A man who attended an sa国际传媒淎rabian Nightssa国际传媒� gala held by a private school in Vancouver says no one besides Justin Trudeau attended in skin-darkening makeup sa国际传媒� but no one else was dressed as Aladdin, either.

Wayne Hamill went to the 2001 party because his kids went to West Point Grey Academy and he said the future Liberal leadersa国际传媒檚 costume was sa国际传媒済reatsa国际传媒� and in keeping with the theme.

Other attendees, including other white people, were dressed as belly dancers or wearing saris or veils, Hamill said. He doesnsa国际传媒檛 recall anyone being offended by Trudeausa国际传媒檚 costume or makeup.

sa国际传媒淗e didnsa国际传媒檛 do anything out of the ordinary. Thatsa国际传媒檚 what he did. He was a drama teacher,sa国际传媒� said Hamill, who is white. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a costume and it was in the context of the theme of the party.sa国际传媒�

Trudeau has apologized after photographs from the event surfaced along with other images of him made up in brownface or blackface. He said he had a blind spot because of his privilege and he deeply regrets behaviour he now recognizes as racist.

Numerous Canadians of colour, including NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Indigenous federal candidates, have said Trudeausa国际传媒檚 use of dark face paint is hurtful and insulting. Trudeau said Friday he would call Singh to personally apologize.

West Point Grey Academy released a statement Thursday saying its 2001 gala was organized by a culturally diverse group of parent volunteers and was intended to be celebratory and respectful. However, it said, it recognizes that cultural sensitivities have evolved over the past 18 years.

Sunny Khurana, a turban-wearing Sikh, also attended the party and was photographed with Trudeau.

He said Thursday he didnsa国际传媒檛 view the costume as racist and the school had no tolerance for discrimination.

Hamill, a real estate agent, said hesa国际传媒檚 not a Trudeau supporter but he believes the uproar is unfair. He said he never once, over the years, thought of coming forward with a yearbook photo to sa国际传媒渆xposesa国际传媒� Trudeau for his costume at the event.

sa国际传媒淓xpose him for what? For being a good costume-dresser?sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 so taken out of context. Itsa国际传媒檚 applying todaysa国际传媒檚 standards to yesterdaysa国际传媒檚 actions. sa国际传媒� At the time, it wasnsa国际传媒檛 as much of an issue to do that.sa国际传媒�

He said Trudeau, who was 29 at the time, was a very expressive, enthusiastic and friendly teacher. Hamill also said the student population was diverse and included kids of South Asian, Middle Eastern, East Asian and First Nations descent.

Trudeau wrote in his 2014 memoir, sa国际传媒淐ommon Ground,sa国际传媒� that teaching at West Point Grey gave him new insights into the sa国际传媒減rivileged livessa国际传媒� of private-school students that he didnsa国际传媒檛 glean from his own advantaged upbringing.

sa国际传媒淲henever I discuss the problem of income inequality in our society, I think about the children and their families I met when teaching at that school. The parents I encountered at parent-teacher nights were successful, hard-working people, but their wealth gave some of them an excessive sense of entitlement,sa国际传媒� he wrote.

sa国际传媒淎nd many of the students had little exposure to or understanding of the larger society around them or the challenges faced by ordinary people.sa国际传媒�

Laura Kane, The Canadian Press

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