Several LGBTQ former Canadian military members and civil servants have launched a pair of class-action lawsuits against the federal government, alleging they were persecuted and booted from their jobs on the grounds that they were gay.

A statement of claim filed in Ontario is seeking $600 million in damages for former military and public service members of the LGBTQ community, who were pushed out of government jobs based on their sexual orientation. Another one filed in Quebec is seeking a proportionally similar amount, although no dollar figure has been named.

Toronto-based lawyer Doug Elliott says the lawsuits are "an attempt to press the government to come to the table," in hopes of reaching a negotiated settlement. "We have been waiting patiently for the government to take action," he told a gathering of reporters on Tuesday. "But so far we have had just kind words, no action."

Beginning in the 1950s and until the early 1990s, LGBTQ individuals were routinely pushed out of jobs in the government and the military. The practice continued in some cases even after official bans were lifted.

The current federal government has promised a formal apology for past state-sanctioned discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community. However, no compensation has been discussed.

Among the individuals named in the Ontario claim is former sailor Todd Ross, who joined the Canadian Forces in 1987. Ross says the military Special Investigations Unit spent a year and a half looking into his conduct, during which time he was subjected to multiple polygraph exams.

Speaking at the news conference in Ottawa, Ross paused to fight back tears as he described what it was like to endure the SIU investigation.

"In 1990, at that point, I finally admitted on a polygraph exam that I was gay," he said. "I had not even come out to myself."

Ross accepted an honourable discharge after the admission.

However, Martine Roy, who is named in the Montreal claim, did not have a quiet dismissal. Roy told reporters that she admitted her sexual orientation to investigators at the age of 20, after several hours of questioning. "To save myself I told them the truth, and I signed a paper and they released me," she said.

Roy says she was sent to a psychiatrist and initially allowed to continue her career, but was abruptly dismissed four months after signing a new contract.

"At one point they told me that if I was honest they would keep me," she said. "I'm looking for an apology and redress."

Elliott said the $600 million in compensation listed in the Ontario lawsuit is based on an estimated 10,000 individuals affected by an alleged "culture of hostility" that existed in the military.

He added that he is still hoping to reach a negotiated settlement with the federal government.

The class-action lawsuits must be certified in court before they can move forward.