The LGBT Purge Fund is delighted to announce the Jury for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument. The group of 10 includes experts in the fields of visual arts, landscape architecture, architecture, urban design, as well as LGBT Purge survivors, representatives from key stakeholder groups, and subject-matter specialists. Together, the members also bring diverse LGBTQ2+ voices, BIPOC perspectives, geographic and linguistic diversity, and the outlooks of those in early career stages.

The members include:

Aaron Betsky, architect Maya Desai, urban designer and planner Michelle Douglas, Executive Director, LGBT Purge Fund, and LGBT Purge survivor Grant Fahlgren, landscape architect Reverend Dr. Brent Hawkes, C.M., O.N.B, subject-matter expert Bernard Lamarche, art historian and [...]

The LGBT Purge Fund has just become aware of very serious allegations of racism and homophobia at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR), as reported in the news media.

The LGBT Purge Fund was created as a result of a class action lawsuit with the primary purpose to memorialize this tragic chapter in our history and to build reconciliation between the federal government and the LGBT community following the homophobia and other forms of systemic discrimination experienced by thousands of LGBTQ2+ Canadians who worked in the federal public service, the RCMP or the Canadian Armed Forces.

The Fund is required by the settlement [...]

Good news!

On January 23, 2020, the LGBT Purge Fund received approval from the National Capital Commission for access to our preferred land location to build the LGBTQ2+ National Monument.

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/news/lgbtq2-national-monument-site-selection

The monument will be built in downtown Ottawa in a large area of open land on Wellington Street. The site is located near the Portage Bridge (between Ontario and Quebec) and is close to the Ottawa River, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Parliament Buildings. It is a beautiful piece of land and it has enough space for gatherings of approx. 2000 people. The monument will be built by 2024. See the Projects [...]

The board of directors of the LGBT Purge Fund is pleased to announce that we have hired our first employee. Effective September 19, 2019, Michelle Douglas became the full-time Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund.

We are also pleased to announce that Martine Roy will become the Chair of the Board of Directors of the LGBT Purge Fund.

We are also thrilled to announce that Linda Goguen-Manning will become a member of the board of directors of the LGBT Purge Fund. Welcome Linda!

The LGBT Purge Fund is so pleased to welcome Martine, Linda and Michelle in their new roles.

On September 24, 1980, she was purged from the Armed Forces after a lengthy 2-year investigation under the CFAO 19-20 “Sexual Deviation – Investigation, Medical Investigation and Disposal for being a homosexual”. She was told that she was a threat to her country because of her sexuality. Diane has spent close to 40 years lobbying the government for an apology for her wrongful dismissal, which was received on November 28, 2017 from Prime Minister Trudeau. Although that chapter is closed, Diane continues to work as an activist so that history does not repeat itself! She has launched a Facebook page for LGBT [...]