Hedy Fry Presents Mathieu Da Costa Awards
OTTAWA, February 22, 2001 -- Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women) Hedy Fry presented the annual Mathieu Da Costa Awards to nine students from six Canadian provinces during a special ceremony today on Parliament Hill.The Mathieu Da Costa Awards program invites students from ages 9 to 18 from across the country to submit an essay, a short story, a poem or a piece of artwork celebrating the contributions of people from diverse cultures to Canada's development.
"Your works are encouraging signs that we are changing Canada for the better, by making it a country where equality, respect and fairness are key characteristics, where we truly see the person behind the face," said Dr. Fry.
The Mathieu Da Costa Awards are presented in association with the Canadian Teachers' Federation. They were created in 1996 to mark Black History Month and were named in honour of Mathieu Da Costa, the first recorded Black person in Canada. Hired as an interpreter in the early 1600's for the Champlain expedition to Port Royal, Mathieu Da Costa helped bridge the cultural and linguistic gap between the early French explorers and the Mi'kmaq people.
In addition to the winners and their families, guests to the awards ceremony included youth from Fisher Park Public School (Ottawa) and École Élisabeth-Bruyère (Kanata), members of the ethno-cultural community, MPs and Senators. The event included performances by the Baobab Youth Performers who presented the drumming, dancing and singing of Ghana; by the Inuit Cultural Performers who presented Inuit dance, drumming and throat singing, and by
The Halfsizegiants who presented a rap and hip-hop number.
Winners of the Fifth Annual Mathieu Da Costa Awards are: Celeste Milborne from Toronto, Ontario; Kristi Leavitt from Lethbridge, Alberta; Sandra Djivré from Sudbury, Ontario; Laurie Du Temple-Quirion from Candiac, Quebec; Elliott Skierszkan from Kanata, Ontario; Amanda Merpaw from Nepean, Ontario; Ricky Green from Winnipeg, Manitoba; Kelly McMillan from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and Charity Lloyd from Springfield, New Brunswick.
Information:
Pascal Charron
Communications Assistant
Office of the Secretary of State
(Multiculturalism) (Status of Women)
(819) 997-9900
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