Pride Toronto apologizes after review finds it wasn't transparent with $1.8M in grants

Pride Toronto is apologizing after an accounting firm it hired found that the organization could not prove that it completed several projects despite receiving $1.85 million in federal grant money.

"I cannot apologize enough on behalf of the organization," Sherwin Modeste, executive director of Pride Toronto, told CBC News on Monday.

KPMG, hired by Pride Toronto in 2021 to review its compliance with agreements for three federal grants, found that documentation was lacking. The firm looked at how the organization spent grant money awarded in 2018 and 2019, although KPMG says in the review it did not conduct an audit.

The not-for-profit organization, which stages a celebration of Toronto's LGBTQ+ community every June, including one of the biggest Pride parades in the world, also works "to ensure equal rights and representation for every person of diverse sexual and gender identities," according to its website.

It received $600,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2019 to organize an exhibition of Indigenous two-spirit artwork and $1 million from Public Safety Canada in 2018 to develop community safety strategies for LGBTQ+ communities. The organization also received $250,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2018 to develop bilingual tools to tell the story of the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada.

"A key condition of the grants was that Pride Toronto should use the funding to deliver certain outputs and reporting to the funders," KMPG said. "Pride Toronto could not provide some evidence to show that they had completed several of the proposed deliverables," the review reads.

In its official response to the review, Pride Toronto apologized specifically to Indigenous individuals and two-spirit communities it says it harmed. Pride Toronto has been accused of using Indigenous artist Kent Monkman's name to obtain grant funding.

"We have requested the opportunity to consult with them on what might constitute an appropriate and acceptable financial resolution for the acts of settler colonialism our organization inflicted upon them. As we told them, words cannot express how sorry we are," Pride Toronto said.

KPMG said Pride Toronto failed to provide documentation to show that 10 out of 12 promised activities with its Two Spirit Tales grant actually happened.

The organization said it is also apologizing to individuals and organizations who it "wrongly, and without their permission or approval, made false representations claiming their support for Pride Toronto's grant applications."

Modeste said all staff members, board members and volunteers involved in the decision making involving the three grants are no longer with the organization. CBC Toronto could not verify that claim. 

He said the findings of the review were disappointing because checks and balances were not in place but noted the financial problems happened before he was hired. He promised more accountability and transparency.

"After being a member of the community, I was disappointed to know that Pride, as an organization, would allow for these kind of practices to happen. I was disappointed, but at the same time, I was happy to know that now I have the evidence that was presented and the recommendations ... coming from KPMG," he said.

"I'm ready and willing to work with the community and the board and staff to make sure that those recommendations are implemented."