Michelle Douglas had been an officer with a distinguished career in the Canadian Armed Forces, but she was dismissed from the military in 1989 as being "Not Advantageously Employable Due to Homosexuality". She launched a court challenge of her dismissal, with the result, that the Canadian military abandoned its discriminatory policy against gays and lesbians and settled the case. This ended Canada's policy of discrimination against gays and lesbians in the Canadian Armed Forces.
Michelle Douglas went on to be the founding president of the Foundation for Equal Families, and since 2005, she has served as the Chair of the Canadian Board of Directors of Free the Children.