By Jay Young An earlier version of this post originally appeared on the History News Network in late January. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford sure is in the news a lot these days. In late December, the US liberal-leaning Talking Points Memo website announced it had awarded him their annual scandal-of-the-year trophy, marking the first time this infamous recognition went to a… Read more »
By Michelle Hope Rumford The undertaking of “commemoration” encompasses actions taken in a spirit of remembrance and honor. Choosing to commemorate acknowledges the importance of an event. It allows history to live on into present contexts. In the context of the continuous formation and re-evaluation of the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government, 2013 was marked by a… Read more »
By Jenny Prior So you’re hard at work, creating a World War I exhibit based on hours and hours of archival research. Or maybe you’re not. But doesn’t it sound like a fascinating and daunting task? Just ask Stewart Boden at the Archives of Ontario. As our in-house curator of three interconnected World War I exhibits highlighting our collections, Stewart’s… Read more »
On Friday, February 28th, a Royal Society of Canada-funded symposium will be held in the Fountain Commons at Acadia University. This Open Academy brings together scholars and members of the general public, including high school, community college, and university students and members of the African Nova Scotian descendant community. The event’s main objective is to share recent scholarly research in… Read more »
By Beth A. Robertson, Ph.D., Carleton University Since it was first announced in May of 2013, the proposed Quebec Charter of Values, or Bill 60, has launched a flurry of commentary, with some prominent public figures lauding it as a much needed step in addressing reasonable accommodation in the province, and others, such as the Quebec Human Rights Commission, denouncing it… Read more »
By Sean Kheraj Nearly three years ago, I wrote a post called “Canada’s Historical Newspaper Digitization Problem” in which I agreed with the findings of a Higher Education Academy study that found that Canada lagged behind the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand in the digitization of historical newspapers. I found that Canada’s online historical newspaper archive is very limited,… Read more »
By Sean Carleton Indigenous filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin has created yet another gripping and sober documentary about Indigenous issues in Canada. With 2013’s Hi-Ho Mistahey! (which roughly translates as “I love you forever” in Cree), Obomsawin showcases her filmmaking prowess as she examines the educational experiences and frustrations of the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. I recently had the opportunity… Read more »
Nature’s Past is a regular audio podcast series produced by Sean Kheraj on the environmental history research community in Canada. It is published by the Network in Canadian History and Environment. The show features interviews, round table discussions, and lectures on a wide range of topics in environmental history, including climate change, urbanization, natural resource development, conservation, and food production. This… Read more »
Reviewed by M. Wayne Cunningham On 27 March 1917, a cold wind blew, and showers of sleet rained down on the small village of Mont St. Eloi, located in northern France. On this bleak day, a young Canadian soldier, twenty-one year-old Arthur Lemay, stood before a field general court martial, the army’s highest wartime court. He had been there before…. Read more »
ActiveHistory.ca and the Toronto Public Library are pleased to announce the Spring 2014 History Matters lecture series. This season’s series focuses on the theme of “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Past and Present.” The lectures are part of the TPL’s Thought Exchange programming. “What Sir John A. Macdonald Thought About ‘Indians’ and Other Courtroom Tales” William Wicken Wicken discusses the January 2013… Read more »
