In terms of Toronto’s queer history, the police raids of the city’s bathhouses is a pretty major deal.

In 1981, on 5 February, the police raided four Toronto bathhouses and arrested about 300 men on public indecency charges.

It wasn’t the first time that Toronto’s bathhouses had been raided, and it wasn’t the last, but it was a watershed moment for Canada’s LGBTQ community.

The police called the raids Operation Soap – it was part of an ongoing campaign to ‘clean up’ Toronto and shut down sex-positive businesses such as bathhouses.

In the wake of the raids, Toronto’s LGBTQ community took to the streets and began protesting.

The protests culminated in a Freedom Rally in early March – generally seen as the first Toronto Pride event.

The legacy of the bathhouse raids goes beyond the emergence of the Pride movement in Toronto. It did help to highlight that queer venues such as bathhouses are important to the LGBTQ community. It also illustrates why there’s an ongoing discussion around the participation of the police in Toronto’s Pride events.

Where are we at with police involvement in Toronto Pride?

The discussion about how Toronto’s police force should engage with the city’s Pride celebrations seemed to come to a head in 2016. During the Pride Parade that summer, there was a protest against police involvement in Pride – it was under the Black Lives Matter banner. As well as highlighting systemic racism, the protest also sought to highlight that Toronto’s Pride celebrations weren’t inclusive enough of black LGBTQ people.

The protest led to a vote by the Pride organisation – it was decided to exclude uniformed police from marching in the parade. This decision created some controversy and fuelled debate within the community.

In November of 2016 – so, that same year – with tensions between police and the community already high, Toronto police conducted a six week campaign targeting a popular cruising spot in the city. Undercover officers arrested 75 men during the crackdown. This caused enormous concern within the LGBTQ community.

In 2018, a man was arrested in Toronto and charged with murdering at least eight gay men. The police received a lot of criticism for their handling of this case – the community felt that the police had ignored their concerns and warnings that gay men were being targeted by a serial killer.

The most recent vote on the police marching in Toronto Pride was in January of 2019 – it was a close vote, but the result that police remain excluded from Pride.

This seems to continue to be a contentious issue but it’s important to understand the specific history that Toronto’s LGBTQ community has with the city’s police force.

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Canada?

Let’s take a look at some of the key equality indicators.

Is homosexuality legal in Canada?

Yes, same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1969.

Are there anti-discrimination protections in place for LGBTQ people in Canada?

Yes, a decision by the Supreme Court in 1995 confirmed that discrimination on the basis of sexuality was prohibited.

Is there Marriage Equality in Canada?

Yes, Marriage Equality came into effect in 2005.

What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Canada?

In general, things are pretty good for LGBTQ people in Canada – it’s a country that is seen as welcoming and accepting.

Canada also has a strong record in accepting LGBTQ refugees who are fleeing persecution.

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