Human Rights

 Women's rights, particularly gender discrimination and violence, are explored. The Ecole Polytechnique massacre of December 1989, in which fourteen women were murdered, had a huge effect on the country.

The Roseland Theatre in Nova Scotia became the focal point of a human rights complaint back in the 40s. There was no law in the province for racial equality, and so private businesses could practice segregation if they wanted. In 1946, Viola Desmond, who owned a beauty parlour in Halifax, was in town and attended a movie- getting arrested for sitting in the whites only section. These days her portrait is on the Canadian ten dollar bill.

Disability rights and accomodation have evolved over time. From everyday AODA needs to those who shine on the international stage, Canadians have responded and adapted. Paralympic hockey sticks are seen here, along with a glove that has a story in and of itself. It is a glove that was used by Rick Hansen, who showed the world what a man in a wheelchair can really do.

Hansen went around the world on his wheelchair to raise money for spinal injury research, leaving a big impact on the world as a whole.

Disability adaptation includes a model for a full scale playground equipment seen here.

Human rights applies as well to around the world.

Lotta Hitschmanova was a refugee who came to Canada, where she founded the Canadian chapter of the Unitarian Service Branch and dedicated her life to working with refugees affected by war.

This is one of her uniforms.

Canadians also got involved in the fight against apartheid over successive governments- with the government of Brian Mulroney becoming even more assertive to convince the world to bring economic sanctions upon South Africa as a tool. Whatever else he was as a prime minister, it's something about him that I respect. It meant disagreeing with his allies, Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, both of whom wanted to go slower.

Nelson Mandela was made an honorary citizen of the country right here at the Museum. With Canadians so vocal in the fight to end apartheid, he had a warm relationship with the country as a result.

High Tensions

 In 1980, the country saw a referendum in Quebec, triggered by the separatist government under Rene Levesque. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau led the side against the question of separation. This editorial cartoon pretty much personifies their relationship.

Here we have Trudeau and Levesque giving speeches in the run up to the referendum, with pauses in the video as the other person takes over. The effect is as though they're debating in the same room. In the end, the referendum was defeated.

A Conservative government under Brian Mulroney attempted to amend the Constitution with the provincial and territorial premiers, through the Meech Lake Accord to alleviate the concerns that had led to the referendum in the first place. In the end, the Accord failed.

1995 saw another referendum on the issue of Quebec separation. It was narrowly defeated- the closest the country ever came to coming apart.

Francophone communities are found throughout the country, and the nation is officially bilingual.

The next section focuses on human rights, and the country has evolved over time to embrace them, from voting rights to citizenship to discrimination

This is the work of an artist, Laila Binbrek, called Mirror Mirror. It has two sides of a dressing table, with her dual identities represented- western on the one side and middle eastern on the other.

Quiet Revolution

The next thematic area looks at Quebec, and Francophones in the country as a whole. 

This is the jersey and hockey stick of Maurice "Rocket" Richard, one of the greatest players in NHL history, and a legend in the Montreal Canadiens. He was tough, skilled, and a hero to millions in the 1940s and 50s.

The Quiet Revolution was a period starting in 1960 in which Quebec fundamentally changed in its own nature and how it dealt with the country as a whole. 

This included big projects, like the hydro projects that have made Hydro Quebec what it is today.

French-Canadian music took on a life of its own as well.

In 1967, a colossal prick came for a state visit and set off a political firestorm. Charles de Gaulle, the president of France, legend in his own mind, and egomaniac who weaseled his way into power after World War Two came on a state tour. De Gaulle was the biggest egomaniac in history up to that time, though he has since been surpassed by a certain Orange Shitgibbon. 

He gave a speech from a balcony at Montreal's city hall, bellowing the words "vive le Quebec libre". In doing so, he fanned the flames of sovereigntists, insulted the actions of Canadian veterans who had fought and died to free his country during the Second World War, and insulted the country as a whole. I still hold that nothing he did during that war couldn't have been done by another French officer, and that history might have been better served if some lucky German sniper had taken him out in 1940. I'd use more colourful language, but the Sisters of Little Or No Mercy are already mad enough at me.

During the 1960s, terrorism and extremism began to grow in Quebec, with the growth of the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ). They began carrying out a series of bombing attacks.

This is the armor and robot vehicle of a police bomb squad member of that period, not so different from the current counterpart.

The October Crisis of 1970 began when the FLQ kidnapped Pierre Laporte, a provincial cabinet minister, and James Cross, a British diplomat.

Prime Minister Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act as a response.

Cross was eventually freed from captivity, while Laporte was murdered.

New Paths Forward

 Picking up where I left off yesterday, there is a video with testimony and memories of residential school survivors, who testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the damage that residential schools did to their lives and their families. Entirely appropriate to include it as part of the exhibit, and it is heartbreaking.

Christi Belcourt created a stained glass window matching pair called Looking Ahead. One is here, while the other is at Parliament Hill. It is drawn out of the work of the Commission, and reminds us of the work that lies ahead.

This is the ceremonial headdress of Phil Fontaine, a former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and a survivor of residential schools.

A century ago, tribes began to understand that it was through organization and political activism in the country that they could begin to effect change for the better.

This is the traditional dress of Autumn Pelletier, who has become a strong advocate for indigenous rights, both in Canada and around the world.

The Meech Lake Accord was an attempt by the federal government to update the Constitution. One of the reasons the Accord fell apart was the objections of a member of the legislative assembly of Manitoba, Elijah Harper, who on a point of principle refused to endorse it, as it did not address concerns of Aboriginal people. He was right.

The Oka Crisis was an armed standoff in 1990, between Mohawks and the police, Mounties, and army near the town of Oka in Quebec over development on disputed land. 

The partitioning of the Northwest Territories into two territories- the NWT and Nunavut- was a long process that saw Inuit government in the far north.

Examples of indigenous art round out this area.