As the federal government moved to protect transgender Canadians, Toronto’s mayor promised his city will lead the fight for gay and trans rights.

John Tory told people at a city hall raising of the rainbow flag Tuesday that, travelling abroad, he learned his city is best known for its ability to “take people as they come, celebrate people as they come.

“In the U.S. there are states that are banning trans men and women from public bathrooms, while here in Toronto we have built … at Regent Park some of the most gender-inclusive facilities in the world,” said Tory, while lauding the landmark legislation tabled by Jody Wilson-Raybould in Ottawa.

That bill would, if passed, make it illegal to prevent someone from getting a job or to discriminate in the workplace on the basis of gender identity or expression.

Asked what has changed for trans people in the past decade, Nicki Ward said before the flag-raising: “Well, I’m not being arrested for standing here so that is certainly a step forward.

“The bill is designed to stop discrimination on the basis of gender identity — housing, education, employment, access to social service. It’s a chance, if it passes, for trans people to engage in full citizenship — it’s a very very big deal.”

Tory was joined by more than a dozen councillors to raise the flag marking the annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Anne Creighton, president of the Toronto chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, urged people to demand that schools offer bathrooms not identified as being for one gender.

“As the mother of a kid who is routinely, because she is gender queer, thrown out of both men’s and women’s washrooms, these kids need a place to pee — let’s do it,” Creighton said.

With files from The Canadian Press

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