Suspension comes after criticism from the LGBTQ+ community

An event advertised as being “part vigil, part celebration” for the victims of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur has been negatively received and criticized by the LGBTQ+ community, resulting in its postponement.

66-year-old Bruce McArthur was arrested in January and charged with first degree murder of six men who were members of Toronto’s Church-Wellesley LGBTQ+ community. The crimes date back to 2010 and continued until recently, all targeting gay men. McArthur has been charged with the murder of Skandaraj Navaratnam, 40, Andrew Kinsman, 49, Selim Esen, 44, Majeed Kayhan, 58, Dean Lisowick, 47, and Soroush Mahmudi, 50.

The Love Wins charity concert was organized in part by councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and was set for March 29th, 2018 in Nathan Phillips Square. It was to feature local Toronto artists including: Carole Pope, Tyler Stewart of the Barenaked Ladies, the Toronto Gay’s Chorus: Forte, and many others.

The concert was heavily critiqued by the LGBTQ+ community for being “tone deaf” in light of the recent devastation in the community, as police investigators are still trying to identify other alleged victims. Councillor Wong-Tam’s website announced on March 10th that the event would be postponed while the organizers discuss these concerns.

The statement read, “Our intention was to bring the city together in love and healing after hearing from many people who wanted to come together in unity and strength. Unfortunately, the event created an unintentional division at a historic time in the LGBTQ2S community. […] We will postpone the event and work with all community members to ensure that any future endeavor will address the concerns raised thus far.”

Members of the Church-Wellesley community are working to create more appropriate events commemorating the victims, with a focus on healing and support.

McArthur’s trial has been pushed to next month on April 11th. In the meantime, community members will meet with Wong-Tam and other event organizers to develop changes to the event.