Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders is standing by his decision to bar officers from attending an alternative Pride event geared towards first responders.
Saunders announced Monday that officers planning to attend the First Responders Unity Festival on Sunday must do so "on their own time and without their uniform."
He told reporters on Tuesday he wants to focus on strengthening the relationship between police and the LGBTQ community.
"We've learned some lessons. We have an opportunity here to do just that, "Saunders said. "Anything that I feel is causing a distraction to move towards that, I don't think is necessarily the best choice at this time."
The First Responders Unity Festival was designed to include LGBTQ police officers, firefighters, paramedics, TTC workers, military personnel and correctional services after a rocky year between those groups and Pride Toronto.
First Responders Unity Festival organizer Bryn Hendricks told CP24 he is disappointed in the decision.
Pride Toronto voted to remove armed, uniformed officers and police floats from marching in future parades during its annual general meeting in January, following a request made by Black Lives Matter Toronto over the organization’s controversial relationship with police.
With files from CP24 and Corinne Van Dusen