Rideau Hall, Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Isn’t it amazing that on the same day that we are honouring teaching history, history itself is unfolding before our very eyes?

The Prime Minister of Canada came to see me this morning to ask me to exercise one of my constitutional prerogatives authorizing the Governor General to dissolve Parliament. This means that elections will take place and we will begin a new chapter in our collective history.

Today, you have a front-row seat to an historic moment that you will be able to share with your students and families.

I think everyone here will agree that history is a guide. At times, it is brought to life through the words and pictures in books passed from one person to the next; at other times, oral traditions carry history down from generation to generation.

Regardless of how it is told, there is no doubt that our history is always with us.

I can speak of this first hand, as I can still recall how in Haiti, the land of my birth, children would read their history books as one might turn the pages of a great adventure story. We learned that Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on our island, which he named Hispaniola—Little Spain. When the French later took the island from the Spanish, they in turn renamed it Saint Domingue.

I remember the intensity with which we listened to our elders as they told us of colonization, of the slavery inflicted on the early inhabitants of our island and of the African slave trade to exploit the island’s sugar and gold. We listened with rapt attention to the story of the slave revolt to take back their freedom, right up to the declaration of the first Black republic in the history of humanity. It was the descendants of slaves who became free citizens who gave the island back its original name—Haiti—which, in the language of the island’s first peoples, the Arawaks and the Caribs, means “land of mountains.”

There are so many stories at the heart of Haitian identity and to which my own coat of arms alludes: the broken chain and the sea shell into which escaped slaves blew to call their fellow sufferers to arms. You can see how deeply that story is imprinted in my memory. And I hope that now that I have shared this story with you, it will be imprinted on your memory. I like to think that the history of every new Canadian enriches our collective memory. Because the history of humanity is a single history shared by us all.

To ignore one’s history is to lose one’s past. To lose one’s past is to lose all sense of belonging. After all, as Georges Langlois so eloquently put it, [translation] “history (…) is little more than a series of questions, at times painful, that we ask our Past in our Present, a present that, come tomorrow, will drift into the past.”

History is more than a series of dates, although these are certainly important. Above all else, it is the sum of human experience over time. History exists beyond our lifetime, forming the memory of the place we call home. It is precious and must be relentlessly preserved, enriching humanity itself. It marks the passage of the women and men in this life and throughout the world.

It is not surprising that so many immigrants are so keenly interested in the history of the country they come to know as home. It is a way to gain a better understanding of the place where they have chosen to put down roots. Perhaps most importantly, it is an expression of their desire to add their story to the collective memory of their new country.

Every individual is a possibility to be imprinted on the history of this country. We must never forget that History—the big picture—is made up of individual stories shaped over time.

History offers up its lessons to those willing to learn, guiding us toward the future. History is like life itself, always in motion.

To stifle the progress of history is to impose a single line of thought—you might even say an ideological dictatorship. But to be a part of history in the making is to understand the major events, the breaking points between one period in history and the next; it is to accept the plurality of ideas and actions, recognize our mistakes and our oversights, stem the tide of ignorance and indifference so that we can move forward.

History does not belong to those in power alone. Each and every citizen has a story to tell, one that shapes the course of things to come. History dances to the rhythm of the women and men all around us, those you never hear about, those working behind the scenes.

I believe that the strength of history also lies in the opportunity for us to recognize their contribution.

The part that you have played in bringing history alive for your students is impressive, and I warmly congratulate you for this. Allow me a moment to highlight some of your projects.

Jean-François Bélanger’s students at École Primaire King George in Calgary went along on a Japanese Arctic expedition via the Internet.

Linda-Rae Carson’s students at Harry Ainlay High School in Edmonton explored connections between family history and Canadian history. I would also add that Ms. Carson comes from a family of historians.

Paul Gifford brought history to life for his students at Sedbergh High School in Montebello, where they learned the virtues of solidarity by embarking on a snowshoe expedition and building log cabins.

But wait—there’s more. Sheila Hetherington and Jerry Berridge’s students at Unionville High School in Ontario dove into the world of audiovisual technology and created documentaries to preserve the real-life experiences of members of their communities, such as veterans.

Valérie Rivard and Caroline Ricard’s students at École Wilfrid-Pelletier in Anjou enhanced their knowledge of New France by acting out historical figures and hosting a large period banquet in the school gymnasium.

And finally, Loretta Stabler and Patti Thorne’s students at Millarville Community School in Alberta designed a Web site and produced an operetta celebrating Alberta’s centennial.

I salute your students and thank you most sincerely for the energy, determination and originality with which you have sought to awaken an interest in history in our youth. Through your dynamic, personalized approach to teaching history, you have shown your students that history begins with each individual and continues as each of us adds our own story.

Our history is a treasure, one we must enrich with our own experiences. After all, our today will be tomorrow’s history. Thank you for reminding us of this and for so eloquently reminding our youth.

Thank you very much.