WHAT IS THE LGBT PURGE FUND?

 

The LGBT Purge Fund is a not-for-profit corporation that was established in Canada in October 2018 to manage a $15 – 25 million fund. The money for this fund was provided from the settlement of a class action lawsuit between the Government of Canada and members of the LGBT community who were employed by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Canadian federal public service.

 

LGBT members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, and the federal public service were systemically discriminated against, harassed and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice. They were followed, interrogated and abused. This shameful period is known as the “LGBT purge” and it generally took place in Canada from the 1950’s to the mid-1990’s.

 

As a result of a class action lawsuit launched by survivors of the LGBT purge, a settlement with the Canadian government was achieved in June 2018 with a group of features valued at up to $145 million. Up to $110 million has been set aside for the payment of damages to LGBT purge victims. This historic settlement also included funds for “reconciliation and memorialization measures”. Between $15 - $25million has been set aside for use in “projects that will memorialize the LGBT Purge and/or provide support to those affected.”

 

WHO ARE WE?

 

The LGBT Purge Fund is a not-for-profit corporation. The LGBT Purge Fund was initially known in the Final Settlement Agreement as the “Reconciliation and Memorialization Measures Panel” (RMMP). The RMMP no longer exists but is, instead, now known as the LGBT Purge Fund. As of January 2019, there are six directors of the LGBT Purge Fund. The directors are:

 

• Michelle Douglas, Martine Roy, Todd Ross, Diane Pitre, Wayne Davis and Douglas Elliott.

 

Members of the board of directors serve in a voluntary capacity. All board members are survivors of the LGBT Purge, except for Douglas Elliott, and have served in the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and/or public service. Douglas is a long-time human rights lawyer with a long-standing commitment to fighting for LGBT equality. Douglas was the lead lawyer who represented class members on the LGBT Purge class action lawsuit.

 

OUR MANDATE

 

According to the terms described in the Final Settlement Agreement, the LGBT Purge Fund is mandated to implement the following four main projects:

 

1

Support the curation of a core and/or traveling museum exhibition by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR);

 

2

Create a National Monument in the National Capital Region;

 

3

Appoint a non-governmental organization subject-matter expert and work with the LGBTQ2 Secretariat regarding ways to enhance LGBTQ2 inclusion in the Federal workplace and on ways to improve existing training on LGBTQ2 inclusion in the workplace; and

 

4

Address the collection, preservation and accessibility of historical records and determine which options that the LGBT Purge Fund will pursue to deliver on this. Create a committee of experts which will work, under the direction of the RMMP, to better ensure that any memorialization projects authorized by the RMMP will tell the story of the LGBT Purge fully and fairly based on official records of the purge.

 

The LGBT Purge Fund is mandated to review and determine the allocation of funds for all projects. The mandate and responsibilities of the LGBT Purge Fund are established by Court Order.

 

We are responsible for the proper administration and good governance of these funds in accordance with good practices and respecting the terms of the Final Settlement Agreement.

 

According to the Final Settlement Agreement, all monies allocated to the LGBT Purge Fund, including investment income, shall be exhausted and the organization shall be wound up by December 31, 2021. This deadline may be extended on the written consent of the Parties.

 

FUNDING AND GRANTS

 

The LGBT Purge Fund will receive an initial payment from the Government of Canada for $15,000,000. These funds are anticipated by the first quarter of 2019.

 

It is possible, pursuant to the terms of settlement of the lawsuit, that the LGBT Purge Fund may receive an additional amount of up to $10,000,000 once the payments made to LGBT purge survivors is determined. Precise details of this aspect of the funding can be found within the Final Settlement Agreement.

 

From the initial payment of $15,000,000, the LGBT Purge Fund will prioritize the funding of the four large projects described in “our mandate” section. These projects are mandated by court-order. For example, the costs associated with building a national monument may exceed $8,000,000.

 

In due course, the LGBT Purge Fund will also provide an opportunity for people and organizations to access funds (not otherwise allocated to the four projects noted above) in the form of grants and contributions. The criteria and process associated with our grant program is still under development. Further, it has not yet been established precisely how much funding will be available for grants or contributions. It is not expected that grants or other funding opportunities would be available until late 2019 at the earliest.

 

The Board of Directors of the LGBT Purge Fund has passed a resolution that requires us to pay for our operating expenses, to the greatest extent reasonably possible, from interest and investment returns generated from the wise investment of our principal funds received from the Government of Canada.

 

GENERAL

 

The LGBT Purge Fund does not have a head office. Rather, we are operating virtually to keep costs as low as possible.

 

We are currently setting up the organization and establishing our internal working processes.

 

We believe that our primary stakeholders for accountability are the LGBT Purge Survivors and the class action lawsuit members who had to fight so hard to achieve this ground-breaking settlement. We are motivated to honour their service and their sacrifices. We also acknowledge accountability to the broader LGBTQ2SI+ community and to Canadians.

 

We will update our website as we get established. Please check back regularly!

 

There may be volunteer opportunities at a later point as we start to implement our work. We will post opportunities on our website for your consideration.