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Toronto’s Pride Parade has lifted a ban on uniformed police officers participating in the colourful annual event, saying the force was welcome to apply to be a part of next summer’s festivities.

The relationship between Pride Toronto and city police has been tense for the past two years, ever since uniformed officers were banned from the parade in 2017 over concerns of racial profiling, and again this year over criticism the force had not taken the disappearances of several men missing from the city’s gay village seriously.

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Pride Toronto said Tuesday the two sides have made progress on conversations related to “policing and institutional power” and said that if police apply to march in the 2019 parade, their request will be granted providing they meet the event’s rules.

Photo by Mark Blinch/CP

“This decision is made in acknowledgment that Pride Toronto can only thrive through commitment to a diversity of efforts,” the organization said in an open letter to the LGBTQ community. “The critical conversations that have been started will continue, fostered through the work of organizations in our community that we trust.”