Construction begins on national monument to honour 2SLGBTQ+ community

Construction is now underway for a national monument in downtown Ottawa recognizing the discrimination 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 officials on Wednesday afternoon, near the Ottawa River by Portage Bridge and Wellington Street.

Ottawa Coun. Ariel Troster, Veterans Affairs Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, and Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, Canada's first openly lesbian cabinet minister, were among the politicians 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 period» of Canadian history that many are still unaware of, said Michelle Douglas, executive director of the LGBT Purge Fund. She was honourably discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1989.

«I loved serving my country. I was so proud of it, but I was fired because I am a lesbian and it was a difficult period in my life,» she said.

Douglas launched a lawsuit 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 difficult days. It's very emotional and powerful for me,» Douglas said.

'A beacon of hope'

Douglas said she sees the monument, called Thunderhead, as a place for everyone, not just the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

«It's really a beacon of hope and a place for people to come and