Emerging from the Purge: Celebrating 30 Years

Marking the End to Canada’s Discriminatory Policies Against 2SLGBTQIA+ Public Servants

September 22, 2022 (Victoria, BC)

– QMUNITY is partnering with Egale & the PURGE Foundation to mark the 30th anniversary of the end to the discriminatory ban of gays and lesbians serving in the Canadian Armed Forces with two events in Vancouver (October 5) and Victoria (October 7). Between the 1950s and mid-1990s, 2SLGBTQIA+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal public service were systematically discriminated against, harassed, and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice. In what came to be known as the “LGBT Purge”, people were followed, interrogated, abused, and traumatized.

An estimated 9,000 lives were devastated over those years, and the irreparable psychological trauma continues to this day; the careers and lives of a generation of young people were destroyed; victims were denied benefits, severance, pensions, and opportunities for promotion if they managed to keep their jobs. The Canadian government even went so far as to commission the creation of a homosexuality test — a so-called “fruit machine”, which was used by the federal government throughout the 1960s.

To mark this important milestone, QMUNITY is hosting a special screening of “The Fruit Machine” – a documentary that highlights the impact of the Purge. Registration is free for community, veterans, and government to attend –

click this link to RSVP

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The screening will be followed by a Q&A discussion with Michelle Douglas, Chair of the PURGE Foundation and Tracy London, Co-Executive Director of QMUNITY. - END -

For media enquiries & additional information, please contact:

Michael Robach (he/him) QMUNITY, BC’s Queer, Trans, and Two-Spirit Resource Centre Manager, Development & Communications michael.robach@qmunity.ca

About the “Emerging from the Purge” report

Emerging from the Purge: The State of LGBTQI2S Inclusion in the Federal Workplace is a report written for the LGBT Purge Fund to support the Government of Canada in its efforts to foster a more diverse workplace that is equitable and inclusive of 2SLGBTQIA+  (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, Two Spirit) people. It forms part of ongoing reparations for 2SLBGTQIA+ veterans and public servants who were directly affected by the “LGBT Purge” within the Canadian government during the latter part of the 20th century. It includes assessment and recommendations for the three federal entities specifically named for consultation for inclusivity training (Canadian Armed Forces (CAF); Canada School of Public Service (CSPS); Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)) as well as six Federal Public Service (FPS) departments and agencies who were invited to participate by the LGBTQ2 Secretariat and the LGBT Purge Fund (Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Department of National Defence (DND), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), Global Affairs Canada (GAC), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)). Adopt recruitment and retention strategies that explicitly seek to mitigate anti-2SLBGTQIA+ biases and foster more diverse representation of 2SLGBTQIA+ identities across all levels of public service.

1. Implement components within onboarding for all new hires to familiarize them with 2SLGBTQIA+ identities, available resources, and expectations for participation in inclusion efforts.

2. Incorporate skill-building on how to actively reduce bias against 2SLBGTQIA+ people within learning solutions.

About QMUNITY

QMUNITY, BC's queer, trans, and Two-Spirit resource centre improves the lives of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community and provides a safe space and serves as a catalyzer for community initiatives and collective strength.