Montreal mayor and police chief apologize for past anti-LGBTQ raids and arrests
MONTREAL — Puelo Deir, one of the grand marshals in this year’s Pride Parade in Montreal, was at city hall Friday and said he had no idea the mayor and police chief were going to apologize to the LGBTQ community.
“I thought: Oh. My. Gay!” Deir said in reaction to Mayor Denis Coderre’s formal apology on behalf of the city for institutional discrimination toward the community.
But behind the jokes are dark memories of a time in Montreal when armed police used to force their way into gay bars, he said.
“Not only did the police show up with machine-guns and cameras, but they took photos of people, which ended up in the newspapers,” Deir said. “It destroyed lives.”