TORONTO PRIDE ATTRACTS OVER 1 MILLION

Organisers estimated that 1.3 million people took part in Toronto’s Pride parade on Sunday, despite a recent censorship furore.

The event, celebrating its 30th anniversary, took place in downtown Toronto in the midst of an official city-wide heat alert.

Government and city officials, including Major David Miller, participated in the event which lasted around two hours.

The event had divided the LGBT community after organisers last month banned an organisation called Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) from using the words “Israeli apartheid” in the parade.

Pride Toronto said that it feared that the group would be flouting the City of Toronto’s non-discrimination policy by using the words.

The ban was later reversed after organisers decided to ask participants to sign agreements that they would take responsibly for upholding the city’s polices.

QuAIA took part in the parade without incident.