Former Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn Chief participates in unveiling of Rainbow Veterans of Canada badge

Former Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn Chief Wendy Jocko was honoured to participate along with Governor General Mary Simon and other dignitaries during the unveiling of the Rainbow Veterans of Canada badge on April 19 at the Canadian War Museum. – Photo supplied

By Rick Garrick

OTTAWA — Former Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn Chief Wendy Jocko, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, was honoured to participate in the unveiling of the Rainbow Veterans of Canada badge on April 19 at the Canadian War Museum. The badge was granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority this past December to the Rainbow Veterans of Canada, which represents Canadian Armed Forces veterans impacted by the LGBT Purge and veterans who identify as members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

“It was certainly a great honour for me personally to be invited to that occasion because I am also a veteran,” Jocko says. “I was really honoured to have participated in their victory and the unveiling of this new Rainbow Veterans of Canada badge.”

Jocko participated along with Governor General Mary Simon, Samy Khalid, Chief Herald of Canada, and other officials during the unveiling of the Rainbow Veterans of Canada badge.

“We gather here to acknowledge our past, to recognize the hardship faced by the Rainbow Veterans of Canada, and to celebrate a new chapter of recognition and respect,” Jocko says during the unveiling. “Our Rainbow Veterans have fought not only on the battlefields for our nation but also on the home front for their rights, dignity, and respect. They have stood tall against the harshest winds of discrimination and exclusion, and they have persevered.”

Jocko adds that the unveiling of the new badge by Governor General Mary Simon represents a landmark victory in the ongoing struggle against discrimination and exclusion.

“This new badge is not just a piece of metal and fabric, but a symbol of acknowledgement, acceptance, and inclusion,” Jocko says. “It is a testament to the courage, tenacity, and integrity of our Rainbow Veterans, who have served our country with honour and pride.”

Jocko says she was also invited to speak during the ground-breaking ceremony for the 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument, which is called Thunderhead, on May 1 in Ottawa.

“Thunderhead is not just a monument, it is a beacon of hope, a testament to equality and a reminder of our collective journey towards acceptance and understanding,” Jocko says during her comments at the ground-breaking ceremony. “It acknowledges the dark chapters in our history, like the LGBT Purge, and commemorates the resilience of those who endured. It also stands as a promise of our commitment to seek justice, to never forget the past, and to ensure such discrimination does not occur in the future.”

Jocko says the LGBT Purge was a prolonged and widespread campaign by the federal government from the 1950s to the 1990s and a dark chapter in the country’s history.

“Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the federal public service were systematically identified and expelled,” Jocko says. “The monument we break ground for today will stand as a beacon of education, enlightenment, and inspiration. It will reflect the profound impacts of discrimination experienced by Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and yet, it will also radiate the power of perseverance, the triumph of love over prejudice, and the enduring quest for equality.”

Jocko says she met a Canadian Armed Forces veteran at the ceremony who she attended basic training with in 1979, noting that the veteran had been persecuted and released from the military.

“So she lost her career because of it,” Jocko says.

Jocko looks forward to the public unveiling of the monument, which is scheduled for 2025.

“Everybody has the obligation to treat each other as an equal,” Jocko says. “So bringing things like this to light is very important.”

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