Three months prior, Police Chief Mark Saunders issued an “apology” for the 1981 bathhouse raids, leaving many in the LGBTQ community with the belief that these targeted operations were a thing of the past.ĭespite that 95 per cent of those charged in Project Marie were men, police maintained that sexuality was not the primary factor. Last fall, members of the Toronto Police conducted a six-week undercover investigation in Marie Curtis Park called Project Marie, which concluded with 71 individuals cited for engaging in acts of consensual sex. But for queer people trying to cruise, that can mean increased police surveillance and possible criminalization. It’s the first day of spring, and that means the city’s public parks will soon fill up with Torontonians. Toronto police in Etobicoke’s Marie Curtis Park last November where LGBTQ activists gathered to protest Project Marie, a police sex sting that drew comparisons to 1981 bathhouse raids.
