Construction begins on national monument to honour 2SLGBTQ+ community
Construction is now under‐ way for a national monu‐ ment in downtown Ottawa recognizing the discrimina‐ tion faced by 2SLGBTQ+ people across the country.
Survivors of the Canadian government's LGBT purge dug shovels and broke ground alongside Indigenous elders and government offi‐ cials on Wednesday after‐ noon, near the Ottawa River by Portage Bridge and Wellington Street.
Ottawa Coun. Ariel Troster, Veterans Affairs Min‐ ister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, and Heritage Minister Pas‐ cale St-Onge, Canada's first openly lesbian cabinet minis‐ ter, were among the politi‐ cians in attendance.
The LGBT purge refers to a period of time between the 1950s and mid-1990s, where thousands of members of the RCMP, Canadian Armed Forces and the federal public service were discriminated against and often fired from their jobs because of their sexuality.
It was a "really awful peri‐ od" of Canadian history that many are still unaware of, said Michelle Douglas, execu‐ tive director of the LGBT Purge Fund. She was hon‐ ourably discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1989.
"I loved serving my coun‐ try. I was so proud of it, but I was fired because I am a les‐ bian and it was a difficult pe‐ riod in my life," she said.
Douglas launched a law‐ suit against the Canadian government following her discharge, and as a result, the military formally ended their so-called ban against 2SLGBTQ+ people serving in the armed forces in 1992.
"To see a monument now being built that pays, in part, tribute to those pretty diffi‐ cult days. It's very emotional and powerful for me," Douglas said.
'A beacon of hope'
Douglas said she sees the monument, called Thunder‐ head, as a place for every‐ one, not just the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
"It's really a beacon of hope and a place for people to come and reflect on the past, which has had lots of moments of discrimination and oppression," she said.
The monument also comes at a time of rising hate against the 2SLGBTQ+ com‐ munity.
Cyril Cinder is a drag king who has been performing as a drag artist for close to a decade, and said he never imagined there would still be so much discrimination and controversy surrounding drag performers.
"Now, my events get protested. I deal with incredi‐ ble hate speech," he said.
For him, this monument is a reminder of all the progress that's been made so far by advocates in the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and the work that still needs to be done.
"This attack on the free‐ dom of gender expression … we will not stand for that."
It's also about celebrating the resilience of the survivors of the LGBT purge, Cinder said, and a gift to the future 2SLGBTQ+ community.
"We are here, we have al‐ ways been here, we will con‐ tinue to be here," he added.
The design of the monu‐ ment centres around a sculp‐ ture shaped similar to a thunderhead cloud, meant to "embody the strength, ac‐ tivism and hope" of 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
The $13 million project is paid for by the LGBT Purge Fund and is expected to be unveiled in the summer of 2025.