Michelle D. Douglas (born December 30, 1963) is a Canadian
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
activist who launched a landmark legal challenge in the Federal Court of Canada against the military's discriminatory policies against LGBTQ+ service members.
['' The Current'', May 9, 2005.] Douglas herself served as an officer in the
Canadian Armed Forces from 1986 to 1989. She was honourably discharged from the military in 1989 under the military's discriminating "
LGBT Purge".
LGBT purge legal challenge
After graduating from
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
with a major in law in 1985, Douglas joined the
Canadian Forces
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The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...
in 1986. She was soon promoted to the
Special Investigations Unit—where she was the first woman to be promoted to the Unit as an officer.
Absurdly, it was also the Unit responsible for running the "LGBT Purge" for the armed forces.
In 1988, she came under investigation and was transferred to another position before losing her security clearance.
Despite having an exemplary service record and repeatedly being at the top of her class, in 1989, she was released from the Forces because she was lesbian.
She was dismissed under administrative release item 5d: "Not Advantageously Employable Due to Homosexuality".
During her trial, Douglas reported that while under investigation, she was taken to a hotel room where two male officers questioned her about her sexual activities and forced her to like men. She was also prevented from seeking legal advice after the incident.
Douglas subsequently launched a $550,000 lawsuit against the
Department of National Defence in January 1990 where she was represented by
Clayton Ruby
Clayton Charles Ruby (6 February 1942 – 2 August 2022) was a Canadian lawyer and activist, specializing in constitutional and criminal law and civil rights.
Early life and education
Ruby was born in Toronto, Ontario, to Marie (Bochner) and ...
.
In October 1992, just before Douglas' legal challenge went to trial, the Canadian military abandoned its policy banning gays and lesbians and settled the case.
Subsequent service and activism
![MD-CBC-MonumentSite](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/MD-CBC-MonumentSite.jpg)
Douglas' experience in the military was the start of 30 years of social justice and human rights activism.
Douglas has supported other landmark rulings by participating as an intervener in the
M v H
''M v H'' 9992 S.C.R. 3, is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on the rights of same-sex couples to equal treatment under the Constitution of Canada.
Background
''M v H'' was on the appeal of a case originally brought by a le ...
and
Vriend v Alberta
''Vriend v Alberta'' 9981 S.C.R. 493 is an important Supreme Court of Canada case that determined that a legislative omission can be the subject of a Charter violation. The case involved a dismissal of a teacher because of his sexual orientation ...
cases in the
Supreme Court of Canada. She formerly served as the Chair of the
Foundation for Equal Families and later served at Chair of the board of
The 519 Church Street Community Centre in Toronto. She was also a founding member of the
Rainbow Railroad LGBT refugee organization in Toronto. Douglas was a member of the board of directors of
WE Charity
WE Charity (french: Organisme UNIS), formerly known as Free the Children (French: ''Enfants Entraide''), is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger ...
(formerly
Free the Children
WE Charity (french: Organisme UNIS), formerly known as Free the Children (French: ''Enfants Entraide''), is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger ...
) from 2005 to 2020. She resigned as chair of the board of directors of WE Charity in March 2020. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the
Michaelle Jean Foundation.
Professionally, Douglas served as the Director of International Relations at the Canadian Department of Justice. She retired in September 2019 after a 30-year career in the federal public service.
In the same year, Douglas was appointed as the executive Ddrector of the LGBT Purge Fund. The LGBT Purge Fund manages a fund of $15 million to support reconciliation projects relating to the LGBT Purge. This includes leading a project to build the LGBTQ2+ National Monument in Ottawa, which is expected to open in 2024. In January 2020, the
National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...
approved the future site for the
LGBTQ2+ National Monument by Wellington Street and Portage Bridge in Ottawa.
In 2000, Pride Toronto named Douglas and
Sky Gilbert
Schuyler Lee (Sky) Gilbert Jr. (born December 20, 1952) is a Canadian writer, actor, academic and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of Toronto
Th ...
as parade Grand Marshals. Douglas was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
A portrait of Douglas, by artist Laura Spaldin, is held by
The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives' National Portrait Collection, in honor of her contributions to LGBTQ2+ rights in Canada.
[Inductee: Michelle Douglas](_blank)
The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Michelle
1963 births
Carleton University alumni
Lesbian military personnel
Canadian lesbians
20th-century Canadian LGBT people
Canadian LGBT rights activists
Living people
Military personnel from Ottawa
Canadian female military personnel