Premier Tim Houston said he wanted to attend the Halifax Pride Parade on Saturday.
But based on advice from the RCMP, his team decided it was safer for him and the public to not attend, in case protesters interrupted the parade, he said.
While speaking to reporters on Thursday, he stuck mostly to the statement he released earlier in the week.
“I’ve always been very clear that no matter who you love, how you identify, there’s a place for you in this province,” said Houston, adding that he’s been supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and of anyone in Nova Scotia.
But the RCMP told him, if he was in the parade, he could be a “lightning rod” for protesters, he said.
Houston said he never wants to miss being around Nova Scotians and that he planned to go. He said he’s walked in the pride parade before and there’s “no doubt” he will in the future, but he felt it would have been “completely irresponsible” to go.
If the parade was stopped and people in the crowd or in the parade would want the protesters to get out of the way.
“You can imagine what might unfold in a highly sensitized environment,” he said.
“There’s all kinds of volatility in the world today,” he said, adding that his team takes the RCMP’s feedback “very seriously.”
RCMP previously said the premier’s office reached out for advice, and the RCMP told them Houston could anger any protesters, but the final decision to attend the parade would be up to the premier’s office.
Houston told reporters this happens for more than just the pride parade. For any event, his team talks to the RCMP about security.
“I’ll let those professionals make those decisions, and I’ll just take their advice,” he said.
Houston did not say which protesters would have caused a demonstration but that some groups have interrupted other pride parades.
In June, the Toronto Pride Parade was stopped by a group of pro-Palestine protesters, and eventually the parade ended early.
Pro-Palestine protesters did stop the Halifax Pride Parade as the final few floats were approaching the end of the route, but in a video posted to social media, at least one float diverted its path down another road.
NDP Leader Claudia Chender had a float in the parade and said the protest was peaceful.
Halifax Regional Police said there were no reported injuries or arrests related to the demonstration but that the Halifax Pride team handled the situation.
It’s also unclear why no one from the Progressive Conservative Party was in the parade, even if Houston wasn’t there.
The party also didn’t notify Halifax Pride they would not participate, according to a social media post from Halifax Pride.
On Saturday, Houston attended the IWK 250 race at the Riverside International Speedway in Antigonish, a race to fundraise for the IWK. It’s unclear if there was any conflict with the race day schedule and the time of the pride parade.
