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He’s chosen an all-black outfit, out of respect — but when Ron Eberly changes into the dress, shawl and hat, he plans to make a statement.

When the drag queen approaches the Memorial Park cenotaph to lay a wreath the morning of Nov. 11, Eberly will be Mz. Rhonda, his alter ego and an outspoken LGBTQ activist who wants to make history by honouring the gay men and women who gave their lives fighting for Canada.

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“I’m going as Mz. Rhonda because Rhonda is a gay activist, the one who speaks at schools and at churches,” says Eberly, an ordained pastor.

“Yes, I could go as Ron, but that’s not making a loud enough statement.”

The 59-year-old married Calgarian is a champion of gay rights. In 2012, Eberly went on a speaking tour of churches, schools, workplaces and seniors homes around the province, where Mz. Rhonda offered a personal account of gay bashing and homophobia in Calgary.

Eberly says the wreath-laying, endorsed by Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr, is not meant to anger veterans or disrupt the Remembrance Day service, but to pay respect to people who haven’t always been able to represent themselves in the military, due to intolerance.