Every Story Told Enriches the Tapestry of Our Nation

Learn about unique moments, untold stories, and remarkable lives that often exist on the margins of history.

Hopefully, we can discover how strong the cultural tapestry of our nation can be when we weave our many strands together.

THE STOLEN CHILDREN OF CHILE

I want to introduce you to Maria Gonzalez Rendic, which, she learned recently, was not the name she was supposed to carry through life.

Maria had suspected, but could never confirm, that she was adopted. And then she received a call that changed her life. A lawyer had found the name of her real mother.

Maria now had to confront the truth of why her family kept her true identity hidden for so long. During the 70s, thousands of children in the country of Chile disappeared under the dictatorship of Pinochet. Maria is joining a growing number of people around the world who are seeking justice for the stolen children of Chile.

Learn more about the callous practice of illegal adoption, and the fight to help disadvantages parents around the world keep their children.

Men who Moved the Nation

One might think that traveling across land and the open sea would be a life of adventure and freedom. But for the many who worked tirelessly on the vessels carrying wealthy and privileged passengers, there was little choice.

From Sea to Rail: Black Transportation Workers and Their Families in Halifax, c.1870-1916

Immigrants of North America: A Fractured Melting Pot

How quickly we have forgotten that, not too long ago, most North American settlers could trace their first ancestors to the same ghettoes in the crowded streets near the harbours of New England cities. Save those of the British Anglo-Saxon elites, all had to scratch their way to a better life, some assimilating into English white culture, others having no choice but to toil on the margins because they could not hide from racism.

Immigrants who landed in the New England were continually faced with the harsh reality of being forced into low-paying industrial work and poor housing conditions.

The Immigrant Story in Canada

In her book, Honouring the Gold Mountain Dreamers, Calgary-based writer Jacqueline Louie looks back more than a century to examine the impact of the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the contributions of some of the early Chinese immigrants to Canada.

Immigrant Issues Today

 

Listen to a panel of Canadian leaders from immigrant families discuss the complex challenges facing new Canadians today.