Canada: Mayor says Toronto Pride Month should focus on Inclusivity for the LGBTQ community

Toronto Pride Month was launched on Friday with a 1,000-square-foot art installation at the city hall, and Toronto Mayor John Tory making the official proclamation, media reports said.

Mayor Tory said while the city is celebrating the internationally recognized  National Pride Toronto Month but it was not an easy task to reach that far. to get there. The community is still fighting with the government for their rights to be heard and to be treated fairly.

The Mayor said that it was important to stand united as a community and work towards healing the sense of loss and frustration.

Tory said that as long as he was the mayor, he ''would dedicatedly commit himself to this  community and see that inclusivity becomes the norm of the community."

He said, "It takes time, perseverance and dedication to bring change but we can and we will bring change. We should never feel defeated, however slow the progress is."

Tory then thanked executive director of Pride Toronto, Olivia Nuamah,  for her work.

He also thanked all the people working with her, be they be volunteers, staff and the board.

The Mayor also appreciated the theme of Toronto Pride Month -- "35 Years of AIDS Activation".

The Mayor said that the celebration is a reflection of the commitment on the part of this crowd.

"To make sure that we continue to be at the forefront of the efforts to eliminate homophobia and transphobia and against any form of hatred and discrimination," he said.

Mayor Tory concluded his speech by saying, "I, Mayor John Tory, on behalf of City Council hereby proclaim June 2018 as Toronto Pride Month in the city of Toronto."

He then handed the Proclamation to the co-chairs of Pride Toronto who also spoke of all the things they are committed to doing.

This was followed by raising of the trangender flags by John Tory

The ceremony concluded with barbeque for the gathering.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)