Paying A Visit To Parliament Hill

 It was time to take a stroll around Parliament Hill. The work around Centre Block continues, with large portions of the structure covered with scaffolding and drapes.

East Block is one of the original buildings on site. There is some work happening with this building, but here and there.

This door on East Block always catches my eye.

There are a number of monuments and statues on the Hill. This is the newest of them, commemorating the War of 1812. It stands out in front of East Block. In the background and across the street lies the offices of the Prime Minister. It is the only Parliamentary Block not on Parliament Hill itself.

Nearby, a statue of Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier stands, looking out into Confederation Square, which is dominated by the National War Memorial.

Downslope, we have a statue of William Lyon Mackenzie King, another of our great Prime Ministers.

I headed around the perimeter, noting the contrast between East Block and Centre Block.

I took a shot downslope. The Rideau Canal is down there through the trees. The Hill slopes are heavily wooded.

This statue honours George Brown, a journalist and politician who was one of the driving forces of Confederation.

The view across takes in the National Gallery and Major's Hill Park.

Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine were co-premiers of the United Canadas, otherwise known as Ontario and Quebec. Following a period of unrest, these two legislative leaders paved the way for Confederation through responsible government.

A sundial stands here near the monument, dating two centuries old, a legacy of Colonel By and his men.

The Work

Native peoples were in the Ottawa Valley for millennia before white men first came. The Anishinabe lived here from time immemorial. 

Some of what they left behind- stone tools predating the current era.

In the decades from the founding of Bytown to its change of name, it was a turbulent time.

This is a larger than life bust of Colonel John By. We don't really have a portrait of him- silhouettes in profile of him and his wife are the only works done in his lifetime.

The Rideau Canal was a response to the War of 1812 and the ongoing tensions with the Americans. 

Americans had fired this cannonball at Fort Wellington from Ogdensburg. It was fired back by the British, hitting the Ogdensburg courthouse.

This is the trunk of Colonel By and his wife, taken when they came over for the Canal project.

Some of the tools that were used for the project.

It would be the work of a mix of people- French-Canadian, Scottish, Irish, and military units. Its legacy stands strong today. By would return to Britain following the completion of the Canal, and find himself under a storm of controversy, having had gone over budget, even though he had been cleared to make changes as needed in the field. The scandal stayed with him for his remaining years, but history has entirely vindicated him.

Courage Under Fire

 Alvie Burden came from Saskatchewan, and served in the European theatre during the Second World War, seeing action in Italy and the Netherlands.

Piercey Augustus Haynes joined the Navy after restrictions were lifted, serving during World War Two.

Eva May Roy went to war in the Second World War as part of the Canadian Women's Army Corps, and later made a career of it. Anderson Abbott was a black doctor who went south to serve with the Union Army during the Civil War.

Clarence Este saw a lifetime of service starting in the Korean War, and carrying on with various missions in the years afterwards. Jowel Fils-Aime saw peacekeeping and active duty operations around the world, but PTSD led him to take his life. The Carty brothers all served in the RCAF during the Second World War.

Black men and women have taken part in many of Canada's military history, from the Revolution to the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

They fought with distinction in two World Wars that changed the world.

And they have done the same ever since.

I found this exhibit very well curated. One of the strengths of the War Museum is telling the very human stories of individuals.

Service To The Nation

Back in May I made a stop at the Canadian War Museum, where a temporary exhibit was up in the central hub, profiling black Canadians in military service down through time.

This was done in cooperation with a museum in the Niagara area and a historical society in Nova Scotia. After the American Revolution, black Loyalists came north, and escaped slaves, making new lives in the Canadian colonies.

This is part of the citation for Stephen Thomas, who won the Medal of Bravery during the Afghan War.

Richard Pierpoint had been enslaved as a teen, but gained his freedom fighting as part of Butler's Rangers during the Revolution. He settled in Canada after that war, and served again in the War of 1812. The Coloured Corps was a militia of black volunteers who organized during that latter war.

William John Chandler went south during the Civil War to fight for the Union, losing an arm in the process, but returned to Canada and lived a long life with his family. John Bright fought in the ferociousness of World War One at places like Mount-Sorrel and Passchendaele, killed in action in the last year of that war.

Connie and Kathleen Brown were sisters who went to war in the Second World War in support roles in the Canadian military. Junius Hokan was one of Canada's first black pilots in that war, but never made it home.

David Johnson fought in the Korean War and went on to serve afterwards. Stephen Thomas served with distinction in the Afghan War.

There is a rich black history in Nova Scotia, starting with the Loyalists after the American Revolution.

William Hall was serving with a British naval gun crew in India and won the Victoria Cross for his bravery under fire. Jeremiah Jones enlisted in the First World War at a time when most men would be looking to retire, and saw action at Vimy Ridge.

The No. 2 Construction Battalion was made up of black men during the First World War, doing physical labour. They faced prejudice and neglect throughout. William White, whose parents had been enslaved, was their chaplain and advocate for fair treatment.

In recent years, the government made a point of a formal apology to the men of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

Minnie Gray served during the Second World War in the Canadian Women's Army Corps, and ended up going into healthcare. Allan Bundy became a pilot during that war for the RCAF.

Joseph Niles saw service during the Korean War. Leo Vemb was more recent, seeing thirty years of service in places like Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.

The Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps was made up of free African-Americans at the invitation of the governor to settle on Vancouver Island in the 19th century. Ebenezer Mortimer, who had played baseball professionally, went to war in 1939, and was thought to have died in combat, but returned home in 1943. Samuel Watts was the first black Canadian from central Alberta to enlist in the Great War, but would not return home.