The executive director of Pride Toronto has resigned from his post.
The decision by Matthew Chantelois to leave the organization comes amid criticism surrounding his handling of a sit-in protest by members of Black Lives Matter – Toronto during the annual pride parade.
Members of Black Lives Mater-Toronto halted the parade for close to 30 minutes last month and only allowed it to resume after Chantelois signed a list of demands, which included banning police floats from future Pride parades, doubling funding for the Blockorama stage and agreeing to hold a public town hall with members of the black LGBT community.
Chantelois, however, backed away from the police float ban the following day, telling CP24 that he only agreed to have a conversation with the group about police involvement in the Pride Parade.
In the days and weeks that have followed, Chantelois has faced criticism from both police union officials who have said that he effectively threw officers under the bus by agreeing to the ban in the first place as well as Black Lives Matter – Toronto organizers, who have accused him of going back on his word.
In a message posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Chantelois said it was time for him to move on, though he did not elaborate on the reasons for his decision. .
"I presented my resignation to the PT board and I currently work at Cineplex Media,” he wrote. “It was time for me to move. I wish Pride the best.”
Chantelois has served as the executive director of Pride Toronto since January 2015, occupying the top job for the last two Pride festivals.
In a message posted to Facebook, Pride Toronto did not provide a reason for Chantelois's resignation other than to say that he was leaving to "pursue an opportunity" with another organization.
Discussing the news with CP24 on Wednesday, Black Lives Matter-Toronto co-founder Rodney Diverlus said that the time had come for Chantelois to go.
“It was under his leadership that a number of anti-black policies and a number of attacks to the black queer and trans community were done. You know, it was under his leadership that BQY (Black Queer Youth) lost their space and funding, it was under his leadership that Blackness Yes and Blockorama were facing autonomy issues and he was the one who signed the demands put forward by the black queer and trans community and then recanted them less than 24 hours later,” he said. “In our view, if he is not committed to making pride an accessible space for black queer and trans people than let’s make space for somebody who is.”
Diverlus said he didn’t want to speculate on the reasons for Chantelois’s resignation but noted that there has been a lot of “issues and frustrations” with his leadership that have been risen by members of the black LGBTQ community in recent weeks.
“The protest put Pride in the headlines and it put the conversation around anti-black racism at the forefront,” he said.
The announcement of Chantelois’s resignations comes hours after Pride Toronto announced plans for two town halls later this month.
The sessions, scheduled for Aug. 30 and Aug. 31, are “open to all interested community members” and are aimed at generating ideas on how to “create a safe and inclusive Pride festival in 2017 and beyond,” according to the organization.
Chantelois had previously said that some of the issues raised by Black Lives Matter-Toronto would be discussed during the town halls.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday, Pride Toronto said it will begin its search for a new executive director in the “coming weeks.”
"In the interim, the Board of Directors will provide strategic direction and support to the organization until the search process is completed,” the statement said.
