer during Pride Week (July 19 to 29).

“We will not be registering to march in the parade this year, but will continue to support the festival as we did last year by providing security along the route, safety planning, and through volunteering,” Const. Carol McIsaac told HalifaxToday.ca in an email.

Registration for the parade ends July 18. “Registrations will be reviewed to ensure they align with Halifax Pride's parade policy,” a website says.

HRP intends to keep consulting with the local 2SLGBTQ+ community.

“Our aim is to continue to support the community and the festival in robust and meaningful ways,” McIsaac said. “To that end, we have been working closely with Halifax Pride and this decision was informed by our ongoing dialogue.”

In 2017, Halifax Regional Police voluntarily stayed out of the parade after Pride organizers in Toronto had announced they were going to ban uniformed officers and police floats from their city’s event. That was prompted by demands by Toronto’s Black Lives Matter group, which had accused police of targeting Black residents.

Last year, Halifax police Chief Jean-Michel Blais took part in a session at a national conference in Halifax of Pride organizations. Delegates heard him urge Canada’s top cops to communicate regularly with senior Pride officials to collect comments or concerns.

The annual convention of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is to take place in Halifax in August.

Michael Lightstone is a freelance reporter living in Dartmouth