How did Pride spend its grant?
NEWS / Less than 10 percent to touted disability enhancements
Rob Salerno / Toronto / Thursday, October 08, 2009
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A controversial $400,000 federal grant given to Pride Toronto earlier this year through the Marquis Tourism Events Program (MTEP) was used to secure headlining performers like Kelly Rowland rather than, as previously announced, to provide new accessibility services for disabled Pride attendees.

MTEP is a $100-million, two-year federal stimulus program designed to help major annual festivals spend more on programming and promotion in an effort to attract more tourists.

Earlier this summer a Conservative backbencher alleged that the Harper government removed responsibility for MTEP from minister of state (Small Business and Tourism) Diane Ablonczy because she used it to fund Toronto’s Pride celebration. The government denied the Pride Toronto award was the reason for Ablonczy’s demotion but later refused outright a similar grant request from Montreal’s Divers/Cité festival.

A Jun 15 Pride Toronto press release quotes executive director Tracey Sandilands saying, “The initiatives supported by the program will enhance the festival in many ways, including improvements to the visitor experience and services for people with disabilities.”

The claim that the grant money was to be spent on disability services was perpetuated in mainstream press reports on the Ablonczy controversy. And Sandilands alluded again to the MTEP grant as being for improved accessibility services at Pride’s Sep 17 annual general meeting.

But Pride Toronto fundraising director Ryan Lester now says that less than 10 percent of the MTEP grant money was spent on disability services and that, compared with last year, 2009 festival improvements for the disabled were minimal.

“We did employ specialized sign-language interpreters on the stages,” says Lester. “We spent more money on the disability risers on the TD-Wellesley stage, enhanced the risers with furniture and food and beverage, and provided more personal care attendants. The only major enhancements compared to last year were in performers and production.”

Lester says Industry Canada was well aware Pride planned to spend the majority of the money on performers.

“The primary focus [of MTEP] is to increase tourism, specifically with tourists beyond 80 kilometres,” he says. “Those are the success factors. In order to do that we asked for money to have better performers and money to support those performers with better production services and lighting.”

Pride cited confidentiality agreements among Pride Toronto, Rowland and Industry Canada as reasons for not giving Xtra the precise figure on what it paid Rowland, but Sandilands says other costs associated with her performance, including travel, security, and a specialized change room, nearly totalled her artist fees.

“We had to move really fast to find ways to create the enhancements,” says Sandilands. “We got a preferential rate because of us being Pride and she was managed by the same manager as Deborah Cox.”

Cox was already booked to perform at Pride.

Lester said he would provide Xtra with a breakdown of expenses associated with Rowland’s appearance but didn’t do so before press time.

Pride Toronto will report a full accounting of expenses related to the MTEP grant to Industry Canada later this fall, in advance of Pride’s application for a renewal of the MTEP grant for 2010.

Pride also plans to announce receipt of a provincial grant related to environmental initiatives for the 2010 festival before the end of October. The outcome of Pride Toronto’s bid to host World Pride 2014 is expected on Oct 18.


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Reader Comments


 
You want a world class event...gotta pay for it
Why does Xtra always seem to search for things to criticize with Pride? Everyone (all 5 of us that read your magazine anyways) knows that you guys have it out for Pride. And now you try to insinuate that they are lying - so they spent 10% of the money on disability improvements and the rest of performers and such - isn't that "improvements to the visitor experience" like their ED said? I know Kelly sure improved MY visitor experience! So give these guys a break already and stop inventing reasons to criticize them. When you have something worth printing, print it. This is a story about nothing.
Andrew, Toronto Ontario
10/08/09 7:56 PM EST
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Ed's note
Hi Andrew: There are a number of things that are germane to gay and lesbian people about this story. Firstly the Conservative federal government gave Pride $400k but then disciplined the minister responsible for the grant award and refused a similar grant to Montreal's celebration. That's just plain peculiar. Obviously, there's more to the story than what we've been told but neither Pride nor the government will talk about it openly. Secondly, Pride management has a history of saying one thing but then doing something different. Just check out archived stories over the last year for examples. In this case leading the public to believe the grant money would be used for accessability improvements, then saying later that only a small part of it was used that way, is highly newsworthy. Why didn’t they just say from the outset, “We’re going to use most of the money to hire American celebrity headliners?” That does seem to be what they’re saying now. I hear from time to time, mostly from Pride staffers and board members, that Xtra is out to get Pride. That’s a nonsensical abstraction. I don’t plot ways to make Pride look bad. I don’t hate Pride or think badly of anyone associated with it. We in fact do a great deal to promote the events. But we’re also activist journalists. We write about what we learn. Pride Toronto is simply unique among community organizations for its secrecy, its adversarial relationships with individuals and community organizations, its jaw-dropping inability to constructively handle any press that isn’t promotional fluff, and its seeming paranoia of dissent. See, it comes down to this: Pride seems to demand that everything written about it be glowing and positive. As journalists we're interested in clarity, truth and consistency.
Matt Mills, Toronto Ont
10/09/09 10:13 AM EST
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It is not world class if it is not accessible
"so they spent 10% of the money on disability improvements..." You have got to be kidding!!! If you can hear then you obviously do not care about those of us who cannot. I went to numerous stages throughout Pride and there were no Sign Language Interpreters. I went to the disability headquarters and there was a sign notifying people of the two shows that had interpreters. TWO SHOWS! No one could answer any of my questions, not even the volunteer who knew sign language. We are NOT going to disappear so start making Pride fully accessible to all people. Shame on the Pride committee, especially if the money was given on the grounds of making Pride more accessible and then putting the money into other things. Pride is not "world class" until they get their act together and stop excluding certain members of the community.
Shawna, Whitby ON
10/11/09 12:05 AM EST
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Codswallop or Fact?
Kudos to R. Salerno & M. Mills for reminding readers that the purpose of journalism is not to swallow the codswallop you’re fed, but to do research & report the facts. Dear Mr A. No Last Name – I’ll go farther than “insinuate” ... According to Pride Toronto’s own statements [“The $397,500 that was awarded to Pride was allocated for specific items such as improved access for disabled people” (http://www.pridetoronto.com/news/official-statement-on-federal-funding-issue/)], they announced that monies from this grant would be spent to IMPROVE access for the D/A community... You don’t mention whether or not you attended Pride 2009, or whether or not you are a member of Toronto’s D/A Community, but since I WAS there and saw no APPRECIABLE increase in services nor improved “access” to the festival (from 2008 levels), it does beg the question as to whether or not Pride Toronto fulfilled the conditions of the grant or even the spirit for which the funds were granted. Even if they spent MORE dollars providing the SAME level of accessibility to the festival as in prior years, that doesn’t count as “improved access”. According to you, Pride Toronto “spent 10% of the money on disability improvements” 10%?? HAH! Even if they only spent 5% of the $397,500.00 awarded (= $19,875.00) on IMPROVED and/or ADDITIONAL access, that should’ve translated into SIGNIFICANTLY MORE performances having sign language interpreters, or wheelchairs for borrow, accessible toilets, transcription services, personal-care attendants or perhaps even an additional viewing area. My experience of the festival found that there were LESS performances w/ interpretation & LESS services offered @ D/A HQ, and I certainly wasn’t offered free food on the D/A riser @ Wellesley Stage ... cont'd further
Trevor Bain, Toronto Ont
10/11/09 12:38 AM EST
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Codswallop of Fact? cont'd
CONTINUED: If you think this “is a story about nothing”, then perhaps you haven’t been a part of our local queer community for very long? Otherwise you’d know that spending grant money (our tax dollars) targeted for a specific purpose (or community group) on something other than what it was intended, is indeed newsworthy. Misallocation of funds can lead to a denial of further grants, not only to Pride Toronto, but to any queer Canadian event. I think it’s important to make sure that organizations that purportedly represent our community and supposedly act on our behalf actually do so and be accountable to us for what they do or don’t do. Is that too much to ask? Personally, I think it’s reprehensible to apply for additional funding using the ruse of improving services and increasing access for a community that needs it, only to give us the same old, same old. Yes, putting on Canada’s largest LGBTQ festival does cost money, probably a lot of money. But perhaps if Pride Toronto “put the money where their mouth is”, then we (the community/public) wouldn’t feel like we’ve been fed codswallop.
Trevor Bain, Toronto Ont
10/11/09 12:45 AM EST
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All in the name of Pride
Anyone who have experienced Pride in Toronto for the last 29 years would have called this year’s celebration - gay shame. What an inflated ego with delusions of grandeur. Picture of two white male printed on “You Belong” billboards/posters, participated in Montreal's Pride Parade in a stretched white limo cheering champagne to the crowd informing them of a date change in 2010. What a joke! I want those who died for the cause rise up from their grave to possess the current Pride Toronto staffers! 400K of taxpayer dollars to provide special lighting, travel, security, and a specialized change room for Kelly Rowland. What has she done for Gay Rights? The primary focus of MTEP is to increase tourism, specifically with tourists beyond 80 kilometres; let me get this right…so Pride Week is about generate tourism dollars for the city now? As for D/A accessibility, the services in fact has decreased this year compared to 2008. Ask the D/A community leaders, they will concur to that! Dear Mr. Andrew, I strongly suggest you to research more or go out to talk to the local queer communities before you open your mouth next time. Sorry – maybe not – since that you Kelly is enough to IMPROVE your Pride experience. That would have been a story about something that Xtra should write about? Bravo to Rob Salerno for reporting in such a professional manner, and Matt Mills for taking a stand in activist journalism. I totally enjoy reading this report. Thank you!
Anna Hayslett, Toronto Ontario
10/11/09 12:58 AM EST
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