A gay man who was dismissed from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994 says he has mixed feelings about the federal government鈥檚 apology to LGBTQ people who faced discrimination between the 1950s and 1990s.

Simon Thwaites was working on a naval ship when his superiors learned that he was HIV positive. Still reeling from the diagnosis, his security clearance was lowered and he was reassigned to tasks like sweeping and washing dishes.

鈥淚 just got sort of pushed to the side and isolated from my peers,鈥� he told CTV Power Play on Tuesday, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

鈥淢y shipmates 鈥� I was told not to communicate with them,鈥� he added.

The military issued a guideline in 1994 stating that military personnel exhibiting symptoms of HIV be categorized as medically unfit. Thwaites was

He lost his medical benefits, making life with a chronic illness more difficult. He鈥檚 now part of a class-action lawsuit that the government has agreed in principle to settle for more than $100 million.

Thwaites points out that while he鈥檚 around to tell his story, many others didn鈥檛 survive -- hence his mixed feelings.

鈥淚f you look at the numbers that have applied for the class action 鈥� it鈥檚 mainly women,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 only a few of us guys, and that鈥檚 mainly because my peers, a lot of them, are dead.鈥�

Thwaites says he was happy to hear Tuesday that the federal government intends to expunge criminal records like his. He also wants to know if he鈥檒l get the pension and medical benefits that he missed out on.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told Power Play that while people will need to apply to have their records expunged, there is also a process for relatives of those who have died to have names cleared posthumously.

Svend Robinson, who was Canada鈥檚 first openly gay MP, said that he was thinking about the people who died before they could witness the apology delivered by Trudeau.

鈥淚 know personally people who took their own lives just because of the shame they felt,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very important that this happened,鈥� he added. 鈥淢any Canadians don鈥檛 have a clue about this.鈥�

Gary Kinsman, a sociologist and activist who pushed for the apology and compensation, says Trudeau鈥檚 speech left him wanting to both 鈥渃elebrate and cry at the same time.鈥�

鈥淭his was an important part of Canadian history that most people don鈥檛 usually know about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really important that the government has finally acknowledged it and taken responsibility for it.鈥�

Kinsman added, however, that the apology took too long. He says people have been pushing for it since the 1990s.

鈥淥ver those decades, lots of the people who needed to be apologized to have died,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 why I want to cry. This should have happened decades ago.鈥�