Pride parade to go ahead despite strike
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/654734
Pride parade to go ahead despite strike
Emily Mathieu
Staff Reporter
Toronto's Pride parade and scheduled events will go ahead as planned, despite the municipal strike, event organizers say.
Event spokesperson Grant Ramsay said today that "we are planning on all our festivities happening," and said he could not comment on what might happen if the strike continues.
"I don't have anything to tell you," said Ramsay, adding that Pride organizers were waiting and planned to take their direction from the city.
The main event is the big parade next Sunday but other events are scheduled to take place across the city all week.
At midnight close to 30,000 municipal workers — including city funded day care employees and garbage collectors — went on strike after five months of failed negotiations.
The strike has halted one event: the official opening ceremonies of Toronto's Pride Week celebrations. Mayor David Miller was scheduled to raise a flag at city hall today at noon, but this was cancelled earlier this morning.
Last week, Tracey Sandilands, executive director for Pride Toronto, told the Star that if the strike went forward, event organizers would be willing to hire private contractors, paying up to $20,000 to handle the garbage generated throughout Pride Week events. City officials had given the green light to Pride events, as long as trash was taken care of, she said.
The weeklong festival has been a Toronto fixture for close to 30 years. Bringing close to $100 million in economic activity to the city, Pride is often described as the largest event of its kind in the world.
The parade is not the only major summer festival that will generate a lot of trash, but trash disposal is not always the city's responsibility.
This morning, organizers of the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival said they do not expect the strike to impact the festival.
In a release, executive producer Patrick Taylor said: "The Festival is a self-contained event, run independently from the City. It is business as usual for the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival and we are looking forward to kicking off summer for our 23rd consecutive year."
The festival is held at Nathan Phillips Square and runs from Fri., June 26 to Sun., July 5.