OTTAWA, ON — The Ontario Liberal Party has released the following statement:
“As Ottawa celebrates Pride this weekend, the Ontario Liberal Party is committed to celebrating and honouring the contributions of 2SLGBTQIA+ residents of our nation’s capital.
“The statement released last week by Capital Pride, however, does not live up to the spirit of inclusion of the event or that our party believes in. That’s why, after conversations with members of our party, and members of our caucus, and our leader, the Ontario Liberal Party has made the difficult decision not to join the Ottawa Pride Parade this weekend.
“Our caucus members will celebrate Pride in their local communities this weekend.
“Pride celebrations are an important moment to celebrate important milestones while remembering that the rights and freedoms enjoyed today were hard-fought and not easily won. As a party, we acknowledge there remains more work to be done — especially following a year where reports of homophobic and transphobic incidents have increased. Hate and division are not who we are as a province, and the Ontario Liberal Party will always stand up for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights.
“We want to wish every member of the Ottawa 2SLGBTQIA+ community a very happy Pride this weekend. We hope to see you at other celebrations throughout the community in the coming days.”