Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has called for an independent investigation into the last-minute cancellation of the Pride parade.
Marikym Gaudreault, a spokesperson for the city, confirmed the decision Tuesday — just one day after Montreal Pride announced its own internal probe into what happened over the weekend.
Organizers pulled the plug on the parade on Sunday, hours ahead of when the large-scale event had been scheduled to begin. The festival’s executive director, Simon Gamache, cited security concerns due to a lack of volunteers to ensure the parade could go ahead safely.
The sudden move left thousands of attendees without a parade. Furious with the abrupt cancellation, multiple groups rallied together to hold their own unsanctioned marches.
Plante said on Sunday she was not informed of the labour issue before organizers cancelled the event. The weeklong Pride festival, which included concerts and other events and ended Sunday, received $600,000 from the City of Montreal.
The mayor took to Twitter on Tuesday to say she was “very satisfied” after the city’s meeting with festival organizers, who will co-operate with the independent investigation.
Plante said the probe will shed light on what happened and “make recommendations to ensure the success of future editions.”
Meanwhile, Montreal Pride has said it will release a report on its own findings later this week.
— with files from Global News’ Dan Spector and The Canadian Press