Elliot Lake, Ont., lawyer honoured for defending rights of Canada's LGBTQ military members

It's now referred to as the LGBT Purge. 

The dark chapter in Canada's history, stretching from the 1950s to the mid-1990s, saw LGBTQ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal civil service systematically discriminated against, harassed and often fired by their own government on the basis of their sexual orientation. 

The policy has since been referenced by some as "state-sponsored homophobia, bi-phobia and transphobia." 

In 2016, a historic, national class action lawsuit was launched against the Canadian government, citing its systematic mistreatment of LGBTQ military and government employees. A settlement was reached in June 2018 that said total compensation for military, RCMP and federal civil service members could reach $145 million.

Now, the lead counsel on the case, Douglas Elliott, who grew up in the northeastern Ontario community of Elliot Lake, is being recognized by the University of Toronto's faculty of law for his work in defending the rights of Canada's LGBTQ community. 

The $250,000 contribution from the non-profit LGBT Purge Fund aims to endow future fellowships at the law school in Elliott's honour. The R. Douglas Elliott Fellowship will fund graduate student work with public interest-oriented LGBTQ organizations, or research on anti-discrimination class actions that reference the LGBT Purge.

For Elliott, the recognition is welcome, but more than that, knowing he was able to use the law to get justice for his community has been "very satisfying."