A few months after a dozen organizations slammed the Montreal pride door by denouncing a “toxic culture” and created an alternative festival, pride Montreal unveiled its programming on Wednesday, which mixes dance, drag, song, DJ and literature.
At a press conference, the director general of Pride Montreal, Simon Gamache refuted the accusations made to his organization. “The board of directors, quickly, has set up an investigation. […] What came out is that the accusations of toxic climate are absolutely not true, “says Mr. Gamache, who also rejects accusations that Montreal did not pay his artists.
Photo Martin Chamberland, La Presse Archives
Simon Gamache, Managing Director of Montreal Pride
“When the report [d’enquête] was finished with the CA, immediately [les organismes qui ont quitté] were met the next day. “However, he adds,” these external attacks have a negative impact on the internal. I have teams that are afraid of doing their job because of a climate of intimidation and that is absolutely unacceptable. ». According to him, this intimidation comes from people in disagreement with the vision of the organization as to the organization of the festival.
A “political apathy” denounced
The ten organizations who left Montreal pride last May have created an alternative, more political and claiming, indomitable pride festival. It will be held from July 31 to August 18, with a walk on August 10, at the same time as that of Montreal pride.
“We meet a need to represent racialized communities, trans people, people who are victims of genocide,” said Aisha Lorian, one of the indomitable pride organizers.
The organizer notably criticizes Pride Montreal his partnership with TD Bank, “which has direct links with Israeli arms companies,” he said. TD is the main sponsor of Montreal pride.
“There is a certain political apathy from Montreal pride. This is a problem, especially with the rise of the extreme right and anti-Queers behaviors. We find that it is necessary to repolitize pride, ”says Aisha Liorian.
Concretely, what will indomitable pride look like? “We still have 84 events!” said Yara Coussa, who also co -organizes the festival. We are going to have raves, workshops, nicknames. We really want to contact different types of people. »»
What if pride Montreal brought more political claims, would they be ready to reintegrate the organization?
“Our slogan is that our pride cannot be purchased. I think that says everything, ”says Yara Coussa. “For the moment, the ball is in the camp [de Fierté Montréal] Aisha Liorian replies.
“It will be a long -term process of rebuilding confidence in Pride Montreal,” said the president of the Quebec lesbian network, Cynthia Eysseric.
Asked as for the arrival of a new pride festival in Montreal, Simon Gamache believes that “the two festivals can cohabit” because they meet different needs.
Varied programming for Montreal pride
More than 250 artists will perform from July 31 to August 10 as part of the Montreal pride festivities, which will be held in three places: in the Spectacles district, in the Olympic Park and in the village. Among these shows, Rita Baga and Barbada will host the “100 % Drag evening” on August 7 and Lisa Leblanc, Calamine and Safia Nolin will tread the boards from a scene outside the quiet esplanade on August 3. Pride Montreal expects a crowd of around 15,000 people during the August 10 parade, during which the organization will mobilize 300 employees and 400 volunteers, especially for security. The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) and the Montreal Fire Security Service (SIM) will also be on site to monitor the walking. “We are probably the most security festival in Quebec right now,” said Simon Gamache.