Canada offers £64m to ‘gay purge’ victims
PM Justin Trudeau cries as he apologises for historical mistreatment
Canada has set aside CAN$110m (£64m) to compensate people who were forced out of government jobs due to their sexual orientation in a ‘gay purge’ that lasted more than three decades.
Addressing “a packed and emotional chamber” at the House of Commons, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged Canada’s history of “systemic oppression, criminalisation, and violence” towards its LGBT citizens, CBC reports.
“It is our collective shame that you were so mistreated,” he said. “And it is our collective shame that this apology took so long - many who suffered are no longer alive to hear these words. And for that, we are truly sorry.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As MPs rose to applaud the comments, Trudeau was seen to wipe his eyes.
The settlement, the result of a lawsuit by former government employees, represents an attempt to redress decades of persecution of gay public servants.
At the height of the “Red Scare” of the 1950s, the special unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began a programme to purge gay employees from the civil service, police and armed forces.
Fears that their sexual orientation could make them susceptible to blackmail by Soviet spies were common in the West at the time - in Britain, gay men were banned from joining MI5 or MI6 on similar grounds until 1991.
Between the 1950s and 1990s, LGBT civil servants, federal police or armed forces members were subjected to interrogation or even placed under surveillance in an attempt to “expose” them and pressure them into naming other gay personnel.
In the early years of the purge, investigators employed a device nicknamed the “fruit machine”, which could supposedly detect homosexual inclinations, National Post reports. Subjects were shown pornographic images of men and women while instruments measured their heartbeat, pupil dilation and perspiration for signs of arousal.
By the time the programme formally ended in the 1990s, tens of thousands of people had been affected by the “gay purge”, The New York Times reports.
Gay rights activists welcomed the formal apology and offer of compensation for those who lost their livelihoods as a result of their sexual orientation.
Helen Kennedy, of advocacy group Egale Canada, told CBC that it represented a "historic moment" for gay Canadians. "It gives them a sense of identity, it gives them a sense of self, and that they can move forward with their lives now knowing that they are not second-class citizens," she said.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The murky role of military contractors in war
The Explainer A civil case against US company has revived debate over the increasing use of private security firms in military operations
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Playful goslings, an exploding snowman, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
What is rock flour and how can it help to fight climate change?
The Explainer Glacier dust to the rescue
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
'Angel' visits woman before lottery win
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Doomsday group offers 'epic' survival opportunity
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published