Organizers of the 2017 Pride Parade and Festival say members of the Calgary Police Service and other law enforcement agencies are more than welcome to take part in this year’s events as long as they participate without visually representing their vocation and if CPS higher-ups undergo diversity and inclusion training.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Calgary Pride officials disclosed their requirements for including police in the celebration. The following is an excerpt from the Calgary Pride release outlining the conditions:

  • Participating staff and officers of Calgary Police Services and other law enforcement agencies (RCMP, Correctional Services, etc.) will participate without uniforms, firearms, vehicles, or any forms of institutional representation, such as floats etc.
  • Calgary Police Services Chief of Police Roger Chaffin, and Deputy Chief of Police Sat Parhar, in addition to the Senior Executive team of Calgary Police Services will engage in formal Diversity and Inclusion training, prior to displaying institutional representation within future Calgary Pride activities. Similar conversations will take place with other law enforcement agencies. We believe CPS Senior Executive team’s engagement in formal Diversity and Inclusion training will demonstrate their commitment to allyship and creating a cultural shift in law enforcement agencies’ approach to diversity and inclusion, within a top-down approach. This commitment will strengthen community relations with Calgary’s gender and sexually diverse community. The proposed date of this training will be announced when details have been finalized.

The move follows similar requests of law enforcement agencies at pride events in Toronto and Vancouver. Calgary Pride officials say the conditions will demonstrate the Calgary Police Service’s commitment to allyship and understanding.

“Hopefully members of the CPS will go up to members of VOICES (a coalition of Two-Spirt racialized  and people of colour in the parade and, without that uniform and that barrier, that they’ll be able to have some honest dialogue with each other about some of these issues and find some common ground,” said Jason Kingsley, Calgary Pride’s president & executive producer.

Calgary Pride’s conditions for police participation would not extend to on-duty uniformed officers who will be in attendance to ensure public safety.

The conditions were discussed in January in a meeting that involved Calgary Pride, the Calgary Police Service and several advocacy groups. James Demers, a community activist, says a major focus of the conversation was diversity training for CPS members, a course that had been optional.

“We genuinely believe it should be mandatory,” said Demers. “These officers are dealing with hundreds of thousands of people on a street level every day and the more answers they have, the better they can do their job.”

Wednesday afternoon, the Calgary Police Service agreed to respect the wishes of Calgary Pride. The Calgary Police Service will have an entry in the 2017 parade but it will not include uniformed CPS members.

“We are obviously disappointed with the decision that police will not be allowed to march in uniform, but we are not going to allow it to undo decades of progress between law enforcement and the LGBTQ* community in Calgary,” said CPS Chief Constable Roger Chaffin in a statement. “We have a far better relationship with the LGBTQ* community now than we did even ten years ago and we want to keep that forward momentum.”

Demers said the agreement is beneficial for all parties. “We’re going to see a show of solidarity in the pride parade from non-uniformed, non-weaponed officers and they’re also going to participate in diversity training.”

While the Calgary Police Service will comply with Calgary Pride’s request, Dianne Colley-Urquhart, Ward 13 councillor and a long serving police commissioner, took issue with the organization’s demands.

“It’s a huge step back,” said Colley-Urquhart. “The police service and the members of the service have always had a really long, positive working relationship with all members of our diverse community here in Calgary.”

Colley-Urquhart, who served as the Calgary pride parade’s grand marshal in 2005, said the move bordered on reverse discrimination and sets a double standard.

“It’s fine if police are in uniform on the sidelines, and we’re pushing you to the sidelines, but it’s not okay for you to show your support in uniform for those that represent the pride community.”

“I probably won’t participate in it this year myself.”

The 27th annual Calgary Pride festival is scheduled to run from August 25 through September 4. The Calgary Pride Parade will take place on Sunday, September 3.

With files from CTV's Jaclyn Brown