Mathieu Chantelois, the executive director of Pride Toronto, has resigned “to pursue an opportunity with another organization.”

Pride Toronto spokesperson Victoria Schwarzl confirmed the organization is now searching for a new executive director.

“I presented my resignation to the board after the festival, and I currently work at Cineplex Media. I decided it was time for me to move on, and I wish Pride the best in the future,” Chantelois said in an emailed statement.

The resignation came after “serious allegations” were made against Chantelois in a letter from Pride Toronto staff to the board of directors, according to a statement by the board.

“Immediately following receipt of the letter, the Board retained the services of a law firm that specializes in workplace investigations to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the letter’s allegations. At the commencement of the investigation, a copy of the letter was shared with the Executive Director,” the statement said.

Rather than complete the investigation, Chantelois resigned, the statement said.

According to Global News, the email contained allegations of racism, sexism and sexual harassment among other concerns.

The Star was not able to independently verify the details of the report.

“I am saddened by the allegations and attacks on my reputation that are now being made publicly,” Chantelois said in an emailed statement to the Star.

Before working at Pride Toronto, Chantelois was chair of the board of the 519 Church Street Community Centre and editor of Le Magazine Cineplex, the French edition of the movie theatre chain’s monthly publication.

Chantelois became the executive director of Pride Toronto in January 2015. Last month, he made headlines by signing an agreement with Black Lives Matter Toronto, which, among other things, agreed to exclude police floats from future Pride Toronto parades.

Black Lives Matter stopped the parade for 30 minutes until their demands were met. Those demands included increasing funding and support for Black Queer Youth events, Blockorama, reinstating the South Asian stage, and hiring more black trans women and indigenous people.

“We are under attack,” Alexandria Williams, one of the group’s co-founders said during the sit-in. “Pride Toronto, we are calling you out! For your anti-blackness, your anti-indigeneity,” she said.

Chantelois and Pride Toronto board co-chair Alica Hall signed the demands.

“Their requests were extremely reasonable,” Chantelois said at the time. “Everything was making a lot of sense.”

But the next day, he said banning police floats wasn’t his decision to make.

“What’s important for people to know is that I’m not deciding what’s in the parade, Alica (Hall, co-chair of Pride Toronto’s board of directors) doesn’t decide what’s in the parade, Black Lives Matter doesn’t . . . decide what’s in the parade,” Chantelois said at the time.

“Who’s deciding what’s in the parade is the membership, and my community. . . We will let them have the final word.”

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders penned an open letter to the organization July 27, in which he urged them to continue letting police march in the parade.

“We value our relationship with Pride, and it is important to us to continue playing an active role in the parade,” Saunders said in his letter.

Black Lives Matter Toronto steering committee member Leroi Newbold said the group hopes Pride Toronto’s next executive director honours their demands and makes the festival more inclusive to black queer communities.

“We’re hoping that we’re not going to see the same type of policing of our communities of Pride, the same type of defunding of our space (as before),” Newbold said.

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Chantelois had support from parts of Toronto’s LGBTQ community, but also his fair share of critics. Christin Milloy, a trans rights activist and former team lead for Trans Pride, was among those who argued Pride Toronto marginalized trans, racialized and disabled members of the LGBTQ community.

“I see (his resignation) as a positive change. It’s important that Pride select a replacement who is truly going to listen to marginalized communities,” Milloy said.