Fallout from the G20 protests spilled into Pride week Tuesday night as Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair came under fire at the annual Police Pride Reception.
Dozens of protesters outside the 519 Church Community Centre called on Blair to resign over what they call police brutality and unfair arrests during the summit. They were calling on Pride to bar the chief from the event and other Pride gatherings.
About a dozen police barred the protesters from attending the upstairs reception, but they pushed through a side door into the building's lobby chanting lines such as, "Hey hey, ho ho, Bill Blair has got to go."
The 519 said protesters were not shut out of the centre, but the reception was at capacity at 250 people. The centre's executive director Maura Lawless also said the function was meant for Pride Toronto and the police to celebrate Pride, not for the community to voice its concern.
