Question Period Note: LGBTQ2+ National Monument

The LGBTQ2+ National Monument will memorialize the historic discrimination against LGBTQ2+ Canadians, including the LGBT Purge. On January 23, 2020, the National Capital Commission’s Board of Directors approved a site for this monument located at the north-east side of the intersection of Wellington Street and Portage Bridge, in proximity to Library and Archives Canada and the Ottawa River.

• The National Capital Commission’s Board of Directors approved a site for the LGBTQ2+ National Monument, in proximity to Library and Archives Canada and the Ottawa River.
• This national monument will memorialize the historic discrimination against LGBTQ2+ Canadians, including the LGBT Purge that occurred from the 1950s to the 1990s in the public service, Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
• Canadian Heritage will launch a national design competition in spring 2020. It will work closely with the National Capital Commission and the LGBT Purge Fund to ensure the successful completion of the Monument.

• The LGBT Purge took place in Canada from the 1950s to the mid-1990s. During this time, LGBT members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the federal public service were systemically discriminated against, harassed and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice.
• Survivors launched a class action lawsuit against the Canadian government and a legal settlement was reached in 2018. The settlement identified money to compensate survivors. Funds that would have compensated LGBT Purge victims who died are being used for reconciliation and memorialization projects, including the national monument project.
• The funds for the development of this monument are managed by the LGBT Purge Fund, a not-for-profit corporation and the proponent for this monument project. The Board of Directors of the LGBT Purge Fund has allocated $8 million for the monument.
• The National Capital Commission (NCC) is responsible for Federal Land Use and Design Approvals as per the National Capital Act, design development and construction, and assumes ownership and maintenance of monuments on lands under its responsibility.
• The NCC presented site options to members of the LGTB Purge Fund in summer 2019 who in turn sought stakeholder feedback on the top three site choices. Project stakeholders include the members of the settlement agreement and the larger LGBTQ2+ community. Given the diversity of the stakeholder groups, the LGBT Purge Fund is conducting its own engagement exercise on key monument considerations.
• As per the Government of Canada’s Policy on National Commemorative Monuments on Federal Lands in Canada’s Capital Region, Canadian Heritage (PCH) has the lead for the development of national monuments on federal lands in Canada’s Capital Region. In addition to responsibility for overall project management and coordination, PCH manages the design competition process and on-site interpretation.
• A Multi-Party Project Agreement between the LGBT Purge Fund, PCH and the NCC is in the process of being finalized.
• A national design competition will be launched by PCH in spring 2020 with a projected completion date of the monument by the end of 2023.

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