Love in a Dangerous Time Transcript

SCOTT: From the 1950s to the 1990s, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, and the Federal Civil Service were investigated as to their sexuality. And if they were deemed “homosexuals” or "sexual deviants” by the government, they were often fired from their jobs as a matter of policy. This Purge emanated all the way up to the highest levels of government to the leadership of the RCMP, the military, and even the Prime Minister's office. So, queer Canadians did not simply accept this abuse, this violation of their rights. They fought back. They mobilized, particularly in the 1970s into the 1990s and they took the Government of Canada to court and successfully dismantled the Purge in the 1990s.

RIVA: In 2016, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized to LGBTQ Canadians and Purge survivors for what happened. Part of that apology was restitution, the establishment of the Purge Fund to administer funds for restitution, and the creation of an exhibit here at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, as well as a monument that is currently under construction in Ottawa. These were all part of the settlement and the apology and the exhibit was really about saying “never again” so that we can continue to make progress towards an inclusive society that values, you know, human rights and dignity for everyone. The project came with a number of components. Of course, the main component was a blockbuster exhibition that is currently running in our gallery at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and was built to travel, and so will travel into the future at other major galleries and museums across the country. There were also two other smaller aspects. We've built two pop-up exhibitions, exhibits that will also travel the country east and west. And we've also got a — what we call a niche — which is a smaller exhibit that's in our Canadian Journeys, which is one of our permanent signature galleries that tells a wide variety of Canadian stories.

SCOTT: When visitors enter the exhibition, there is content on the deep history of homophobia and heteronormativity within Canada that provides a foundation for understanding the emergence of the Purge later on during the Cold War. And this content includes Indigenous Two-Spirited perspectives on gender and sexual diversity in North America and in what is now Canada, as well as efforts of the Canadian state to regulate and suppress and erase that diversity. There's also information about the social and legal regulation of sexuality in Canada all the way from New France to the 19th century to the Second World War. And it was really important to us to do this deep dive to show that the purge didn't just emerge out of thin air in the 1950s and ‘60s or simply in relation to U.S. pressure. Another important feature of the show is a re-imagining of the Lord Elgin Hotel basement bar where queer folks in Ottawa would gather during the Cold War. Now, this bar was kept under surveillance by the RCMP in an effort to identify LGBT workers, and at the same time it was a site of resistance where people worked together to evade surveillance and to refuse the regulatory efforts by the RCMP and the government. The exhibition includes what we call the dark room, which is a reimagining of an interrogation space. This space features clips from oral history interviews with Purge survivors describing their experience of being investigated and interrogated. And it's a difficult space. It is powerful and challenging for survivors and those with a personal connection to the Purge. But we were careful to ensure that it was an optional component that could be bypassed. We commissioned two artworks. The first of which is called The Fruit Machine, a space opera by Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, which is a short triptych film — so displayed onto three screens. The other artwork is called The Regulation of Desire by Noam Gonick and this was a collaboration between Gonick and dancers from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. And it is an immersive sort of filmscape that is projected onto a number of different surfaces in a theatre. And it expresses some key chapters in the history of the Purge through the movements and bodies of dancers.

RIVA: Hosting Love in a Dangerous Time has had many amazing spin-offs for us. One of them has been building relationships and deepening those relationships with not only the queer community here in Manitoba, but elsewhere in Canada. We've seen community events come to the museum that kind of galvanize around having the exhibit here, public programs and other education programs that were really sparked by having this content here for folks to engage with and consider. We've really appreciated the growth in those relationships and how it has opened opened that up for the museum. As with all our exhibits, we always design education programs to help visitors of all ages engage with the content on the walls. And much of that engagement is around making those connections to what's happening in your community today. Being able to assess those things that are happening, enter into difficult conversations, and even go as far as to take action for human rights. Those are the kinds of things we always hope to inspire and encourage when we do an exhibit like Love in a Dangerous Time. I think one of the other things that would be important for folks to reflect upon is the courage and the determination of the survivors who really took on the most powerful employer we have in our country. They were for the most part very young people when their careers were sabotaged by the Purge. They decided to say “no” to an incredibly powerful entity and they fought for years, for decades, for justice and we owe them a debt of gratitude. This was a group of people who wanted to serve their country in the most profound ways. To hear them talk about what it meant to serve their country is really incredibly touching and poignant. And while they didn't end up serving their country the way that they had intended, they sure did a profound service to people in workplaces everywhere. And that resonates today. We live in such a fast-paced world. We don't often reflect on those that stood up and brought about a profound change and made life better and easier and more inclusive for so many of us. They really are Canadian heroes.