TORONTO – After a contentious Pride Parade cleanup by non-union City of Toronto staff and private contractors, a city official is telling citizens cleaning up after Canada Day will be their responsibility.
City spokesman Rob Andrusevich says pickets held up trash removal by a “handful” of private contractors and about 100 city staff sent to clean up after Pride.
Like every year, he says, the city used private crews to help pick up trash that accumulates on the street after Pride, an event that draws nearly one million people to Toronto.
But he says Canada Day differs from a parade, in which trash builds up in a short period of time in one part of the city.
City-run fireworks and Canada Day events have been cancelled due to the week-long strike that has sent 24,000 unionized workers to picket lines.
Andrusevich says he expects Toronto residents who celebrate to be responsible with their garbage and clean up after themselves because the city’s livability is in the hands of each resident.
