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Canada  

Sorry for targeting gays

Toronto's police chief says the force "regrets" raids more than 35 years ago that explicitly targeted the city's gay community.

Mark Saunders addressed a series of raids of Toronto bathhouses in 1981 that saw officers barging into four bathhouses, where they rounded up the people inside.

Saunders says the February 1981 event was dramatic because of its "destructiveness."

Nearly 300 people were arrested and charged with owning or being found in a common bawdy house.

More than 90 per cent of the charges were dropped in years to come, and the raids galvanized Toronto's LGBTQ community to fight for their rights and find a political voice.

Mayor John Tory commended Saunders for issuing the apology, calling it "right and necessary."



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