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.

Rights

 Continuing where I left off yesterday. This glove belonged to Rick Hansen, who suffered a spinal injury. He didn't let that keep him down, launching the Man in Motion tour where he went in a wheelchair around the world in the 1980s, raising money for spinal cord research and becoming a national treasure along the way.

Sledge hockey sticks used by Canadian Paralympians are seen here, as well as a model for a wheelchair friendly playground.

One of our best ideas came from one of our greatest prime ministers, years before he occupied that role. Lester Pearson was the foreign minister during the Suez Crisis. It was his proposal to the United Nations that neutral soldiers serve as peacekeepers to resolve tensions that won him the Nobel Peace Prize.

One of the many Canadian peacekeepers who followed that example is Mark Isfeld, whose mother made little knitted dolls for children he met in his work clearing mine fields. He was killed on duty in 1994, but to this day, soldiers and humanitarian workers continue to give "Izzy" dolls.

The Peacekeeping Monument resides in Ottawa.

Canada is part of NATO, but has also advocated arms control, especially landmines, which continue to kill decades after war has ended.

The push for human rights on the world stage became an important matter for Canadians following the Second World War.

Lotta Hitschmanova dedicated her life to that cause. A refugee from Europe who came to Canada in 1942, she established a Canadian branch of the Unitarian Service Committee and spent her life working with those affected by war.

This is her service uniform.

For decades, the South African government's policy of apartheid resulted in opposition within and without the country. Canadian governments consistently spoke out against it. By the 1980s, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney advocated for economic sanctions in the Commonwealth, a policy of principle that put him at odds with his allies Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, who would have preferred a less strident approach.

Rights

 The 1995 referendum was the closest the country ever came to coming apart. The separation of Quebec was narrowly defeated. Premier Jacques Parizeau, in an infamous speech that night likely influenced by liquor, blamed the loss on money and "ethnic votes."

Bilingualism is a force in the country.

The next thematic area looks at human rights, including voting, which in the aftermath of the Second World War began to be extended to groups that had been excluded, including First Nations peoples.

Multiculturalism has become one of our strengths over time.

The rights of women is also explored, particularly as a response to violence. One of the darkest chapters of the country's history is the killing of fourteen women at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal by a man best described as a misogynistic terrorist.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched within the Constitution.

Race and religion have long been difficult subjects, evolving over time. 

This installation is by artist Leila Binbrek, with each side of these two tables reflecting her western and Yemeni influenced backgrounds.

Viola Desmond was a civil rights trailblazer. Owner of a beauty school in Nova Scotia, she challenged the segregation policies of a movie theatre, a decade before Rosa Parks. Today her portrait is on the Canadian ten dollar bill.

I leave off here with where we'll pick up tomorrow, with a panel about the disabled- particularly disabled athletes.