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Shades of Colour and Organization For All LGBTIQ+ Refugees in Canada both list seven demands on their Facebook pages that include additional space for people of colour at Pride and better representation on the Edmonton Pride Festival Society’s board.

Victoria Guzman, a co-organizer of Shades of Colour, disputed that notion, saying “all the demands were negotiable.”

“We were totally willing to have an open dialogue,” she said.

While the original email leaked on Wednesday referred to the political environment, the organizers said that was “politics within the community and not provincial politics.”

LGBTQ issues have been a point of contention during the election period after several UCP candidates have been caught expressing homophobic statements and the party’s education plan has been questioned over its protection of gay-straight alliances in schools.

This year’s festival was scheduled to run June 7-16 in various locations across the city and included the well attended and popular Pride Parade.

Last year’s parade was stalled almost immediately after it started when dozens of protesters blocked the route.

Brandishing signs with messages such as “No justice, No pride” and “Racism is a queer issue,” demonstrators called on the Edmonton Pride Festival Society to hear their concerns.

“We’re only here because it’s been denied so many times,” said protest spokeswoman Alexis Hillyard at the time.

Since last year’s protest, the two sides have been in consultation with the hopes of coming to a resolution.

“I need to iterate that it is the Pride festival and parade that won’t happen this year. Pride will still happen in Edmonton,” said the society organizer.

The decision to cancel was made this week before the society is committed financially to their partners, leaving them in debt for future programs.

Both sides have said they would be willing to work towards creating an inclusive Pride in future years.

dshort@postmedia.com

@dylanshort_

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