Seventy years after one of the darkest chapters in Canadian LGBTQ history began, the Government of Canada has taken steps toward reconciliation and remembrance with a slate of just-announced new proposals for what will one day become the LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa.
By locating it in the nation's seat of power, the monument will serve as a symbolic educational resource for Canadians young and old to learn about the struggles endured by their fellow citizens at the hands of their own government.
“The systemic injustices that occurred during the LGBT Purge should never be forgotten. While we cannot right the wrongs of the past, this monument will serve as an educational tool and a reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past,” LGBT Purge Fund director Michelle Douglas, whose successful 1990 lawsuit helped end discrimination in the Canadian Armed Forces said in a statement. “The five shortlisted designs show the pain endured during this dark time, but also the resilience of gender and sexually diverse communities from coast to coast to coast.”
The purge of men and women perceived to be gay mirrored the so-called “Lavender Scare” lead in the United States by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who insisted on the lie that homosexuals were inherently corruptible because of their status, and therefore could not be trusted to hold seats within the national government and the military.
Canada’s own version of this practice lasted well into the 1990s, devolving so far as to see the (serious) invention of the so-called “Fruit Machine” which tested subjects’ pupil dilation in a battery administered at the direction of the RCMP. The Purge was finally brought to an end by the Mulroney government, but its legacy remains as one that ruined lives and furthered stigmas. A 2018 legal settlement has allowed some of the victims to receive compensation, but will never be able to fully undo the damage caused by years of witch hunts and demonization.
Now, with the weight of history on its mind, the government is looking to present its shameful misdeeds in a public way with help from some of the world’s leading design firms.
A circular concept from MASS Design Group focuses on the narrative arc of Canadians caught up in the movement while a combined effort from MVRDV, Fathom Studio, and Two Row Architect highlights the voices of those who chose to speak out against the insidious tactics.
SOM’s design uses empty flagpoles as a metaphor for those stripped of their dignity during the purge. The design from Public City incorporates two local artists to produce “lasting testimony to the courage and humanity of those who were harmed by the Purge, homophobic and transphobic laws and norms, and Canada’s colonial history.” A team led by the local firm bbb architects rounds out the quintet with a healing garden sanctum that is meant to be felt and not observed.
Canadians can weigh in via this government web survey until November 28th. The winning design will be announced next winter with an expected project completion scheduled for 2025. Additional project images can be viewed below.
6 Comments
I live here and just literally found out this was a thing earlier today. Good promotion skills RAIC...
Anyways, excited to see potentially a MVRDV project in my backyard. Location is but a few dead-cat swings from my office. For anyone interested, this site is near the Libeskind holocaust memorial and our national war museum... and the monument of victims of communism (unless they relocated it... who knows, there is a new monument every 3 months)
next will be a monument to commemorate all the monuments that'd been put up in your backyard, the N/YIMBY
Let's get this straight - the LGBTQ "community" gets a national monument before the native North Americans who suffered genocide at the hands of the Canadian government.
Perfect.
Miles, they are picking their battles and choosing the easier subjects. Not saying this monument is not ill-deserved, but you're right that there are other issues that need national attention.
With that said, I don't think a small theatre or installation off a busy road (already populated with several other small monuments) is appropriate to commemorate the work of the Church and Gov. of Canada in regards to the First Nations.
I read those as air quotes
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