State Surveillance

Bathhouse Raids Protest, 1981 (Undercover police indicated in blue)

Even in crafted moments of sanctuary and safety, a discussion of queer space in Toronto must intrinsically include surveillance and violence. Through the Toronto Police’s Morality Bureau & Intelligence Units, the units’ $7.5 million dollar budget, and the units’ 200+ employees—queer Toronto was subjected to years of spatial manipulation and paranoia.

Police installed morality lights and cut down bushes in cruising spots. Undercover police would solicit, and then arrest gay men for cruising activities. Clubs, taverns, and bathhouses were often under police surveillance, and Toronto has become known for the infamous 1981 bathhouse raids or "Operation Soap" as dubbed by the police. 

Notable instances of surveillance include when the police were given access by straight owner Norm Bolter to a supply closet in the Parkside Tavern’s bathrooms. A spy hole disguised as a ventilation grate served as eyes and ears on frequent cruisers at the tavern. In 1979, 28 arrests were made, one of which led to a death in custody.