February 7, 2025
PrideTO fails again: Censors motion to discuss anti-genocide obligations & Ushers Ministry of Attorney General Employee into its Board
Last year, on January 25, 2024, members of PrideTO submitted an official proposal to:
- endorse the Liberatory Demand from Queers in Palestine (a Queer Palestinian organization), and
- take concrete actions to meet the demands outlined by Queers in Palestine.
In violation of the Not-For-Profit Corporations Act, PrideTO provided no explanation for excluding the proposal, while it failed to issue a notice of refusal. By law, the proposal should have been included in this year’s AGM agenda, but it was omitted, directly violating PrideTO’s legal obligations.*
Following the Coalition Against Pinkwashing (CAP’s) previous post from July 16, 2024, “We Shut Down Pride, Here’s Why”, we see a continued pattern of PrideTO blocking any proactive, open, and honest discussion about its responsibility to materially uphold universal human rights. This is particularly important in the context of genocide-complicit organizations that fund PrideTO and are platformed by PrideTO.
PrideTO appears poised to fail the community yet again by maintaining its genocide-complicit status quo, a betrayal of the principles and values of universal queer liberation.
PrideTO’s decision to usher in a board member from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) directly conflicts with the organization’s commitment to human rights and justice.
- Embedded Bias: The MAG has implemented discriminatory policies, such as screening law students for supporting pro-Palestine views, threatening freedom of expression.
- Anti-Palestinian Racism: It actively perpetuates anti-Palestinian racism by targeting solidarity with Palestinians, supporting harmful crackdowns on activism, & encouraging trumped-up charges against activists.
- Violation of Int’l Law: The MAG fails to act on international rulings against occupation and genocide. It ignores the sale of illegally occupied Palestinian land in Ontario, it allows tax breaks to complicit organizations, and it allows the continued manufacture and sale of military goods and components destined for “Israel”.
As queer folks who are familiar with the history of state and police repression and discrimination against queer, trans, BIPOC people, the last thing we should be doing is elevating members of the state prosecution apparatus to our leadership roles.
The secretive Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG) committee within MAG has pushed for harsher charges against pro-Palestine activists. The clear aim is to stifle dissent, and the very name of the committee suggests a gearing to smear the activists. The HCWG has a close working relationship with the Toronto Police Service, who have their own special operation dubbed “Project Resolute”, which weaponizes the “Hate Crimes Unit” against pro-Palestine activists.
The committee has influenced the prosecution of individuals for expressing their solidarity with Palestinians, including by pushing for charges in connection with peaceful protests. This assault on minorities and fundamental freedoms is in stark opposition to our queer, liberatory values.
With the most recent damning reports from leading human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch determining “Israel’s” guilt in perpetrating genocide in Gaza, and with ICC warrants out for its leaders, PrideTO’s enduring failure to take measures to end its complicity in pinkwashing genocide highlights an even deeper descent into complicity.
Compounded now by an unprecedented bombing and accelerated ethnic cleansing campaign in the West Bank, PrideTO’s inaction signifies blatant disregard for Palestinians. It should not fall on groups such as ours to get organizations to do the bare minimum to end their complicity in genocide, but here we are.
Last year’s PrideTO Parade featured an abhorrent display of deeply complicit actors, from pro-genocide propaganda group CIJA, funders Scotiabank and RBC, and AI killing machine merchants Amazon and Google. They were even featured ahead of important organizations such as workers’ unions.
Last year, Pride Committees across the country including in Ottawa, Halifax, Sudbury, St. John’s, Fredericton and Charlottetown either issued statements of intent and in the case of the latter three broke all ties with corporate sponsors supporting genocide including TD Bank.
More recently, Fierté Sudbury Pride and Guelph Pride have both signed Queers 4 Palestine Toronto’s Palestine Solidarity Pride pledge, committing to hold “Israel” accountable for its genocide and apartheid against the indigenous Palestinian people.
Pride Toronto also needs to sign the pledge. At its core, it is a commitment to Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions (BDS) principles, and a commitment to adhere to the Palestinian campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) guidelines, which CAP outlined in our July 25, 2024 post, “Pinkwashing & the Global BDS Movement”.
There was no excuse for PrideTO’s complicity in genocide last year, and there is certainly no excuse this year. No more pinkwashing.
—————
* As required by Sections 56(2) and 56(8) of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.