TAN – The Afro News

Senator Donald Oliver

Canada  – Ottawa : Every year in February, Black History Month fills me with pride and renewed vigour for advancing the interests of Black Canadians. It is a time to reflect and to remind Canadians of the profound and enduring contributions of Black Canadians to our country. Read the full story

Valerie Jerome & Yared Nigussu with Stuart Parker Nephew of Harry Jerome Photo By KMG -TAN

 The Afro News Vancouver : The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada’s unveiling of a monument in honour of one of Canada’s greatest athletes could not have happened on a more glorious day. With very few clouds in the sky accompanied by a gentle wind, Stanley Park on the morning of Saturday May 15 was a runner’s delight; it was a morning of historic achievement for Black Canadians everywhere as Harry Winston Jerome was designated as a “Person of National Historic Significance”.

Harry Jerome who was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, on 30 September 1940, moved first to Winnipeg with his family and then to North Vancouver in late 1951. Jerome an avid athlete, excelling at football, hockey, and baseball but was best known for his outstanding performance in track and field. He competed for Canada at the Olympic Games in 1960, 1964 and 1968, at the British Empire (Commonwealth) Games in 1962 and 1966 and at the Pan American Games in 1959 and 1967. Though injuries threatened his career, Jerome’s determination and perseverance earned him six world records and Olympic medals.

Jerome retired from high-performance athletic competition after the 1968 Olympics. But it was the youth who were his passion. “He believed in the youth,” his sister Valerie Jerome told Afro News, “from engaging in programmes and sports demonstration teams to programmes at the provincial schools and community centres as well as visits to a number of the first nation’s reserves in the province.” Thus after his athletic career, he joined the federal government’s Fitness and Amateur Sport Directorate (today’s Sport Canada). Jerome subsequently designed and directed British Columbia’s Premier’s Sport Award Program, which is considered by many to be his greatest legacy. This program still provides teaching material, clinics and awards to upgrade the quality of physical education. More than one million children have been noted to have received merit badges under this program.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada’s unveiling of a monument in honour of one of Canada’s greatest athletes Harry Winston Jerome

For persons present at the celebration ceremony, it was high time that such an honour be bestowed on an individual of such iconic status. Many felt that to have achieved what he did in his time, speaks to the greatness of his character and his will to persevere in-spite of the many barriers, racism included. The life of Harry Jerome stands as a testament of the excellence that can be achieved by Afro-Canadian youths, not only in athletics but in other areas of their lives. Stuart Parker, nephew of Harry Jerome, encouraged that racism should not be used as an excuse for not achieving greatness and that we need to look to the courage of those persons before us who have risen above and challenged all kinds of barriers. He cited that “there is no fear in us to the challenges people face but that the reason we have community, the reason that we have love, the reason that we have these things is as a way of surviving that unfairness and achieving inspite of it.” Echoing similar sentiments, Charles Arthur indicated that should a focus be placed on Harry Jerome as a role model for all young people; no matter the race or ethnic background a further step would have been reached towards engaging and inspiring the youths. John Morrison, who was also pleased and encouraged by the ceremony asserted that such an event was a significant one in marking multiculturalism in Canada and serves as a reminder, especially to our children that we are very fortunate to live in Canada, as there are many other place in the world where these events can not occur.

The ceremony was attended by government officials, members of the Afro-Canadian community, friends, family and beneficiaries of Harry Jerome’s legacy.

Mark Warawa Deputy Mayor of City of Vancouver Photo By KMG -TAN News

Jarome Iginla

By Jack Toronto The Afro News Delta ,Black athletes earned renown at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Each of Canada’s black athletes competing at the games earned a medal. Kalyna Roberge took home a silver medal as a member of the women’s 3,000-metre relay team in short track speed skating. Read the full story

(left to right) Speaker Noel Kinsella, Senator Mobina Jaffer, and Senator Donald Oliver

By:the Honourable Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Q.C. Senator for British Columbia

My professional career has taken me to many different parts of the world, and has exposed me to the many challenges, and at the same time, the great beauty this world has to offer. I have also had the privilege to meet many people who are doing their part to make this world an inclusive environment, where populations are not scared by the differences in each other, but instead are curious about them…and in the end, enriched through shared experiences.

Along the way, I have also had the pleasure to work with individuals who are greatly committed to the issues we face together. Perhaps a common bond between those who advocate for a cause is their desire to create opportunity in our society.

During their careers, Speaker Noel Kinsella, and Senator Donald Oliver have served all Canadians with distinction. And through our working together, I have come to know just how important creating opportunity is to both Senators.

Speaker Kinsella – who has served as Speaker of the Senate since 2006 – has had a distinguished career in humanitarian work, and has been a champion of diversity and human rights. Beginning in 1967, Speaker Kinsella served as Chairperson of the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, where he served for 22 years. As Chair of the Atlantic Humans Rights Centre, Speaker Kinsella played an integral role in expanding the resources of the Centre, helping to further its mandate to undertake, encourage and facilitate research in the fields of citizenship and human rights.

Presently, Speaker Kinsella is a member of the Advisory Council of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights – which will open its doors to the public in 2012, and makes its home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Museum – the only national museum located outside of Ottawa, Ontario – will give visitors a detailed view into the progression of human rights in Canada and elsewhere in the world.

When we think about our great country, there are many things of which Canadians can be proud. One such trait is the diversity of people we live and work amongst. For multiculturalism is Canada’s badge to wear proudly.

Throughout his life and professional career, Senator Oliver has continually promoted the importance of the study of Canadian black history and culture. Through his advocacy to fund a Chair on Canadian Black Studies at Dalhousie University, and also while serving on the Advisory Board for the Indigenous Black and Mik’Maq Program at Dalhousie Law School, Senator Oliver has spoken widely of the enduring contributions of black Canadians to our society.

In a paper delivered to the “Multiple Lenses: Voices from the Diaspora located in Canada” Conference, in Halifax, he noted that:

“For more than 400 years, Blacks have been an integral part of the warp and weave of Canadian society and Canada’s economy. For example, as an interpreter between the French and the Mik’Maq people in the early 1600s, Mathieu de Costa undoubtedly played a role in developing the fur-trade industry along the Atlantic seacoast. But, de Costa was a free man. Those who came after him, enslaved and brutally exploited during the largest shift of population that the world has ever seen, played no less an important role in shaping our country.”

Senator Oliver has also worked tirelessly to ensure that the Province of Nova Scotia play a role in officially recognizing the cultural contribution of its population. His work in this area lead to the creation of the Centre for Black Culture – an organization which opened on September 17, 1983 – which exists to promote the great history and legacy of Black Canadians in Nova Scotia.

Through its facilitation of cultural portrayals in the form of music, plays, concerts, as well as educational activities in the form of workshops, lectures and guided tours, the Centre is a window into over 400 years of black history in Nova Scotia.

However, Senator Oliver’s work on Canadian black history and culture is but one area of his interest in diversity in Canada. Senator Oliver is not only concerned with affording diversity a place in society, he also concerned with creating space for diversity in society.

Senator Oliver’s work on the issue of employment equity is a testament to this drive to create necessary space for diversity.

In 2006-2007, when the Public Service Commission’s annual report revealed that Canada’s public service was not a true reflection of our diversity, Senator Oliver challenged us in this chamber to think about whom our Public service will hire a decade from now. When those testifying before the National Finance Committee shared their concern that certain provisions of the Public Service Employment Act were not being used, Senator Oliver challenged us to think about what he called “make-it-happen” policies that would positively affect the hiring strategies of Canada’s public service.

This past February – which was also Black History Month – Senator Oliver addressed the issue of employment equity in the Federal Public Service to the Employment Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Canada.

During this speech, Senator Oliver pointed out that the Federal Public Service has an important role to play in setting an example for other employers, by maintaining the standards of diversity in its hiring practices. He noted that:

“The public service should and must set the standard for all employers: it is Canada’s largest employer, with 255,000 employees; it is Canada’s most national employer, with 1600 points of services across the country; and it is Canada’s most international employer with staff in more than 150 countries.”

He also noted that by 2017, members of the visible minority community could account for roughly one-fifth of the total population of Canada – echoing the necessity of the public service to make the changes needed to ensure the changing faces of Canada’s workforce are able to seek opportunities to better themselves, both professional and personally.

Where the view exists that such diversity is perhaps a threat, Senator Oliver reminds us that diversity is an extension of national wealth, and he has continually reminded us of the importance of embracing that diversity through the creation and facilitation of opportunity.

For their continuing efforts to promote cultural heritage, and for their invaluable advocacy of greater opportunities for visible minorities and humans rights, Speaker Kinsella and Senator Oliver can only be known as true champions of diversity and human rights.