Pride parade.

by Dan Laxer
The Suburban

Fierté Montréal has reversed its decision excluding a Jewish LGBTQ+ group, along with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) from this year’s Pride parade.

CIJA had met with organizers of the pride parade on Monday. In an email to The Suburban, CIJA said that Fierté Montréal “issued an apology to Jewish 2SLGBTQIA+ Quebecers and the broader Jewish community for a decision that was felt as a message of rejection. Following constructive dialogue,” CIJA said, “we accepted their apology.”

CIJA added that the original decision to exclude them and Ga’ava, Canada’s oldest and largest LGBTQ+ group, “should never have happened.”

Fierté Montréal made it clear in their conversation that it opposes antisemitism, and that it had no intention of excluding the Jewish community.

In its statement CIJA added, referring to the Israel-Gaza war, “While we hope for the safe return of the hostages and for peace, and while our hearts break with every civilian death, whether Israeli or Palestinian, the streets of Montréal must not become a stage for intimidation and we must reaffirm our shared commitment to defending 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and fight antisemitism in Quebec, in Canada, and around the world.”

Ga’ava President Carlos Godoy tells The Suburban that he is “extremely pleased that LFBTQ+ Jews can once again be their authentic selves in the Montreal Pride parade.”

The announcement came the day after Bernard Truong, the chair of the Pride Montreal board of directors, stepped down, allegedly for personal reasons, the organization said. It is alleged that several other board members had also stepped down because, Godoy speculates, “they could not tolerate the intolerable.”

“On Sunday, August 10, just like they have since 2007, the Jewish community and LGBTQ+ Jews will be walking in Montreal’s Pride parade. It will be doing it proudly as members of the Jewish community, as LGBTQ+ individuals, and we’re gonna make sure to bring our authentic selves with our cultural, historical, and spiritual selves to the beautiful parade,” Godoy said.