Around 20 past honorees returned their awards; that year's Grand Marshall Alan Li and Honored Dyke Jane Farrow declined their titles.

[14] After Pride 2010, Gil Troy, professor of History at McGill University, wrote a blogpost calling QuAIA a "perverse group" and comparing them to "Doctors against Anti-Smoking Campaigns or Liberals for Islamism".

The City also cannot therefore conclude that the use of term on signs or banners to identify QuAIA constitutes the promotion of hatred or seeks to incite discrimination contrary to the Code.

"[16] Speaking to the Toronto Star, QuAIA spokesperson Tim McCaskell stated that the city manager and staff had "obviously done their homework, and talked to lawyers, and not made this a political decision but one that's based on a reasonable look at the facts of the matter and of Canadian law...

[17][18] Two days later on April 15, 2011, citing the City Manager's report QuAIA announced that it will not march in the 2011 Toronto Pride Parade for the stated purpose of "pos[ing] a challenge for Mayor Rob Ford."

[20] According to the Toronto Star, "QuAIA's decision [not to march] represents a significant tactical shift for the group, which fought intensely last year for the right to participate in Pride.

[23] In mid June it was revealed that the community event QuAIA planned to host would feature prominent writer and anti-AIDS activist Sarah Schulman speaking in favor of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign from an LGBT perspective.

[25] The following evening, June 23, a second event was held that featured Sarah Schulman speaking on her history of fighting homophobia and AIDS activism in the ACT UP!

[27] In lieu of participation in the actual Parade, QuAIA dropped a 40-foot banner from above Toronto's Wellesley subway station promoting a campaign to boycott LGBT leisure tourism to Israel.

"[29] Pride Toronto's Dispute Resolution Committee, composed of lawyers with experience in arbitration and mediation in human rights matters, rejected a complaint against QuAIA by B'nai Brith Canada that sought to ban the group from the parade.

The panel dismissed the complaint, stating that "the activities of QUAIA are not contrary to the core missions or policies of Pride Toronto," and that it is "not likely to present images or messages that promote, condone or may promote or condone violence, hatred, degradation or negative stereotypes of a person or group, contrary to the City of Toronto's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

For that reason, Council was advised that there were no grounds to withdraw City funding for Pride in order to prevent or restrict QuAIA's participation based on the anti-discrimination policy.

[32]QuAIA's Tim McCaskell was quoted in response saying, "The law is clear to everyone except a handful of right-wing councillors: you can't ban the phrase 'Israeli apartheid.'"

[33] It was also pointed out in the media that no such funding restrictions had been attempted against the Art Gallery of Ontario or Toronto International Film Festival, which had also held events at which the phrase "Israeli Apartheid" was supposedly employed.

Meanwhile, national director of legal affairs for B'nai Brith Canada, Anita Bromberg, argued instead that the parade is not a political demonstration, saying, "This is a city-wide celebration.

"However, following a motion from Councillor David Shiner, the committee voted to defer recommendations from city staff until a May 28 meeting, after which the item could proceed to full council in June.

The program was titled "With Love from Le(z)Banon and Pa(lez)tine" and was followed by a talk by Professor Samar Habib on queer representation in Egyptian cinema.

[45] Local Toronto alternative media company Deviant Productions conducted an interview with Professor Habib after the event, in which she further discussed queer representation in Arab cinema.