TORONTO

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders defended his decision to withdraw from the PRIDE Parade, saying the move could help unite the fragmented community.

“I want to reduce that fragmentation. We’re part of that and I don’t want to be part of that,” said Saunders in an interview Friday at his office.

“I want to be part of the solution and by us pulling out, we give the PRIDE executive an opportunity to stay focused on what they need to do in order to remove the fragmentation within the LGBTQ community,” said Saunders.

Toronto Police will still hold a Pride reception, he said.

The parade withdrawal will remove the distraction and enable police to reach out to the “marginalized” community members for the first time, said the chief.

“I hope it provides an opportunity for all of us to move forward. I’m hoping the PRIDE executive will bring forward those stories so that we can work on problems with the marginalized members,” said Saunders.

Police have built a “very strong” relationship with the LGBTQ community, he added, but “we have to listen to everybody.”

“The transgender community were being victimized but they weren’t calling the police and that concerns me,” said Saunders.

But Mike McCormack, the president of the Toronto Police Association — which represents over 8,000 uniform and civilian members — sharply criticized Saunders’ decision as “political pandering.”

“It sends a negative message to our members about inclusivity,” said McCormack. “If the goal from a special interest group was to drive a wedge between the police and our community and set back police-community relations, then they have achieved that goal.”

“It’s creating a negative environment from something that was positive and inclusive,” he contended.

Toronto Mayor John Tory, meanwhile, said he respects Saunders’ decision but is disappointed and frustrated that an “inclusive” event is shutting out the police.

“First of all, I respect the decision by the chief of police — it’s his decision to make,” said Tory. “For my part, I’m just very frustrated and very disappointed that an event that is meant to be...all about inclusion has now somehow become about exclusion...I’m still hopeful that some resolution can be found.”

Saunders’ decision could have a silver lining as it advances the relationship between police and the LGBTQ community, added Tory.

“I respect what (Saunders) did today and I think it could actually prove to be helpful in finding a resolution.”

Pride Toronto declined an interview request but issued a statement in which it said that individual police officers will continue to be allowed to participate in the parade but "as members or allies of our diverse and beautiful community" rather than as official representatives of Toronto Police. They did not specify if that meant uniforms weren't allowed.

"Pride Toronto is committed to continuing the important dialogue that has taken place with our membership and the broader community. We are listening. We will listen," the statement said. "What we have seen from the Toronto Police Service is that they are also listening and their actions reflect a commitment to continuing the conversation with our community to move forward."

The city’s Pride parade last summer was interrupted by a protest from Black Lives Matter and only resumed when Pride Toronto’s then-executive director Matthieu Chantelois signed a list of demands put forth by the group that included a ban on police floats in future parades.

Chantelois later said he only agreed to the demands in order to get the parade moving again.

Last month at their annual general meeting, Pride organizers bowed to demands from Black Lives Matter Toronto to have all police floats and booths removed from future Pride parades and other events. The move received a lot of backlash from within the LGBTQ community.

The local chapter of Black Lives Matter said Friday it is disappointed with Saunders’ statement.

“They are trying to flip the narrative and make it seem as if they are choosing to pull out of Pride when in fact they were uninvited,” said spokesperson Syrus Marcus Ware.

Marcus Ware said they are frustated that Saunders’ statement makes no mention of issues such as “anti-blackness and policing, around issues of carding.”

The group has been a vocal critic of the controversial practice of carding, also known as street checks, which it says unfairly targets young black, brown and indigenous people.

Marcus Ware also cast doubt on the chief’s offer to meet with marginalized groups, saying Saunders has so far refused to meet with Black Lives Matter.

— With files by Terry Davidson and Canadian Press

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