The union representing Toronto's police officers is urging the city to pull an annual grant to Canada's largest Pride parade after the event banned police floats.
In an open letter released by the union Wednesday, a committee representing LGBTQ officers in the force said it would be unacceptable for the city to give the roughly $260,000 grant to an event that excludes certain municipal employees.
The committee said officers would feel completely devalued and unsupported by the city if the funding continued.
The plea comes weeks after a similar call from a Toronto city councillor, who said the grant should be voted down until the city's Pride parade returns to its ``core principals of equity and inclusivity.''
In January, Pride Toronto adopted a list of demands issued by the Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter, including banning police floats from the parade.
Members of the anti-racism group held a sit-in part way through the parade last July, stopping it from moving forward for about a half hour, until Pride organizers signed the list of demands.