Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) is a Canadian Crown Corporation and national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks. The purpose of the museum is to "explore the subject of human rights with a special but not exclusive reference to Canada, to enhance the public's understanding of human rights, to promote respect for others and to encourage reflection and dialogue."[1] It held its opening ceremonies on 19 September 2014.[2]

Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Musée canadien pour les droits de la personne
Established13 March 2008 (2008-03-13)
LocationWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, at the historic Forks
FounderAsper Foundation
OwnerGovernment of Canada[1]
Websitewww.humanrights.ca

Established in 2008 through the enactment of Bill C-42, an amendment of the Canadian Museums Act,[3] the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the first new national museum created in Canada since 1967, and it is the first new national museum ever to be located outside the National Capital Region.[4]

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, November 2011
Canadian Museum for Human Rights, October 2012
Canadian Museum for Human Rights, seen from Provencher Boulevard in April 2014

History

On 17 April 2003, the 21st anniversary of the signing of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the establishment of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights was announced as a joint partnership of the Asper Foundation, the Government of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg and The Forks North Portage Partnership.[5] The Asper Foundation donated $20 million.

Israel Harold Asper, OC OM QC, known as Izzy Asper, is credited with the idea and vision to establish the CMHR. He was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and founder of the now-defunct media conglomerate Canwest Global Communications.[6][7] Asper hoped it would become a place where students from across Canada could come to learn about human rights. He also saw it as an opportunity to revitalize downtown Winnipeg and increase tourism to the city, as well as to raise understanding and awareness of human rights, promote respect for others, and encourage reflection, dialogue, and action. After Izzy's death in 2003, his daughter Gail Asper spearheaded the project.[2]

On 20 April 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Government of Canada's intention to make the CMHR into a national museum. On 13 March 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.[8] By the middle of 2008, a government-funded opinion research project had been completed by the TNS/The Antima Group. The ensuing report[9]—based primarily on focus group participants—listed the following: which the CMHR might cover topics (not in order of preference); key milestones in human rights achievements, both in Canada and throughout the word; current debates about human rights; and events where Canada showed a betrayal or a commitment to human rights.

19 December 2008 marked the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the CMHR,[10] and official construction on the site began in April 2009. Construction was initially expected to be completed in 2012.[11] The chair of the board resigned before his term was up, and a new interim chair was appointed.[12][13] The base building has been substantially complete since the end of 2012, and the Museum's inauguration took place in 2014.[14][15]

The museum's official opening on 19 September 2014, was protested by several activist groups, who expressed the view that their own human rights histories had been inaccurately depicted or excluded from the museum.[2] The First Nations musical group A Tribe Called Red, who had been scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony, pulled out in protest against the museum's coverage of First Nations issues.[16]

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 was $310 million as of February 2011. At the time of its opening in September 2014, the cost of the museum was approximately $351 million.[17]

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.[18] The Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, led by Gail Asper, have raised more than $130 million in private donations from across Canada toward a final goal of $150 million.[19] These private sector pledges include $4.5 million from provincial crown corporations in Manitoba and $5 million from the government of Ontario.[20] The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has requested an additional $35 million in capital funding from the federal government to cover shortfalls. In April 2011, the CMHR received an additional $3.6 million from the City of Winnipeg, which was taken from a federal grant to the city in lieu of taxes for the museum.[21]

The CMHR's operating budget is 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. In December 2011, the CMHR announced that due to rising costs for the interior exhibits of the museum, the total construction cost had increased by an additional $41 million to a new total of $351 million.[22] In July 2012, the federal and provincial governments agreed to further enhance the capital funding to the CMHR by up to $70 million, through a combination of a federal loan and a provincial loan guarantee. This newest funding was essential for the completion of the interior exhibits so that the museum could officially open in 2014, already two years behind schedule.[23]

Architecture
Architectural model of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

In 2003, the Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights launched an international architectural competition for the design of the CMHR. 100 submissions from 21 countries worldwide were submitted.[24] The judging panel chose the design submitted by Antoine Predock and Chris Beccone, architects from 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 views of downtown Winnipeg.[25] He has been quoted as saying: "I'm often asked what my favorite, my most important building is," he said. "I'm going on record right now," he proclaimed. 'This is it.'"[26]

Antoine Predock's inspiration for the CMHR came from the natural scenery and open spaces in Canada, including trees, ice, northern lights, First Nations peoples in Canada, and the rootedness of human rights action. He describes the CMHR in the following way:[27]

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.

View of downtown Winnipeg from the top floor of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The base building has been substantially complete since the end of 2012. 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. The CMHR website had two webcams available for the public to watch the construction as it progressed.

For the construction of the Hall of Hope full of illuminated alabaster ramps, more than 3.500m² and 15.000 tiles of alabaster were used, making it the biggest project ever done with alabaster.[28][29]

On 3 July 2010, Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, unveiled the building's cornerstone.[30][31] The stone bears the Queen's royal cypher and has embedded in it a piece of stone from the ruins of St. Mary's Priory,[32] at Runnymede, England, where it is believed the Magna Carta was approved in 1215 by King John.[33]

At the time of its opening in September 2014 there were ten permanent galleries:[34]

  1. What are human rights?
  2. Indigenous perspectives.
    This includes a "circular movie about First Nations concepts of rights and responsibilities to each other and the land."[35] Curator Lee-Ann Martin described contemporary installation artist Rebecca Belmore's "Trace",[34] a ​2 1⁄2-storey "ceramic blanket" commissioned by the CMHR.[36] This blanket is part of a series by Winnipeg-based Anishinaabe artist Belmore that "expose the traumatic history and ongoing violence against Aboriginal people."[36]
  3. Canadian journeys.
    This includes "prominent exhibits" on residential schools, "missing and murdered aboriginal women," "forced relocation of Inuit."[37] as well as Japanese during World War II, disabilities from Ryerson University, Chinese head tax, the Underground Railroad, Komagata Maru and the Winnipeg General Strike.[35]
  4. Protecting rights in Canada
  5. Examining the Holocaust and other genocides.
    The gallery on genocide includes the five genocides recognized by Canada: the Holocaust, the Holodomor, the Armenian genocide, the Rwandan genocide and the Bosnian ethnic cleansing.[35]
  6. Turning points for humanity
  7. Breaking the silence
  8. Actions count
  9. Rights today
  10. Inspiring change

The process

The CMHR worked with exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) from New York to develop the inaugural exhibits of the museum. RAA indicated that the galleries throughout the CMHR would deal with various themes including the Canadian human rights journey, Indigenous concepts of human rights, the Holocaust, and current human rights issues. The CMHR's team of researchers working with RAA to develop the inaugural exhibits.

As part of the content development process, the CMHR did a cross-country tour called "Help Write the Story of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights". From May 2009 to February 2010, CMHR researchers visited 19 cities and talked to thousands of people about their human rights experiences and what they wanted to see in the museum. This consultation process was led by Lord Cultural Resources, based in Toronto. On 5 March 2013 a story produced by CBC TV (Manitoba) mentioned a document, "Gallery Profiles" (dated 12 September 2012), that confirms some the CMHR's contents. The Museum's largest gallery is dedicated to Canadian content, while a thematic approach is taken throughout all of its galleries.

Indigenous issues

Indigenous issues are addressed in each gallery, but are prominent in the " Canadian Journeys Gallery" and the "Indigenous Perspectives Gallery."[37]

Partnerships

Several agreements have been reached by the CMHR and various educational institutions and government agencies, to enhance the quality and depth of information provided by the museum, as well as to broaden the educational opportunities for the museum. This is a tentative and evolving list of organizations that have partnered with the museum:

  • University of Manitoba
  • University of Winnipeg[38]
  • National Museum – "Memorial to Holodomor victims" (Kyiv, Ukraine)[39]
  • Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies
  • Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Canada (Netherlands Embassy)
  • Library and Archives Canada
  • The Manitoba Museum
  • Manitoba Education (the Province of Manitoba)

Controversies

Location

The museum was criticized for its location in The Forks, an important Indigenous archaeological site. From 2008 to 2012, archaeological excavations on the museum site recovered more than 400,000 artifacts dating as far back as 1100 CE.[40] Retired archaeologist Leigh Syms stated that the excavation done prior to construction did not go far enough; a museum spokesperson stated that officials had consulted with Indigenous leaders and would continue to do so during construction.[41][42]

Furthermore, a report prepared for the Forks Renewal Corporation prior to the construction of the Forks Market in 1988 raised concerns about possible Indigenous burial grounds in the area. Several archaeological digs between 1989 and 1991, and then again in 2008 and 2009 by the CMHR, did not find any human remains.

Exhibits

Beginning in December 2010, controversy erupted over plans for two permanent galleries dedicated to the Holocaust and the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Several community organizations representing Canadians of Central and Eastern European descent, including the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, protested what they said was an over-emphasis on Jewish and Indigenous suffering, and the relegation of their experiences (such as the Holodomor) to smaller thematic or rotating galleries.[43][44][45][46]

Lubomyr Luciuk, speaking for the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said that "as a publicly funded institution, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights should not elevate the suffering of any community above all others," referencing the Canadian internment of Ukrainians during World War I.[47][48] The UCCLA sent postcards to Heritage Minister James Moore, which were criticized by Catherine Chatterley of the Canadian Institute for the Study of Antisemitism for depicting those in favour of the Holocaust gallery as pigs.[46][49][50] Ultimately, in July 2012, the CMHR agreed to collaborate with the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv to provide further education to museum visitors about the Holodomor.[51][52]

Some Palestinian-Canadians were also upset by the fact that the CMHR did not include an exhibit featuring their displacement due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[53] "As the opening comes closer, I become more and more concerned that the lessons of the Palestinian experience, nobody’s going to hear it," said Rana Abdulla. "Our story is an excellent story to educate Canadians about human rights. How would anyone take that museum seriously if they don’t hear the Palestinian story?"[53] Mohamed El Rashidy of the Canadian Arab Federation said the museum had to address Palestinian experiences, and "shouldn’t fear stating the inconvenient truths and facts about history."[53]

CMHR CEO Stuart Murray promised that the museum would be inclusive of all groups,[54] while museum spokesperson Angela Cassie responded that it was a "misconception" that there would only be two permanent galleries, and that the museum would reference several other historical genocides, including the Holodomor, in its "Mass Atrocity" section.[55][56][57] She further explained that the purpose of the museum was not to be a memorial for the suffering of different groups, but to be a learning experience; for instance, the Holocaust exhibit introduces the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drafted in direct response to it.[58][59]

According to Canadian Jewish Congress CEO Bernie Farber, the events of the Holocaust merited particular focus precisely because they redefined the limits of "human depravity" and were "the foundation of our modern human rights legislation."[60] He also said that it "made sense" that another gallery be dedicated to Indigenous peoples, and criticized the "pitting of one group of Canadians against another."[57]

Winnipeg Free Press columnist Dan Lett similarly expressed dismay at the quarrel over the square footage allotted to any given atrocity or human rights violation, arguing that there should be less haggling over which wronged group gets the most space in a museum, and more concern over the prevention of human rights abuses in the future.[58]

LGBT content censorship

From January 2015 until the middle of 2017 the management sometimes asked staff not to show any LGBT content on tours at the request of certain guests, including religious school groups, diplomats and donors. The communications department justified such requests by saying "all groups are special, some groups are just a bit more special and there are some things that shouldn't be put on paper. So we have to meet in person to discuss what guides can say to these special visitors."[61] In June 2020, CMHR CEO John Young resigned following complaints that staff were forced to censor LGBT content, as well as allegations of sexual harassment, homophobia and racism at the CMHR.[62] An apology from the Executive team of the CMHR and an interim report of the independent third-party review into allegations were published on the CMHR website.[63][64] In October 2020, it was revealed some staff were told not to talk about pregnancy or abortion, in addition to censoring LGBT content, during some tours involving religious schools.[65]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Government of Canada 2008, p. 2.
  2. Brean, Joseph (19 September 2014), Canadian Museum for Human Rights opens amidst controversy and protests, National Post, retrieved 20 September 2014
  3. Government of Canada 2008, p. 4.
  4. "Prime Minister of Canada: Backgrounder: the Canadian Museum for Human Rights". web.archive.org. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  5. The Asper Family: A History of Giving, Asper Foundation, n.d., retrieved 20 September 2014
  6. "Israel Harold (Izzy) Asper". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. 14 March 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  7. Holmes, Gillian K; Davidson, Evelyn (2001). Who's Who in Canadian Business 2001. University of Toronto Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0920966608. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  8. Government of Canada 2008.
  9. "Focus Group Testing of the Content for the Proposed Canadian Museum for Human Rights". Library and Archives Canada, 2 April 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  10. Rabson, Mia (19 December 2008). "Dec 2008: Museum sod to be turned -- no matter how cold". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  11. "Building the Museum | Canadian Museum for Human Rights". web.archive.org. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  12. Rights museum left in lurch. Winnipeg Free Press, 17 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  13. Statement by the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, on the Interim Chairperson of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Archived 20 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine CMHR News, 20 December 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  14. Canadian Museum for Human Rights
  15. Human rights museum a gong show. Archived 11 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine Winnipeg Sun, 19 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
  16. "A Tribe Called Red cancels performance at human rights museum". CBC News, 19 September 2014.
  17. Canadian Museum for Human Rights opening marked by music, speeches and protests: Demonstrators call for attention to First Nations issues and the Palestinian struggle, CBC News, 19 September 2014, retrieved 20 September 2014
  18. "4. Financial Statements | Canadian Museum for Human Rights". web.archive.org. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  19. The Friends of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Archived 31 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  20. Update: Canadian Museum for Human Rights Archived 19 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. (Craig, Colin). Canadian Taxpayers Federation, 10 November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  21. Council grants more money to rights museum. CBC News, 27 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
  22. Human Rights Museum cost jumps to $351 million. Global News, 22 December 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2011.
  23. Loans ride to museum’s rescue. (Lett, Dan) Winnipeg Free Press, 19 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  24. Lett, Dan (4 September 2010), "A portrait of the artist: The man who'll shape our skyline", Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, retrieved 20 September 2014
  25. Hume, Christopher (19 December 2009), "Soaring design tells human rights tale", Toronto Star
  26. "Friends of CMHR 10 Year Magazine" (PDF), Friends of CMHR
  27. "Canadian Museum For Human Rights". www.predock.com. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  28. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. "UNIQUE ASPECTS OF CMHR CONSTRUCTION" (PDF). Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  30. "About the Museum>News>The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is honoured to welcome Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada to the site of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights". Canadian Museum for Human Rights. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  31. "About the Museum > News > Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II unveils cornerstone to CMHR". Canadian Museum for Human Rights. 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  32. Ruins of St. Mary's Priory – Runnymede. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  33. "Queen gives Canadian Museum for Human Rights a piece of history". CTV. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  34. Barnes, Dan (20 September 2014), "Inside the 10 permanent galleries of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights", Edmonton Journal, Winnipeg, retrieved 20 September 2014
  35. Behind the scenes: curating Winnipeg's museum of human rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba: Metro News, 20 September 2014, archived from the original on 23 October 2014, retrieved 20 September 2014
  36. Martin, Lee-Ann (12 March 2014), Rebecca Belmore's Trace: Hands of generations past and those that will come, CMHR, archived from the original on 7 October 2014, retrieved 20 September 2014
  37. Barnes, Dan (19 September 2014), "Human rights museum a journey into light", Edmonton Journal, Winnipeg, Manitoba, retrieved 20 September 2014
  38. Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the University of Winnipeg sign Memorandum of Understanding. CMHR News, 6 May 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  39. National Museum "Memorial in Commemoration of Famines` Victims in Ukraine" Archived 13 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  40. CMHR releases important archaeology findings: new light cast on historic role of The Forks, Winnipeg, Manitoba: CMHR, 28 August 2013, retrieved 20 September 2014
  41. Human Rights Museum mistreating First Nations heritage: archeologist Archived 19 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  42. Rollason, Kevin (2 June 2009). "Jun 2009: Bless museum's sacred ground". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  43. Canadian Museum for Human Rights – a call for inclusiveness, equity and fairness. Ukrainian Canadian Congress. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  44. German-Canadian group assails Holocaust exhibit. National Post, 17 December 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  45. Protest grows over Holocaust 'zone' in Canadian Museum for Human Rights. (Adams, James). The Globe and Mail, 14 February 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  46. Chatterley, Catherine (2 April 2011). "The War Against the Holocaust". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  47. Comparing genocides. National Post, 10 January 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  48. Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund Archived 25 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. "CFWWIRF representatives visit Canadian Museum for Human Rights," 9 December 2014 - News Release.
  49. Human rights museum plan irks Ukrainian group. CBC News, 5 January 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  50. Postcard suggests Jews as pigs, critics say. The Canadian Jewish News, 14 April 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  51. Canadian Museum for Human Rights establishes formal partnership with the Memorial in Commemoration of Famines’ Victims in Ukraine. CMHR News, 4 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  52. Memo on Holodomor fails to quell concern. Winnipeg Free Press, 10 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  53. Hicks, Ryan (4 March 2013). "Palestinian-Canadians feel ignored in human rights museum". CBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  54. Rights museum will be inclusive. National Post, 17 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  55. "Ukrainian group wants review of human-rights museum plan." Globe and Mail, 21 December 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  56. Definition: What are Mass Atrocities? Archived 29 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine AEGIS – Preventing Crimes Against Humanity. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  57. Ukrainian groups oppose museum’s Holocaust exhibit. The Canadian Jewish News, 20 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  58. Lett, Dan (14 December 2010). "Fighting over exhibit size no way to advance debate". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  59. Martin, Melissa (6 January 2011). "Holodomor drive intensifies – Rights museum lobbied on issue". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  60. This refers to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was in part a response to the atrocities of World War II.
  61. Grabish, Austin. "Canadian Museum for Human Rights employees say they were told to censor gay content for certain guests | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  62. Grabish, Austin. "Museum for Human Rights CEO resigns after LGBT censorship, allegations of racism, harassment | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  63. "Apology from the Executive team of the CMHR". CMHR. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  64. "CMHR releases independent report". CMHR. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  65. Grabish, Austin. "Canadian Museum for Human Rights staff told not to mention abortion during some tours: email | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 6 January 2021.

References

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