The City of Vancouver could help cover more of the cost to put on next year’s Gay Pride festivities.
Councillor Tim Stevenson says Vision Vancouver plans to table a motion in the fall asking staff to look into granting civic status to Pride, and other events such as Vaisakhi and Chinese New Year. This means the City would pay for policing, parking, cleaning up and more, in addition to the 25-thousand-dollar grant it already gives Pride every year.
Stevenson says the budget might be tight, but with 650-thousand spectators, the event is a huge success, “The benefits are huge. I mean, we literally have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people that participate in these events.”
NPA Councillor George Affleck, meanwhile, says he supports the motion, but wants events to show their return on investment, and for Council to be able to vote separately on each one.
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