Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Twitter he will offer the apology to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited people. Wikipedia explains the term "Two Spirit" – it is not interchangeable with "LGBT Native American" or "Gay Indian"; this title differs from most western, mainstream definitions of sexuality and gender identity in that it is not so much about whom one is sexually interested in, or how one personally identifies; rather, it is a sacred, spiritual and ceremonial role that is recognized and confirmed by the Elders of the Two Spirit's ceremonial community.
“On November 28, the Government will offer a formal apology to LGBTQ2 Canadians in the House — for the persecution & injustices they have suffered, and to advance together on the path to equality & inclusion,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter.
Martine Roy was just 20-years-old and less than a year into her chosen career as a medical assistant with the Canadian Armed Forces at CFB Borden when military police suddenly showed up at her workplace to arrest her, The Star reports. They put her through psychological testing. Within a year, she had been dishonorably discharged from the army because she was a lesbian.
Starting in the 1950s and lasting until 1992, thousands of Canadians in the military, RCMP and across the civil service were fired. Roy refers to it as “the purge” by which the government tried to weed out people it felt were susceptible to foreign intimidation and blackmail because of their sexual orientation.
Canadian government led a campaign to eliminate all gay men from the civil service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the military. The government used a test known as the ‘fruit machine’, a device developed in Canada by Frank Robert Wake that was supposed to be able to identify gay men (derogatorily referred to as "fruits"). People were first led to believe that the machine's purpose was to rate stress. After knowledge of its real purpose became widespread, few people volunteered for it.
The subjects were made to view pornography; the device then measured the diameter of the pupils of the eyes (pupillary response test), perspiration, and pulse for a supposed erotic response. They were using the results to provide proof of sexual orientation to back up the reason for firing, or denying someone a promotion.
Roy said in 1992, when Canada changed the law, she expected an apology — but that didn’t happen until now. “It means a lot,” said Roy, fighting tears. “It means even more coming from (Trudeau) because I know it’s going to come from his heart.”
Photo Credits: IMdb
