Tuesday May 11, 2010
Conservatives Deny Funding to 2010 Toronto Gay Pride Festival
By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
OTTAWA, May 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Industry Minister Tony Clement has announced that the Conservative federal government will not be giving any money to Toronto’s homosexual “pride” festival this year.
Last year, the government’s Marquee Tourism Events Program, which is geared toward assisting Canadian tourism events, awarded a $400,000 grant to the event.
The government, and the then-Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism Diane Ablonczy, who approved the money for the homosexual exhibition, were harshly criticized by pro-family advocates and members of the Tory caucus for spending taxpayer money on the Toronto sex festival. The festival prominently features the Gay Pride Parade, well known for its full nudity, public sexual acts and its endorsement of behavior unacceptable to most sectors of Canadian society.
Minister Ablonczy was subsequently reassigned and the tourism funding job was given to Tony Clement.
The Minister told the media that his decision had nothing to do with anti-gay sentiment. Clement told the Canadian Press that last year most of the Marquee Tourism Events Program money went to events in Toronto and Montreal, whereas this year the funds will be more equally shared between a large number of events in smaller centers and two major tourist attractions, namely the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the Luminato Arts Festival.
“It’s inaccurate to say the pride festival’s funding has been cut off,” Clement said, adding that no event was entitled to receive funds because they were previously given funds.
However, this explanation has not stopped Gay Pride Festival organizers from claiming that Clement’s decision was “homophobic.”
The results of a non-scientific online poll taken by the Toronto Star asking “Do you think the federal government should fund Toronto’s gay pride festival?” showed that more that two-thirds of respondents support Minister Clement’s decision.
Of 34,246 respondents, 68% voted No, 30% voted Yes, while 3% were unsure.
Campaign Life Coalition’s (CLC) Jim Hughes told LifeSiteNews that he fully supports Minister Clement’s course of action.
“We understand Clement’s discretion,” Hughes said. “It is a bit far fetched for the radical homosexual activists who parade nude down the street to expect cash in these tough times.”
See previous LSN coverage:
Canada’s Federal “Conservatives” Give $400K to Toronto Gay Pride Week
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061817.html
Conservatives Deny Funding to Montreal Gay Pride
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09072207.html
REAL Women Speaks Out Against $400K to Toronto Pride, in Wake of Further Reports of Homosexual Funding
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jul/09071503.html