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Montreal Pride parade to go on as planned Sunday after 2022 cancellation: director

Aug 12, 2023 | 11:06 AM

MONTREAL — The head of the organization behind Montreal’s LGBTQ+ pride festival says the city’s pride parade will go on as planned Sunday after its abrupt cancellation last year.

The 2022 edition of the parade was cancelled just hours before it was supposed to begin in downtown Montreal.

An independent report later found the incident was due to a misunderstanding among Montreal Pride festival personnel after they discovered 96 of the 200 volunteers needed to work security for the parade were never recruited.

The report identified systemic communications and governance issues within the festival organization and recommended 13 reforms to address them.

Montreal Pride Executive Director Simon Gamache says the organization has since fixed all of the problems that scuttled last year’s parade. 

He says Montreal Pride has all of the staff members and volunteers it needs for this year and Sunday’s event will go ahead on schedule.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2023.

The Canadian Press

<!– Photo: 20230812120844-64d7b7948c76af56b58a1d14jpeg.jpg, Caption:

The head of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ pride festival organization says the city’s pride parade will go on as planned Sunday after its abrupt cancellation last year. Thousands turned out to walk in the Montreal Pride parade, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter McCabe

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