[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto Pride parade brings fun tinged with sorrow over Orlando"

[rfmcdonald]

Eric Andrew-Gee's article in The Globe and Mail describes Pride weekend this year in Toronto.

“Pride is political,” shouted a protester atop the Black Lives Matter float at Sunday’s Pride parade in Toronto, and this year it would have been hard to disagree.

The annual celebration of the LGBTQ community took over a portion of downtown Toronto on Sunday in a rainbow-clad display of defiance just weeks after a homophobic shooting rampage claimed dozens of lives in a gay Orlando nightclub.

Justin Trudeau’s raucously received appearance marked the first time a Canadian prime minister has marched in the parade, a milestone that prompted some to reflect on the progress North American society has made on gay rights in recent years.

Mr. Trudeau said the Florida tragedy is a reminder that “we can’t let hate go by … We have to speak up any time there is intolerance or discrimination.”

This year, the parade’s fun-filled atmosphere vied with moments of poignancy, sorrow and anger, as the historic tension at Pride between politics and partying tilted in favour of the politically minded.