Canada to memorialize LGBT victims of Cold War-era ‘gay purge’

 | 
05/10/2020

Todd Ross was a naval combat information operator on the HMCS Saskatchewan in 1989 when he was called out over the public address system, escorted off the destroyer by officers and told he was the subject of an espionage probe. Over the next 18 months, Ross was given six polygraph tests and interrogated about his sexual orientation and loyalty to Canada. Eventually, he broke down. Facing a two-way mirror, he admitted to a stranger what he had not yet told some close confidants. “Yes,” Ross said. “I’m gay.” The 21-year-old seaman was given an ultimatum: Accept an honorable discharge or lose his security clearance, effectively extinguishing any prospect of career advancement. He chose the discharge and returned home to New Brunswick, where only a few years earlier he’d been named the province’s top army cadet.

Regions: ,

Share this:

Other News from ,

Added on: 10/02/2024
Cabrel Ngounou’s life in Cameroon quickly unraveled after neighbors caught the teenager with his boyfriend. A crowd surrounded his boyfriend’s house and beat him. …
Added on: 10/01/2024
With Lebanon experiencing its deadliest day in nearly 20 years this month — not to mention the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine that …
Added on: 09/29/2024
A wide-ranging investigation by the Wall Street Journal has uncovered evidence linking Russian cash to an anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. activist who helped promote “Kill the …