Michael Bryant, MPP for Saint Paul's, would like to see Toronto police chief Julian Fantino (ex-chief of the London force and, more recently, North York) and Premier Mike Harris marching in today's Toronto Gay Pride Parade. Bryant has likened the compulsory cosying-up to the gay community which every public figure now must be seen to make - in photo-op moments, such as making proclamations or appearing in pride parades - as a kind of "Rubicon every major political figure in Toronto and Ontario has to cross."

Has to cross? Pride parade participants usually go along willingly enough, with perhaps one eye on their public relations profiles.

Last year's Toronto parade featured federal Health Minister Allan Rock (who was mooned by a half dozen men in a second storey window-front on Yonge Street), Hogtown mayor, Mel Lastman (who sprayed his rubber-necking constituents with a rather large super-soaker), and Ontario Liberal leader, Right Honourable Dalton "where's-that-bandwagon?" McGuinty.

But for a handful of mayors in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick who tried to avoid making proclamations at the request of their gay communities, there's been nothing voluntary about their eventual capitulation under order of human rights tribunals.

Toronto's gay community is far more powerful and influential than London's and they voiced serious reservations about Fantino's posting as new chief earlier this year, largely due to London's Fantino-led Project Guardian in which 60 gay or bi-sexual men were arrested on 535 charges of pedophilia and child exploitation.

With the gun of public relations set firmly to his temple, Fantino has had to make overtures to Toronto's gay community like he never had to here.

Though his heart clearly wasn't in it, on Wednesday Julius Caesar's latter-day countryman set one tentative toe into the Rubicon by playing host to Toronto's first Police Chief's Pride Week reception at Sailor's bar on Church Street. One suspects he's been vigorously drying that toe ever since.

How stiff and unnatural was he? you ask. Even the Fantino-friendly National Post called the two hour cocktail party "wildly sedate" and "an awkward event" with men "kissing each other on the cheek and lips in greeting at one end of the bar, while 20 or so police officers were keeping largely to themselves at the other."

Standing in front of a door to some chamber called the screw room (decorated with a poster of a buck naked cowboy showing off his dexterity with a lariat), Fantino answered reporters' questions about the motivation for such a party.

"It's all part of the outreach and the greater commitment we've made to dialogue and interact with the community," he said, sounding less than frisky. "I guess the best way I can put it is, we're in the mood."

Oh Julian, pull-eeease! In the mood is so Glen Miller. Get with the program. The best way you can put it today is, "We're buffed, we're pumped and we're ready for a little police action!"

Things got even weirder when Fantino took the microphone to welcome the assembled leaders of Toronto's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and transgendered communities.

See if you can spot the unfortunate phrase in Fantino's stirring welcome.

"Some people have said this is the first. To me, it's not. We have gone far and wide in the city of Toronto. Truly, this is just one more of those pit stops."

At least he hasn't been roped into marching in the parade . . . yet.

"I've always said you don't have to go in a parade to extend outreach to any community," he said, following that up with the proviso, "but you never say never."

Fantino has always said he'd like to retire at 60, which he'll reach in three more years.

So the race is on. Will he be able to make it to superannuation without taking up the dreaded super-soaker?

Stay tuned.

Herman Goodden is a London freelance writer. His column appears regularly in Sunday's A&E section.. Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@lfpress.com