Davina Choy

Davina Choy is the Community and Digital Media Coordinator at The Canadian Encyclopedia. Her interests include arts, culture, and the ever-changing digital landscape.

Remembering Helmut Kallmann, 1922 – 2012

On April 10th, friends, family members and colleagues of Helmut Kallmann gathered in the spacious main lobby of the University of Toronto’s Edward Johnson Building to remember Helmut Kallmann, who passed away on February 12, 2012.

Helmut Kallmann was the pioneer scholar of Canadian music history and the founder of the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada and author of A History of Music in Canada 1534-1941. He was co-founder of the Canadian Music Library Association and the first chief of the National Library of Canada’s Music Division (1970-1987).

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Canada Soup: The Tip of the Iceberg

Canada Post stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

With Air Canada staff staging a wildcat strike today (including a horrific incident involving a man spitting into a baggage handler’s face) the CBC reviews the ailing airline’s history of labour strife. [CBC]

In a major legal decision, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that judges who do not consider lenient or creative sentences for aboriginal offenders are violating the law. The decision has been so polarizing (and energizing) that the Globe & Mail article, posted today, has received over 900 comments, some insightful, others deeply offensive. The crux of the matter seems to be this: how far does historic disadvantage (including institutionalized racism and oppression) extend?

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Freedom to Read Week

freedom-read-week

Titles that have appeared on Canada's list of challenged books and magazines.

“To choose a good book, look in an inquisitor’s prohibited list.” – John Aiken

To Canadians, censorship may seem like a thing of the past, associated with book burnings and fascist regimes, but the truth is that freedom of expression is an ongoing battle. Books as recent as The Golden Compass, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and Of Mice and Men have appeared on Canada’s list of challenged books and magazines. Considering that these titles have become celebrated classics in the modern canon, John Aiken’s pithy epigram appears more true than ever.

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Canada Soup: A Revolutionary Passes

This week Pierre Juneau, the head of the CRTC and an early champion of Canadian content, passed away. Under Pierre Trudeau, Juneau mandated minimum standards for Canadian content (CanCon) on the TV and radio, winning him few friends among broadcasters but the loyal support of Canadian performers. He forever changed what Canadians watched and heard, and his legacy of promoting and carving a space for Canadian artists has lasted to this day. [CBC]

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Canada Soup: Joe Fortes, the Queen and the Primacy of Soccer

joe-fortes

Joe Fortes teaching swimming at English Bay, Vancouver, circa 1912. Vancouver Archives

Statistics Canada released its 2011 census information this Wednesday. The National Post has a nifty infographic that visually lays out changes in population growth. Lets take a look at the changing face of our nation, shall we?
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The First Nations in the War of 1812

The Historica-Dominion Institute, in partnership with Fort York National Historic Site, presents the first of their 1812 Shorts in celebration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812. In this video, Ojibway writer Drew Hayden Taylor discusses the role of First Nations in the War of 1812. Stay tuned for more videos in the series.

Visit the Historica-Dominion Institute’s site on the War of 1812.

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The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

The Queen begins a year of celebrations marking her diamond jubilee. On February 6, 1952, King George VI died in his sleep at Sandringham. His daughter Princess Elizabeth was declared Queen Elizabeth II. Since then, Queen Elizabeth has been England’s oldest monarch and the second-longest reigning sovereign in British history. Celebrations marking the event will centre around the extended weekend of June 2 (the anniversary of the Queens’ coronation) through to June 5.

Official Diamond Jubilee Portrait

Official portrait of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh taken in the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace in December 2011 © Royal Household/John Swannell

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Canada Soup: Spies, Swagger and Cohen

Sarah Burke

Sarah Burke celebrates on the podium after winning the women's halfpipe freestyle title at the World Cup finals in Valmalenco, Italy, Wednesday, March 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Tragedy struck this week when one of Canada’s top skiers Sarah Burke died from injuries while training. The four-time Winter X Games champion crashed at the bottom of a half pipe and went into cardiac arrest from her injuries. In a generous gesture of humanity, sympathizers have been donating funds to help Burke’s family pay off her medical bills, which were not covered by the Canadian Freestyle Skiing Association. [Globe & MailCBC]

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Canada Soup: “A Delicious Gallimaufry”

Hark! A Vagrant

A comic from Kate Beaton's website, Hark! A Vagrant.

This week, Canadian history buffs across the nation celebrated Sir John A. Macdonald‘s 197th birthday, remembering the contributions of our country’s first prime minister and great uniter. We celebrated our early history even as one of our most storied publishing houses, McClelland and Stewart, was taken over by the German-owned Random House, leaving a big question mark as to the future of Canadian publishing and, in many ways, the question of Canadian identity.

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Learn About Sir John A. Macdonald

If a news reporter tests your knowledge on the street, asking you to identify an old, fluffy-haired man, you’ll want to be ready. “Why, that’s Sir John A. Macdonald,” you’ll say with an easy smile. Want to knock that reporter off his feet? Check out these resources and build up an arsenal of knowledge on the Old Chieftan in time for his 197th birthday on January 11!

John A. Macdonald

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Founded in 1985, the Canadian Encyclopedia is a free, bilingual resource on all things Canadian. It’s also our mother site! Check out its articles on:

Sir John A. Macdonald
Confederation
Fathers of Confederation
The Conservative Party
The Pacific Scandal
Election 1891: A Question of Loyalty
Book Review: John A. Macdonald’s Tragic Life
The Canadian Pacific Railway

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