First Pride Flag raising at Toronto Police Headquarters

For the first time, the Pride Flag is flying at Toronto Police Service headquarters. To kick off Pride Month, Senior Officers joined Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LBGTQ) Service members and their allies for the historic occasion on June 1, 2017. “This is a historic day in our Service’s history,” said Superintendent Barb McLean, who sits on the LBGTQ Community Consultative Committee. “I have been to many Pride flag raisings, at City Hall for example, but to see the Pride flag here at police headquarters with my friends and my colleagues is incredibly special. When I joined the Service 28 years ago, I could not have imagined this day. Today is no small feat when you consider that the 1980s saw police officers and gay rights activists on opposite sides of the barricades. “While we have moved from being adversaries to allies, today would not have been possible without the courage and the passion of LBGTQ members who came before me, of our International Support Network, of our colleagues who are our allies, of our LGBTQ liaison officers both past and certainly present and, of course, our community members who come to the table and work alongside us.” McLean said Chief Mark Saunders deserves a lot of credit for bringing the symbolic flag to police headquarters. “Looking at today as a member of the Service, it shows me that my employer is proud of me, of my LGBTQ colleagues and of our allies,” she said. “They are proud of who we are and are telling us that we are welcome to bring our true selves to work. Today is as much about family as it is about policing. Family plays a huge role for LGBTQ persons, some of whom have been rejected by their own families. Today, the Pride Flag shows that our extended Police Service family has and continues to embrace us. Looking externally, I hope that people see Chief Saunders’ decision to allow us to raise the Pride Flag here as an example of changing times in policing as well as within our Service and I hope that they see that today is another example of how he, and by extension our Service, has supported LGBTQ members and our communities.”