Canadian Museum of Civilization Spotlights Social Progress
New permanent exhibit and Web site unveiledHull, Quebec, October 28, 1999 — Today the Canadian Museum of Civilization opened a new permanent Union Hall and a Social Progress Web Gallery in its popular Canada Hall. The exhibit recreates the headquarters of the famous 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. In addition, the virtual Web Gallery covers the history of social progress in Canada from the nineteenth century to today. The Web Gallery, online at www.civilization.ca/membrs/canhist/progrese.html, explains how Canadians developed free elections and fairer working conditions.
"We continue to augment the content of the Canada Hall, which is already the CMC's most popular feature," stated Joe Geurts, Acting President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. "By adding a wealth of information on social progress, we can see how Canada became, according to the United Nations, the best country in the world in which to live today. We are accomplishing this thanks to partnerships with organizations which have contributed in various ways to Canada's proud social and democratic traditions."
The Social Progress Web Gallery – available for consultation both at the Museum and on the Internet – includes a history of voting in Canada created in partnership with Elections Canada and a history of labour, developed in partnership with the Canadian Labour Congress.
"Innovative techniques, from the Internet to live and audiovisual dramatization, are helping us to bring Canadian history more alive for the general public," said Dr. Dan Gallacher, the Museum's Director of History. "With this addition, we show how significant advances were made to alleviate human suffering in Canada in the last two centuries."
Union Hall and the Winnipeg General Strike
Situated in the Canada Hall – which shows a thousand years of Canada's history in realistic environments – is a new permanent recreation of Meeting Room No. 10 of the James Street Labor Temple in Winnipeg, headquarters of the general strike of 1919. The actual Labor Temple was destroyed by fire and no longer exists. The Museum's reconstructed union hall features an audiovisual production which takes visitors through the causes and events of the 1919 strike. The dramatized dialogues are in English, French, Ukrainian and Yiddish, reflecting Winnipeg's ethnic diversity.
In addition, a new theatre production by Dramamuse, , the Museum's permanent theatre company, will be presented regularly in the hall. Strike is a lively debate on workers' rights involving both characters and the audience. The script was penned by Ottawa playwright Robert Marinier, author of But for the Grace of God and L'insomnie.
Social Progress Web Gallery
In a room adjacent to the Union Hall, visitors will be able to consult the Social Progress Web Gallery – a major addition to the Canadian Museum of Civilization's extensive Web site. It will tell the story of two centuries of social and democratic development and will be expanded in future to include the history of social programs such as pensions and health insurance.
One current section explains how responsible government evolved in Canada, how women and Native peoples obtained the vote, and how Parliament ended the racial and religious discrimination that had denied the vote to Asian-Canadians, Mennonites and Doukhobors. Related topics include the universal franchise and elections management.
The second section traces the conditions of workers and the evolution of organized labour in Canada, from the early nineteenth-century craft unions to the present day. Topics include the development of industrial unions, the formation of the Canadian Labour Congress and more recent struggles.
Information (media):
Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7169
Senior Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7167
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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