Honourable senators, in our flurry of activity before the summer break, our honourable colleague and my seatmate, Senator Cormier, shepherded passage of Bill C-66, thereby laying the groundwork for the expungement of criminal records relating to unjust convictions for persecuted members of the LGBTQ2S communities.

Earlier, the Standing Committee on Human Rights had heard heart-wrenching testimony from individuals who were persecuted, unjustly convicted and imprisoned. These individuals must live with the consequences of a criminal record, and these convictions cause unspeakable hardship and suffering.

Also in June, after far too long, the Federal Court approved a settlement compensating lesbian and gay members of the military and other agencies for decades of state-sanctioned discrimination and vilification. In addition to denouncing the fearmongering, spying, harassment, interrogation, firings, forced resignations and public humiliation that resulted from labelling gay and lesbian members of the military as threats to national security, the court chronicled the devastating and lifelong consequences to the lives and careers of dedicated and fiercely patriotic women and men in our military.

At the settlement hearing, Lieutenant-Colonel Cathy Potts, a 37-year member of the Canadian Air Force, told the court — with characteristic strength and courage — about being followed by military police and about having her phone tapped, despite assiduous, tedious and constant detailed self-policing of how she spoke, how she dressed, when and how she socialized and where she went, all because she lived and served our country in the near constant fear of being discovered, exposed and persecuted under homophobic policies.

Honourable senators, I rise today to thank and recognize Lieutenant-Colonel Potts for her unflagging commitment to Canada and for her fortitude despite the heartbreaking personal cost to her and so many others who stood up, not only for our country but for so many others targeted by discriminatory policies and laws. I salute her and her colleagues and am eternally grateful to them, and I pledge to continue the work still required to fully remedy the long-standing and shameful legacy of discriminatory action against LGBTQ2S individuals.

Honourable colleagues, our work in this respect is really only just beginning, but today I pause to commend and thank Lieutenant-Colonel Potts, her partner Warrant Officer Brenda Hay and so many others for all they have contributed to uphold justice, equality and fairness for so many discriminated-against communities and for all Canadians. Thank you. Meegwetch.