A request from Black Lives Matter Vancouver for uniformed police to withdraw from participating in the Vancouver Pride parade back in 2016 sparked a debate that lasted for several years.

Some groups arose in opposition. Others remained uncertain about or felt conflicted about what should be done.

Over the years, the Vancouver Pride Society has undertaken many efforts and initiatives to understand the various viewpoints involved and to support inclusion.

In its latest effort, Vancouver Pride will hold a two-hour online panel discussion about the issue of defunding police.

While there have been widespread calls for police to be defunded, some—or perhaps many—people remain unclear about what that would exactly involve or how that could be done. 

Accordingly, Vancouver Pride will hold a session entitled Defunding the Police Panel: Activism in Action that will provide some answers to some common questions, explore the issues involved, examine strategies of defunding police and what that would entail, and discuss how the reallocation of funding to community safety initiatives can help to protect LGBT community members.

The panel will consist of Pivot Legal Society criminalization and policing campaigner Meenakshi Mannoe, PACE Society’s Kit Rothschild, and two-spirit social worker and educator Jeffrey McNeil Seymour.

Vancouver multidisciplinary artist, musician, and facilitator Tonye Aganaba will moderate the discussion.

This event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on April 13.

For more information, visit the event webpage.