The difficult decision to withdraw from the July 20, 2024 Halifax Pride Parade was made operationally, under our duty as an employer to ensure the health and safety of our employees.
Some members of Halifax’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community felt let down by this decision. We deeply regret these unintended outcomes, and we are grateful for all the input we received as a result.
In the spirit of transparency, we confirm that protest-related safety concerns articulated by parade organizers were shared with an occupational health and safety lawyer, a public safety consultant, and our employees. In respect of the privacy of everyone involved, we will not share further details.
Resulting from these consultations, the final decision was in no way a comment on the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, the history of Pride, or the goals of the expected parade demonstration.
We are dedicated to supporting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, as evidenced by the excellent work of our Equity & Access Office, other NSBS team members, and our Equity Committees. To learn more about the work of these groups, visit the Equity & Access section of our website.
This important work is never done. It continually evolves and grows, and it is only through healthy dialogue that our commitment to do better shines through. We are grateful to hear all voices, and pledge to seek out those voices more proactively, more broadly, and earlier in our processes whenever possible.