Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Location	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, at the historic Forks
Website	www.humanrightsmuseum.ca

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is a national museum currently under construction in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the historic Forks where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet. The purpose of the museum is to increase understanding and awareness about human rights, human rights issues and challenges, promote respect for others, and encourage reflection, dialogue, and action.

Established in 2008, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) was the first national museum created in Canada since 1967, and it is the first national museum ever to be located outside the National Capital Region.

History

The CMHR was the dream of CanWest founder Izzy Asper as a place where students from across Canada could come to learn about human rights. He also saw the CMHR as an opportunity to revitalize downtown Winnipeg and increase tourism to the city. Asper launched the CMHR as a private initiative on April 17, 2003, the 21st anniversary of signing of Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After Izzy’s death in 2003, his daughter Gail Asper became the main proponent of the project.

On April 20, 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Government of Canada’s intention to make the CMHR into a national museum, the first national museum created in over 40 years. Then on March 13, 2008, Bill C-42, An Act amending the Museums Act and making consequential amendments to other Acts, received Royal Assent in Parliament, with support from all political parties, creating the Canadian Museum for Human Rights as a national museum. By the middle of 2008, a government-funded opinion research project had been completed by the TNS/The Antima Group. The ensuing report—based primarily on focus group participants—listed the following: which topics (not in order of preference) might be covered by the CMHR; key milestones in human rights achievements, both in Canada and throughout the world; current debates about human rights; and events where Canada showed a betrayal or a commitment towards human rights.

December 19, 2008 marked the Groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the CMHR, and official construction on the site began in April, 2009. Construction is expected to be completed in 2012.

Funding

Funding for the capital costs of the CMHR is coming from three jurisdictions of government— the federal Crown, the provincial Crown, and the City of Winnipeg— as well as private donations. The total budget for the building of the exterior of the CMHR and its contents is $310 million.

To date, the Government of Canada has allocated $100 million, the Government of Manitoba has donated $40 million, and the City of Winnipeg has donated $20 million. The Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, led by Gail Asper, have succeeded in raising $125 million in private donations from across Canada so far. An additional $25 million is still needed to reach the fundraising goal. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has requested an additional $35 million in Capital funding from the federal government to cover shortfalls.

Once the CMHR is open, the operating budget will be provided by the government of Canada, as the CMHR is a national museum. The estimated operating costs to the federal government are $22 million annually.

Building

In 2003, the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights launched an international architectural competition for the design of the CMHR. 62 submissions from 21 countries worldwide were submitted. The judging panel chose the design submitted by Antoine Predock, a world renowned architect based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

His vision for the CMHR is a journey, beginning with a descent into the earth where visitors enter the CMHR through the ‘roots’ of the museum. Visitors are led through the Great Hall, then a series of vast spaces and ramps, before culminating in the Tower of Hope, a tall spire protruding from the CMHR that provides visitors with an amazing view of downtown Winnipeg.

Antoine Predock’s inspiration for the CMHR comes from the natural scenery and open spaces in Canada like trees, ice, and northern lights, First Nations peoples in Canada, and the rootedness of human rights action. He describes the CMHR in the following way:

“The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is rooted in humanity, making visible in the architecture the fundamental commonality of humankind-a symbolic apparition of ice, clouds and stone set in a field of sweet grass. Carved into the earth and dissolving into the sky on the Winnipeg horizon, the abstract ephemeral wings of a white dove embrace a mythic stone mountain of 450 million year old Tyndall limestone in the creation of a unifying and timeless landmark for all nations and cultures of the world.”

Construction of the building is currently underway. Throughout the foundation work of the CMHR, medicine bags created by Elders at Thunderbird House ,in Winnipeg, were inserted into the holes made for piles and caissons to show respect for mother earth. Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, unveiled on 3 July 2010 the building's cornerstone, which bears the Queen's royal cypher and has embedded in it a piece of stone from the ruins of St. Mary's Priory, at Runnymede, England— where it is believed the Magna Carta was approved in 1215 by King John. The CMHR website has two webcams available for people to watch the construction as it progresses.

Exhibits

The CMHR is working with exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) based out of New York to develop the inaugural exhibits of the museum. RAA has indicated that the galleries throughout the CMHR will deal with various themes including the Canadian human rights journey, Aboriginal concepts of human rights, the Holocaust, and current human rights issues. The CMHR has a team of researchers working with RAA to develop the inaugural exhibits.

As part of the content development process, the CMHR did a cross-country story gathering tour called ‘Help Write the Story of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.’ From May 2009 to February 2010, the CMHR visited 19 cities and talked to thousands of people about their human rights experiences and what they want to see in the museum. This consultation process was led by Lord Cultural Resources based out of Toronto. The stories heard will help inform the content of the CMHR.

Controversies

Concerns about an aboriginal sacred site

The proposed museum has come under criticism, including criticism that the site selected is one of the richest sites in Manitoba for aboriginal artifacts. Retired Manitoba archeologist, Leigh Syms stated that the excavation done prior to construction did not go far enough. A spokesperson for the museum pointed out that the museum had consulted with native leaders prior to excavation. In addition, the museum is continuning to evaluate the site through construction. The area where the museum is being built has been an area of increased development over the past few years, including a skate park, a hotel, and a parkade. All of which are south of what is believed to be a part of the Aboriginal Graveyard.

The CMHR has responded to the criticisms put forward by Leigh Syms, arguing that they have followed all necessary guidelines prior to and during the archaeological digs and excavations and have consulted and continue to consult Aboriginal Elders and others within the Aboriginal community about the project as it moves forward.

There have been suggestions that the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and much of the Forks in general, is located on an Aboriginal burial ground. An impact assessment and management plan prepared for the Forks Renewal Corporation prior to the beginning of construction of the Forks Market in 1988 outlines the concerns about burial grounds expressed by the archaeologists. Several archaeological digs in the area done between 1989-1991 as well as the archaeological digs completed by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in 2008 and 2009 did not find any human remains. These digs show that while the site was used for a variety of land uses, it has never been a burial ground.

The Forks is located in the flood plain of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. Before the flood way was built in 1968, the location of the Forks was prone to flooding when accumulated winter snow rapidly melted in the spring. One of the largest of these floods, in 1826, destroyed the original Fort Garry. The Red River rose three metres (nine feet) in one day. It created a lake that remained for months and washed away nearly every building in the settlement. Due to recurring flooding, the Forks site was used as a transitional camp.

Over 50 separate projects involving excavation have been undertaken at the Forks since 1950, enabling researchers to provide an accurate reflection of the various uses of the Forks over the past 6000 years. Despite the above stated concerns, none of these projects indicate that the Forks site was ever used as a burial ground.

Concerns over the proposed museum content

Starting in December 2010, controversy has erupted over the plans for two permanent gallery spaces: for the Jewish suffering during the Holocaust and for the injustices experienced by the Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Organizations like the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), Canadians for Genocide Education, the German-Canadian Congress, the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA) and thousands of other Canadians have been protesting this elevation of the suffering of one or two communities above all others (while any other experiences and issues will be addressed thematically in the remaining galleries). This controversy is further examined in a 14 February 2011 Globe and Mail article by James Adams, "Protest grows over 'Holocaust' zone in CMHR."

Angela Cassie, the museum’s director of communications, responded to recent criticism by pointing out that there was a misconception about there being only two permanent zones. “There will in fact be 12 permanent zones and the Holodomor will have a permanent display in the ‘Mass Atrocity’ zone, immediately adjacent to the Holocaust zone," Cassie said. "This zone will feature detailed information on the Holodomor and many other mass atrocities that have taken place worldwide and will provide educational opportunities for visitors to learn more about these events.” According to the Canadian Jewish Congress CEO Bernie Farber, the events of the Holocaust require a special focus, because they redefined the limits of "human depravity" and challenged the foundation of our civilization. The victims of this Holocaust have still not recovered from the slaughter they endured. “The Holocaust was also the foundation for our modern human rights legislation, and it makes perfect sense that the Holocaust should have a permanent place in the museum. It also makes sense that the plight of Canada’s First Nations should also have a prominent place in the museum. What makes no sense is pitting one group of Canadians against another,” said Farber. As for the Holocaust zone, Cassie has stated that this gallery is anticipated to include the sufferings of “the Roma, persons with physical and mental disabilities, gay men, lesbians … among other communities." In a "reply to the editor" of the National Post, Stuart Murray, president and CEO of the museum, gave his statement on the inclusivity of the museum's planned galleries, following the various protests appearing in the media since December 2010.

Lubomyr Luciuk, speaking for the UCCLA, suggested that the museum's 12 thematic galleries could cover larger issues such as Canadian internment operations, including unwarranted detention of the following: Ukrainians and others during World War I; Germans, Italians and Japanese during World War II; and some Québécois in the 1970 October Crisis. Another topic, genocides, could be treated as a whole, whether the atrocities occurred in Europe, Africa or Asia, and could include the politically motivated crimes of communism as well as fascism. In December 2010, the UCC even started a postcard campaign to try to persuade Heritage Minister James Moore to convene a new advisory committee, with the objective of reevaluating the proposed content of the CMHR. Luciuk also stated that "as a publicly funded institution, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights should not elevate the suffering of any community above all others." Member of Parliament James Bezan released a statement that implored the CMHR Board of Trustees to apportion to the "Holodomor genocide...a unique, autonomous and prominent place in the CMHR" and requested that the "CMHR Board [of Trustees] contain respected members of the Ukrainian community with knowledge of the Holodomor and other human rights violations." A petition outlining the grievances of the UCC has been prepared for submission to parliament, entitled "Petition for equity and fairness at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights."

The UCC also revealed that the tendering process undertaken by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has no intention of including permanent or prominent displays of the Holodomor or of Canada’s First National Internment Operations, providing further evidence that the Museum will proceed on the basis of the discredited Content Advisory Committee Report. Another concern are the CEO's expenses, as documented in a 23 February story in the Winnipeg Sun, "Great museum pork-barrel job."

Many people have expressed dismay at the quarrel over the square footage allotted to any given atrocity or human rights violation. Some argue that there should be less argument over which wronged group gets the most space in a museum, and more over the prevention of human rights abuses in the future while others call for fairness and equity in space allocation. Also, as the museum's own Cassie explains, the purpose of the museum is not to be a memorial for the suffering of different groups but to be a learning experience for visitors of all ages, although her views have been contradicted by those who point out that the museum's contents will elevate the suffering of some communities over all others by assigning permanent and privileged space to 2 issues. She counters that by saying that this will be a "museum of ideas,' not just a museum of past events. For example, the zone dedicated to the indigenous experience in Canada is "part of a broader context of introduction to human rights," Cassie said, and will form the basis for a zone exploring the wider Canadian experience of human rights, including internment of Canadians of Ukrainian and other origins during the world wars. The stand-alone gallery dedicated exclusively for the Holocaust allegedly sets the stage for a key zone exploring the revolutionary 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that some say was drafted in direct response to the Nazi atrocities, although human rights and civil liberties issues were already being addressed in the interwar League of Nations..

To address the concerns by Canadian citizens, about how various human rights issues would be covered in the museum, Cassie further provided a more detailed explanation of the actual process for public consultation and corrected any misconceptions that may have been perpetrated by the media, particularly in relation to gallery content. From this statement, it is clear that the Holocaust will be in its own gallery, while the Holodomor will be given a subordinate permanent place in the 'Mass Atrocity' zone, along with dozens of other examples of genocide and mass killings while the Canadian internment operations will likewise not get their own gallery, instead being assigned space in some zone with other Canadian stories, while human rights abuses towards aboriginals will have a place in the 'Indigenous Rights' gallery, again elevating that story above, for example, the story of slavery, or of the Crimes of Communism. Cassie also explained that the Content Advisory Committee's mandate had expired in March 2010, and that its submitted recommendations only constituted part of the consultation process, although critics have pointed out that this report continues to form the basis upon which the museum's gallery spaces are being organized. The first round of public consultations that had begun in May 2009, was completed in February 2010. Interestingly enough the CMHR's own website includes their survey results which confirmed that most Canadians had a different rank ordering with respect to the kinds of themes they wished to see covered in this taxpayer funded national museum. That stands in contrast to what is actually being done or said by Museum spokespersons, a contradiction they avoid explaining.

External links

• Official website
• Friends of the CMHR
• Canadian Heritage