The Fruit Machine documentary

What is The Fruit Machine?

The Fruit Machine is an investigative documentary about Canada's policy of surveillance and interrogation of 2SLGBQI+ people by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) during the Cold War. At the time, homosexuality was considered a "character weakness" and LGBT federal employees and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members were, therefore, thought to be susceptible to blackmail by Soviet spies.

The documentary draws its name from a machine developed to identify 2SLGBTQI+ Canada Public Service employees and CAF members. From the late 1950s through the early 1990s, people were interrogated, threatened, manipulated and dismissed from their careers due to their sexuality. Many suffered psychological effects. Some took their own lives. It was one of the largest bullying campaigns in Canada's history.

The Fruit Machine Viewing Guide

If you would like to host a viewing of The Fruit Machine at your workplace, check out the viewing guide available on the Positive Space Program Sharepoint.