Humanitarian

 Humanitarian aid goes hand in hand with human rights. The World University Service of Canada established Girls Clubs in developing countries around the world to help girls along in life.

Christine Briand was an RCMP officer seconded to peacekeeper duty in Haiti in 2010 when that country was devastated by an earthquake. She took part in rebuilding an orphanage. People from her hometown raised money to help the country recover. This is part of being Canadian- lending a hand, particularly in a disaster, whether it's with money or with expertise.

Lester Pearson was one of our greatest prime ministers, but before his tenure in that role, he was the foreign minister. He and Dag Hammarskjold, the UN Secretary General, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the concept of using neutral soldiers as peacekeepers to resolve the Suez Crisis.

Mark Isfeld was a Canadian soldier serving as a peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia, clearing mines. His mother knitted little dolls which he gave to children. He was killed while clearing mines in 1994, but the tradition of "Izzy" dolls continues today.

Robert Semeniuk is a photojournalist who has documented conflict around the world. Among other things, he has documented the damage caused by landmines. The Canadian government under Jean Chretien took the initiative in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, or Ottawa Treaty, which aims to stop the use of landmines.

This is the uniform of Lt. Colonel Pat Stogran, who commanded soldiers in Afghanistan and later became the first veterans ombudsman.

Louise Arbour led the international prosecution team looking into war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. She would later serve as a Supreme Court judge, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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.