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Expanding the narrative
This is part of a broader conversation about whose history is being told, about gender, people of colour and the economically disenfranchised, and others whose stories have been overlooked or intentionally omitted from the authorized discussion.
- Food
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Intangible heritage
Intangible cultural heritage includes language, traditions, music, food, special skills, etc.
- Medical heritage
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- Tools for conservation
- Women's heritage
Making history
At 6 p.m. on December 2, 1986, Ontario’s legislative assembly was scheduled to vote on adding “sexual orientation” to the province’s Human Rights Code. Ten minutes away, at University College, I ended a late-afternoon class and ran over to the public gallery.
The vote was the only controversial item in Bill 7, with a series of amendments to the provincial Human Rights Code. David Peterson’s minority Liberal government was pressured to add this particular amendment by New Democrats and an LGBT movement with growing visibility and expanding alliances. A tidal wave of opposition was mobilized by Christian conservatives, but the nastiness it unleashed helped supporters, including Attorney-General Ian Scott and NDP member Evelyn Gigantes, convince colleagues of the need for political response to prejudice and discrimination directed at sexual minorities. That Tuesday evening, a majority of legislators – including all three party leaders – carried the amendment and Ontario became the second province (after Quebec) to officially take this early step toward more expansive public policy recognition of sexual diversity.
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![The aunts of my family, c. 1915 (Photo courtesy of Paul Yee)](https://www.heritage-matters.ca/uploads/Articles/Paul-Yee-Image-web.jpg)
Telling the stories of Chinese Canadians
I am inspired by something intangible: the past, especially the history of Chinese Canadians. I grew up in Vancouver, knowing little about it. But once...
![Wolves (Photo: Michael Runtz)](https://www.heritage-matters.ca/uploads/Articles/Michael-Runtz-Image-2-web.jpg)
- 17 Feb 2017
- Natural heritage
MyOntario - Author: Michael Runtz,
Drawn back to Algonquin
Being a lifelong naturalist whose goal has been to explore Ontario’s natural history, I’ve come to appreciate just how rich this province’s biodiversity is. The...
![Janet Douglas Hall (Photo courtesy of Sam J. Steiner)](https://www.heritage-matters.ca/uploads/Articles/Sam-Steiner-Image-1-web.jpg)
- 01 Feb 2017
- MyOntario
- Author: Sam Steiner,
The cloud of witnesses
As a historian of Mennonites in Ontario, I have always enjoyed wandering through Mennonite and Amish cemeteries. Whether plain Old Order Amish or Old Order...
![Red Chestnut Prospector canoe of legendary canoeist, author and filmmaker Bill Mason (1929-1988) (Photo courtesy of John Summers, Canadian Canoe Museum)](https://www.heritage-matters.ca/uploads/Articles/Raffan-IMG_0389-web.jpg)
- 28 Jan 2011
- Expanding the narrative
Community - Author: James Raffan,
CCM 3.0: Reimagining the Canadian Canoe Museum
A decade has passed since the permanent exhibits at The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) were opened to great acclaim. Funded with help from the federal...
![Ontario Northland Railway, North Bay](https://www.heritage-matters.ca/uploads/Articles/Mendes-Ontario-Northland-Railway-web.jpg)
- 12 Jun 2008
- Expanding the narrative
Community - Author: Beth Anne Mendes,
Routes through the wilderness: The development of a transportation network in Northern Ontario
Isolation, great distances, demanding terrain and difficult weather conditions challenged the fortitude and perseverance of the people who forged water routes, roads, railways and air...
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- Accessibility
- Privacy statement
- Terms of use
- © King's Printer for Ontario, 2023
- Photos © Ontario Heritage Trust, unless otherwise indicated.