鈥楶IE Day鈥� is coming Friday, March 14 and Comox United Church is hosting a free film screening with homemade pie for those attending. The evening starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Church hall and will conclude by 9:30 p.m. with open discussion over pie with some serving and retired members of the Canadian military.
This year鈥檚 screening for PIE Day is 鈥淭he Fruit Machine鈥�, a documentary about the harassment and bullying of the queer community members in the military, the RCMP and the federal public service. Also known as the LGBT Purge, it began in the 1950s and lasted until 1992. It was a systematic campaign to identify, harass, and purge lesbians, gay men and other queer members of the military, the RCMP, and the federal public service.
During the cold war, Canada investigated federal employees and members of the Canadian Armed Forces deemed susceptible to blackmail by Soviet spies. Homosexuality was grounds for surveillance and interrogation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police under the directive of the newly-established Security Panel. Over the course of four decades, thousands of men and women had their privacy invaded, their careers ruined, and their lives destroyed because of a 鈥渟cientific鈥� machine and a disgraceful mandate. Many suffered psychological effects, some took their own lives. It was the largest bullying campaign in Canada鈥檚 history.
In 2016, a class action lawsuit was launched against the federal government, followed by an official apology by Prime Minister Justin 台湾MM裸聊室 in 2017 for the harm caused to queer employees of the federal government, the armed forces and the RCMP. In 2018, the federal government reached an out of court agreement on the resolution of the LGBT Purge case. The $145 million dollars awarded with the settlement delivered the largest award for LGBT historical discrimination in the world. Its terms included amount ts for individual compensation, It provided $110 for individual compensation, including $15 million for legal fees, $5 million for external administration, and $15 million for recognition and memorialization exhibits and monuments administered by the LGBT Purge Fund. All victims recognized by the agreement may apply for and wear the Canada Pride Citation.
鈥淭he Fruit Machine鈥� focusses on first-person survivors of the LGBT Purge. Survivors from both the Canadian Armed Forces and the Federal Public Service share their personal stories of discrimination. Supporting these survivors are key voices of corroboration. These voices include a journalist who was embedded with the RCMP during the Purge, as well as respected queer activists, writers, scholars, community leaders, and the lawyer who represented members in the LGBT Purge class action lawsuit which delivered the largest settlement for LGBT historical discrimination in the world.
A major part of that program was the 鈥渇ruit machine,鈥� a series of homosexuality tests developed by the Canadian government鈥檚鈥� Security Panel, which coordinated federal security campaigns and鈥痳eported directly to cabinet.鈥� Prime Minister John Diefenbaker never knew about the exact nature of the project, but accepted the panel鈥檚 advice that gays鈥痭eeded to be removed from public office by way of concrete proof of their sexuality.
The fruit machine鈥痗onsisted of a series of questions, a chair resembling one you鈥痬ight鈥痵it in at a dentist鈥檚 office, and flashing images of mundane scenes contrasted with pornography that people in the 1950鈥檚 thought gay people would like鈥�� think:鈥痟alf-naked carnival strongmen. Subjects (who were told the machine was measuring stress)鈥痵at in the chair and watched the images while scientists noted their鈥痯ulse rate, skin reflexes, breathing rate and pupillary response.
The film won the coveted Jury Prize at the 2019 Image+Nation festival in Montreal; the 2019 Programmer鈥檚 Choice Award at Calgary鈥檚 21st鈥� Fairy Tales Festival; the Audience Award for Best Feature at Inside Out Ottawa, 2018; and the Audience Award at the 2018 Rainbow Visions Film Festival.
It was also nominated for a 2019 Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary, Writers Guild of Canada Best Documentary, and a Canadian Association of Journalists Award for Best Human Rights Reporting.
The film has screened at special presentations held by CSIS, CSE, Canadian Armed Forces, Toronto Police Services, and the Canadian School of Public Service, among many others across Canada, the U.S., China, Greece, Italy, and England.
PIE Day was created by the Affirming Ministry committee of the United Church of Canada by adopting March 14 Pi Day (written as 3/14 in the month/day format, which matches the first three digits of the numerical value of pi 3.14). Pi Day celebrates the mathematical constant Pi.
The United Church adjusted Pi Day to PIE Day. PIE stands for the Public, Intentional, and Explicit inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the life of the faith community. It is a symbol of the church鈥檚 commitment to affirming, welcoming and including the LGBTQ+ community into its community and life. Since love is a circle, Pi represents its irrational, inclusive, and infinite nature.
Last year attendees had their choice of 17 different, fresh, home-made pies to go along with a cup of coffee or tea.
