Construction has begun on an $8 million monument called “Thunderhead” to celebrate queer people. It will be erected behind the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa.Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge dug in the first ceremonial shovel at a ceremony Wednesday evening, as did Michelle Douglas, Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund. Also in attendance at the construction site, located close to the Ottawa river at Wellington St. and the Portage Bridge, was the Winnipeg-based group that designed Thunderhead, members of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation and several other elected MPs. The purpose of the monument is apparently to honour the “victims” of Canada's so-called “purge” of the queer community who were “marginalized” for their lifestyle and sexuality choices. The monument was “mandated by the Federal Court” as part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit the queer community had against the federal government, dating from the 1950s to the 1990s. The LGBT Purge Fund, a non-profit established in 2018, received $15 million in funds from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit between the federal government, dating from the 1950s to the 1990s. The gender community alleged their careers in the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, and the federal public service were thrown off course due to discrimination.“A campaign of oppression,” declared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The $15 million settlement was designated to be spent on a “national monument” as well as other projects like museum exhibits and archival projects.Other contributors to the monument are architecture firm Public City Inc.’s Liz Wreford, Peter Sampson and Taylor LaRocque, visual artists Dempsey and Lorri Millan, and Indigenous and “two-spirit” adviser Albert McLeod, per CTV. "It is not only a monument for LGBT Purge survivors, but for every 2SLGBTQI+ person in Canada who has experienced discrimination and exclusion because of who they are, who they love and how they express themselves," said Douglas."The Thunderhead monument is the product of countless hearts, minds and journeys. Thanks are due to thousands of community members who helped make it what it is. Tall, proud, and unabashedly queer, it is a monument for all and a place to write the stories yet to come.""I am one of the many queer women who were unjustly arrested, interrogated and dishonourably discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces. This trauma propelled me to fight hard to be my authentic self in the workplace and create a space for others to do the same," said LGBT Purge Fund chair Martine Roy. "Thunderhead is a symbol of how far we’ve come at a time when discrimination and hatred against 2SLGBTQI+ people is growing more visible. This monument will serve to honour our history for generations to come. It will be a light for those still facing exclusion and for the change we will continue to work for."The monument is expected to reach completion in 2025.
