Latest news with #MorganeOger
Global News
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Global News
‘They give us a huge bill': Vancouver Pride says city fees too onerous
On the eve of Vancouver's annual Pride Parade, organizers say they're being forced to shoulder an unfair portion of the costs to put on the event. The Vancouver Pride Society says the City of Vancouver requires it to cover tens of thousands of dollars in cleaning and policing costs. It contrasted that with the Celebration of Light fireworks display, which saw the city take care of those costs. 'The city, it does give us a grant, but it's like a discount basically. They give us a huge bill and say we're going to take a little bit off,' Pride Society secretary Morgane Oger told Global News. 'Last year the final bill from the city was a hundred and something thousand, this year it's looking like we're going to be paying $130,000 all said and done.' Story continues below advertisement 4:28 Family Services of Greater Vancouver supporting queer and trans youth According to the city, the Celebration of Light has a 'legacy' agreement that was passed by council in 2001, which sees the city cover the entirety of associated costs. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The city said Pride is eligible for up to $75,000 through its city's FestShare program. With the exception of the fireworks, that FestShare funding is the same for all other events in the city, it said. The Pride Parade is returning for 2025 with a shorter route than in previous years as it grapples with financial pressures, including the growing cost of public safety. The Aug. 3 procession will head from east to west this year, a reversal from previous events, starting at Pacific Boulevard near Griffiths Way. The parade will end at the intersection of Burrard and Pacific streets, a few blocks from the Davie Village Pride Festival, which will take over Davie Street between Burrard and Jervis streets.
Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
‘It's unfair': Vancouver Pride slams city over costs while fireworks festival gets free ride
Vancouver Pride Society says it's being unfairly forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars to cover some of the municipal costs for policing and cleanup of its annual parade, while another massive summer event, the Celebration of Light, gets those costs covered entirely by the City of Vancouver. 'It's unfair,' said Morgane Oger, secretary of the Vancouver Pride Society, to Postmedia News just days before the event. 'We're being charged for essential services like policing and sanitation, while a privately run fireworks show gets those same municipal services for free.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. More than 200,000 people are expected downtown Vancouver this Sunday for the city's 46th annual Pride parade, the largest of its kind in Western Canada. The annual event began in 1978 as a grassroots march through the West End and has grown into one of Vancouver's biggest public events, relying on donations, grants and volunteers to stage it. But despite its scale and significance, the non-profit society behind the parade is upset that it's being asked to shoulder city costs that the fireworks festival doesn't. 'It's money we could have used to keep the Vancouver Pride Parade going. This year, we barely managed to go ahead,' said Oger. Six major sponsors, including Walmart, pulled out, resulting in a $400,000 drop from the parade's typical $900,000 in commercial sponsorship revenue. Vancouver Pride Society attributes the decline to what it describes as a chilling political climate for 2SLGBTQ+ communities across North America. In an email to Oger on Tuesday, Jodie Shebib, Vancouver's associate director of film and special events, confirmed that under the FestShare program — created by council to support non-commercial, public events — Pride is eligible for up to 75 per cent coverage of city service costs to a maximum of $75,000. The event has received such support since 2019. Oger said the Pride society's parade expenses often exceed that support, largely due to overtime costs for police managing large crowds and ensuring public safety along the route. 'We're still in debt from last year's event because of a city licensing fee that included policing costs totalling around $150,000,' she said. Under the current city policy, operational costs are billed to event organizers after the event takes place on public property. The Celebration of Light, organized by the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society and backed by corporate sponsors, receives full in-kind support from the city. That includes police, fire, sanitation and engineering services, all fully covered through 'a historical decision made by council in 2001 that continues through to today,' Shebib wrote. In a statement Wednesday, the City of Vancouver said the Pride society racked up about $180,000 in city and police costs in 2024, but was only billed around $90,000 after applying available credits, including the full $75,000 FestShare subsidy and an extra $20,000 credit covering additional public safety costs. The total included approximately $154,000 for Vancouver police services, $15,100 for sanitation, $9,700 for traffic operations, $3,000 for water works and just under $1,000 for sewers. The city added that in 2025, the Pride parade will receive the same level of support as hundreds of other events through the FestShare program. It also said it will continue to directly cover public safety costs, such as additional policing and vehicle barriers, at no cost to the event. This approach, the city said, is consistent with its current special event policy, 'which ensures equitable treatment across all major events.' Vancouver Pride Parade isn't the only event with operational costs, such as policing and cleanup, that exceed the city's $75,000 special event coverage. The city said Khatsahlano, Italian Day, the Vaisakhi Parade and Canada Day also surpass that limit. Oger said Wednesday the Pride society is not seeking special treatment when it comes to operational costs from the city. 'We're just asking for equal treatment,' she said. sgrochowski@
CBC
11-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Vancouver Pride Parade will go ahead despite losing half its corporate sponsorship
Social Sharing Vancouver Pride Society's flagship parade is scheduled to go ahead this August, despite losing about half of its corporate sponsors. Organizers say it's due to a wave of social conservatism rolling through North America, particularly coming from the United States, as well as tough economic times. "We've seen a significant political push against LGBT issues and against [equity, diversity and inclusion]," said Morgane Oger, secretary for Vancouver Pride, told Stephen Quinn, host of CBC's The Early Edition. "That stuff doesn't happen without consequence." Oger said this year's Pride events will be a little bit smaller and simpler as a result of the lost sponsorship. "The economy is a little harder for corporations right now," she added. "Sponsoring events might be something that they jettison in order to keep the business going." One example of a corporate change is Lululemon, which has previously sponsored events hosted by Vancouver Pride Society, but has chosen not to sponsor it this year. "While we may not be directly sponsoring Vancouver Pride Society's celebrations, we are committed to creating meaningful experiences that uplift the community in Vancouver and beyond," the company said in an emailed statement. The company said it is instead supporting LGBTQ2IA+ events around the continent, focusing on trans-centred community spaces, offering free wellness events to celebrate Pride month, and organizing events led by local LGBTQ2IA+ fitness and wellness professionals. WATCH | Vancouver event organizers explain parade changes for Pride 2025: Vancouver Pride Parade going ahead despite financial strain, board confirms 2 hours ago Duration 2:11 John Boychuk, co-chair of Vancouver Pride Society, said this year's parade route has changed direction and been shortened considerably. The parade, he said, will now run from east to west and then end in Davie Village at Burrard Street. Boychuk said organizers heard feedback that last year's route was "just far too long" for participants and attendees, who cited accessibility issues and concerns about heat exhaustion. "We're trying to condense the parade itself, because people feel that two, three hours of standing along the sides hooting and hollering and supporting gets exhausting." Shortening the route also reduces costs, and Oger noted the event's biggest expense is policing. While Boychuk agreed the "claw back" in sponsorships has been a challenge, he said it won't dampen the spirits of this year's events. "It's a standout march. It is a cry out for human rights around the world. It represents the equality and the balance that is in this community and in this city.… That's never going to stop." The Vancouver Pride Parade will be held Sunday, Aug. 3, on the same day as the return of the Davie Village Pride Festival, coming back after a six-year hiatus from 2 to 10 p.m. along Davie Street from Burrard Street to Jervis Street.
CTV News
11-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Vancouver Pride Society says parade will happen next month, despite financial challenges
A giant rainbow flag is carried on Robson Street during the Vancouver Pride Parade on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press) Vancouver's Pride parade will go ahead as planned next month despite significant financial challenges. Organizers argue the city could be doing more to support what is one of its biggest annual events, often attracting crowds in the range of 100,000. 'The City of Vancouver gives a permit and the permit fee includes policing – and that number is going up,' Vancouver Pride Society secretary Morgane Oger told CTV News on Thursday. 'It's very expensive to be able to be allowed to run a Pride event. Security and co-ordination is hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's really getting expensive.' Oger says corporate sponsorship has dropped, resulting in a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial support to help the event go ahead. 'We've seen a drop of roughly 50 per cent of corporate sponsorship. It's been related to the increasing of polarization in politics, I think,' Oger said, referencing events in the U.S. and other provinces, while also acknowledging the economic challenges many businesses are facing right now. 'We are entering a phase that's a little harder, right? Businesses are not thinking about largesse right now. They're thinking about just getting through the year.' Oger wants the city to do more to support the event, saying Vancouver Pride has been denied some City of Vancouver grants. Vancouver city Coun. Peter Meiszner disputes that there's been a drop off of city funding, but says he is working with event organizers to help them apply for a cultural grant. 'I'm part of the (2SLGBTQ+) community,' Meiszner told CTV News in an interview on Thursday. 'It's really important to me and also what the parade and festival stand for in terms of equity and diversity in our city.' This year, the parade will travel east to west, finishing near Davie village. It comes after criticism over the previous west to east route, which meant the party wasn't as close to the West End. 'There was feedback in the community that it was moving too far away from places that were core to our identities,' Oger said, referencing the West End's history at the city's first large-scale LGBTQ+ neighbourhood. Given Pride's challenges, the society plans to hold a series of roundtables and town halls in the fall, with the goal of creating a sustainable future for the organization.
