Queer Legends: An Oral History Podcast

The road to justice for LGBT Purge survivors was not an easy one - even after the Government of Canada’s apology. Seeking justice also meant that Purge survivors had to confront and relive some truly terrible memories. The eighth and final episode in our series that tells The True Story Of Canada’s LGBT Purge celebrates victory; seeks accountability from Carleton University for the ‘Fruit Machine’ and more documents from the federal government; explores a 1960s Purge mystery linked to Rideau Hall; introduces the drag queen who is also a CAF pilot; and the queer Thunderhead monument breaks ground in Canada’s capital!

Before the Government of Canada’s apology and before the LGBT Purge class-action lawsuit, there was a small group of dedicated Canadians who were determined to get justice. This network of Purge survivors, academics, researchers and activists was known as the We Demand An Apology Network (WDAN). The WDAN group was the catalyst that led to the landmark class-action lawsuit, settlement, and apology to queer Canadians. Meantime, the lives of queer soldiers and RCMP members were improving, but only slightly. You’re going to be surprised/not surprised by a couple of these stories - including the military's first Pride Flag raising ceremony, and how the Government of Canada’s apology nearly fell apart at the last minute.

By the early 1990s the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney knew it could not continue the military’s anti-homosexuality policies. However, his ministers and military kept looking for loopholes to continue their discrimination against LGB soldiers. Discover the behind-the-scenes legal drama that led to, what many consider to be, the end of the military’s ban on gays in the military - including an interview with former diplomat and Chief of Defence Staff, John de Chastelain. Legal challenges to the government's heteronormative views of relationships were also leading to equal employment benefits, which would eventually apply to members of the military and RCMP.

The 1980s were a pivotal decade in Canadian politics and history, including key battles for queer liberation and rights. You’ll hear about former MP Svend Robinson’s efforts to get homosexuality into the Canadian Human Rights Act and protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the military and RCMP efforts to undermine the Charter rights of their members; and a straight Commanding Officer who defended his top-performing soldier from multiple SIU investigations. A young Queen Elizabeth II also has a few things to say in this episode!

Canadian queer resistance emerges in the 1970s and puts a spotlight on the injustices facing gays and lesbians. This caused further police, military and government crackdowns on queers across Canada - particularly in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa in the lead up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics. Lesbians in the Canadian Armed Forces were “walking a tightrope” over the perils of sexual violence by servicemen and discovery of their sexual orientation. 

The Government of Canada and RCMP Intelligence Service engaged in unethical human research experiments on homosexual Canadians throughout the 1960s. Queer Legends' research sheds new light on the origins and timeline of Canada’s so-called "Fruit Machine" project and its clear links to Carleton University; the CIA’s MK Ultra program at McGill; and to other similar human research programs on homosexuals that took place in the United States. Meanwhile, changing social attitudes about homosexuality and a terrible Supreme Court of Canada ruling led Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to say "the state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation." Listen now!

This is a true-crime episode. Gripped with paranoia about Soviet spies using ‘human weaknesses’ to steal government secrets, Canada and its allies started hunting for and eliminating homosexuals from government employment. Investigative journalist Dean Beeby tells the incredible story about how the RCMP interrogated a retired Canadian ambassador to death for being gay; plus Patrizia Gentile, co-author of The Canadian War On Queers and a professor at Carleton University, gives you context for how the Government of Canada invented an imaginary enemy in "gay people".

Welcome to Season 2 of Queer Legends: The True Story About Canada's LGBT Purge. We begin with amazing new research that has uncovered what life was like for gay and bisexual soldiers during the First World War. From the “gross indecency” laws that imprisoned heroic Canadian queer soldiers, to the military-sanctioned drag shows that made Ross Hamilton’s ‘Marjorie’ a star. This is where Canada’s anti-queer campaign and the Cold War began. You'll also hear from someone who knew Ross Hamilton, personally!

Coming June 1, 2024 | Season 2 of Queer Legends shares The True Story of Canada's LGBT Purge in a landmark, eight part documentary series. This is the first documentary to examine the full extent of Canada's anti-homosexual campaigns using newly declassified documents released by the LGBT Purge Fund. From ridiculous to shocking, you'll hear amazing true stories from courageous survivors; academics; researchers; former MPs and cabinet ministers. 

The Calgary Gay History Project's Kevin Allen shares his research into an important and reluctant queer legend - Everett George Klippert.

Klippert was the only Canadian ever declared a "dangerous sexual offender" by the Supreme Court of Canada and he was sentenced to life in prison for being incurably gay.

Public and political outcry over the Klippert verdict helped lead to changes to Canada's criminal code in 1969 that (among other things) decriminalized homosexual acts, in private, between two consenting adults. 

Despite the change in the law, Everett Klippert remained in prison for another two years and was released in 1971. 

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WATCH | Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story https://youtu.be/QABY0q7jJfc?feature=shared