The rainbow flag was raised at Lee Park on Friday.

The North Bay ceremony was one of many held across the country to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada.

Local advocate Nick George says events like this are important to realize how much has changed.

“Each time we do an event like this we are saying we aren’t going anywhere and we’re not leaving. That’s really helped us. I’ve lived here ten years and I couldn’t be myself out in the community ten years ago,” he says.

Advocate Jason Maclennan says there’s a major reason it’s only partial because of the bath house arrests in Toronto in the 1980’s.

“We know that people have criminal records to this day because of their homosexuality. These are strides forward and we need to mark these events in a dramatic way because that is a big step. However, we still have a distance to go,” he says.

The event also recognized the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia which was on Friday..

Filed under: flag raising, Lee Park, rainbow flag