The Canadian Museum of Human Rights

Robin Sears, Principal, Navigator Limited, and Director, The Empire Club of Canada; Sayyid Abdulrahman, Grade 12 Student, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute; Rabbi Yossi Sapirman, Beth Torah; Craig Kielburger, Founder and Chair, Free The Children; Bluma Appel, Chair, Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research; Glen Murray, Principal, Navigator Limited; Beth Atcheson, Chair, Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF); Mohammad Al Zaibak, President and CEO, CDM Information Inc.; Sylvia Morawetz, Principal, S.A.M. Solutions, and Director, The Empire Club of Canada; David Mirvish, Producer, Mirvish Productions; Kathy Dore, President, Television and Radio, CanWest Media Works Inc.; Senator Vivienne Poy, Senate of Canada; and Charles S. Coffey, Chair, National Advisory Council, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and Third Vice-President, The Empire Club of Canada.

Introduction by William Whittaker

We all know the famous phrase from the 1776 American Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the preamble of which states that the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world and that disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind.

Our 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in less grandiloquent language, sets out our fundamental freedoms of religion, thought, peaceful assembly and association and states that every individual is equal before the law without discrimination.

Lofty pronouncements and constitutional guarantees do not of themselves protect human rights--a country and its people must be eternally vigilant. The "I'm all right, Jack" syndrome is alive and well today in many countries, including our own, as it has been in the past. Reverend Martin Niemoller, a German pastor during the Nazi regime, commented on the evil of indifference as follows: "When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent as I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent, as I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out, as I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I did not speak out, as I was not a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out."

On April 17, 2003, the 21st anniversary of the signing of our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Dr. Israel Asper announced the establishment of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg to help eliminate intolerance through the recognition of human rights as the foundation for human equality, dignity and freedom. The significance of this venture, which will be the largest of its kind in the world, has been recognized internationally including by the government of India who, in August, 2004, donated to the Museum a statute of Mahatma Ghandi, the embodiment of the very essence of the struggle and sacrifice for human rights and dignity.

Winnipeg is the appropriate home for the Museum. Not only is it in the geographic centre of our country, but Manitoba is the homeland of Louis Riel and the Metis and Winnipeg the home of J. S. Woodsworth, Tommy Douglas and Stanley Knowles and, to show I am not an NDP partisan, John Dafoe and the Winnipeg Free Press, Lloyd and Thomas Axworthy and of course, the late Izzy Asper, all outstanding symbols of the human rights movement in Canada.

Gail Asper, Mr. Asper's daughter, is the moving force behind the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which will be the subject of her speech to us today. A lawyer, Ms. Asper is the Corporate Secretary of CanWest Global Communications Corp., President of the CanWest Global Foundation, and Managing Director of The Asper Foundation. She is also a director of CanWest Global Communications Corp., Great-West Life Assurance Company, London Life Insurance Company and Canada Life Assurance Company and of numerous not-for-profit organizations.

Ms. Asper is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Winnipeg and a director of the National Arts Centre Foundation and the University of Waterloo's Centre for Cultural Management. She is also a Governor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ms. Asper has received numerous community service and humanitarian awards and is the 2005 recipient of the Governor-General Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts.

Please join me in welcoming Gail Asper to our podium today.

Gail Asper

Thank you, Bill. I am honoured to be here today and thank the Empire Club for recognizing the importance of the work we're doing at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to speak about the subject of passion. I shared with the audience the fact passion was a torch passed to me by my parents. My brothers and I soon learned that sitting back and complaining about the world was not an option for us. We were charged with the responsibility, no matter how young we were, no matter our circumstances, to make the world a better place than how we found it. And, by the way, we were to do it with excellence, hence our family's mantra of "reach for the stars."

Having been instilled with these values from an early age, I've learned along the way that passion and excellence are contagious and the more you share the flame of both, the brighter the light becomes.

As I look around the room today, I am surrounded by light. I am honoured to be here with Canadians of legendary passion and commitment to excellence. Craig Kielburger's passion for children's advocacy has led him to develop a successful, international organization to promote the rights and education of children. Bluma Appel's passion for health, arts and culture and for the country has turned her into one of this country's most tireless, most successful and formidable advocates for initiatives in all these areas. Glen Murray's passion for the plight of cities led him to lead a national effort that resulted in a new deal for cities. And of course, my dear, dear friend Charlie Coffey has shown that unbridled passion for the country in which you live can strengthen a community one life at a time.

In the past few years my passion has certainly revolved around three main themes: my passion for Canada, for Winnipeg and for justice and the rights of people. I think I inherited these from my father. No wonder he envisioned the Canadian Museum for Human Rights; it is the brilliant convergence of the three passions into one single project!

Our forefathers were passionate about Canada and were committed to building this country into a country of greatness--one that could be a beacon to others in many respects. They envisioned Canada as a strong yet diverse and respectful nation. In fact, the very words of our national anthem evoke visions of freedom, patriotism, glowing hearts, the rising of the true north, our home, the country we love. All statements of passion, anchored by the fact that for passion to be effective and transformative, it requires action, hence the words "we stand on guard for thee."

Standing on guard to me means constantly being vigilant in protecting and upholding basic human rights, not just through the protection of our borders, but through the protection and upholding of our values, our diversity and our humanity. Our national anthem charges us to be active, engaged leaders in the job before us, and not just leave it up to our government, our peacekeepers, and our rock stars.

In fact, the very mission of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is "to advance understanding and support for human rights in Canada and throughout the world."

It's a mission that may sound a little unusual for a museum. There are many days I wish we had never called it a museum because the name evokes a stereotype of a passive place of history and remembrance that warrants a visit once every five years or so, when, in fact, this museum couldn't be further away from this stereotype.

It is destined to be a place of activity and action--a compelling and frequent destination. It will be an international centre of learning, research and dialogue related to the knowledge and understanding of human rights. People will come to the museum daily--in person or via the World Wide Web--to discuss, debate and learn about Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Tens of thousands of students from across Canada will visit the museum each year as part of a funded, comprehensive, human rights program delivered in their own communities in partnership with the museum. People all over the world will learn and be inspired by Canada's human rights journey--its triumphs and its failures. They will also be inspired by Canadian and international heroes who, as ordinary people, achieved extraordinary things in the advancement of human rights because they simply chose to take action. The ultimate goal of the museum is to create change in terms of attitude and action. In other words, to ignite passion when it comes to promoting humanity at home and around the world.

Our social history is an ingenious tool to ignite passion. Who could argue, for example, that the story of Rosa Parks, the mother of the modern human rights movement in the United States of America, has ignited passion amongst hundreds of thousands of people? This young, demure black woman, an unlikely hero who refused to sit in the back of the bus sparked a human rights movement of the size and magnitude we have rarely witnessed in modern times. In a way, it was miraculous. What I find incredulous, however, is that we celebrate her life, yet we seem to know little or nothing of a young black woman named Viola Desmond who, 10 years before Rosa Parks ever sat on that bus, refused to sit in the blacks-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre, sparking an emotional and ultimately victorious human rights movement in Canada that saw the repeal of laws of racial discrimination.

Equal sacrifice and results--yet much less than equal notoriety.

We must tell the stories of our own heroes and embrace the events of our human rights history that really defined us as a nation. We have heroes--hundreds of them--worthy of celebration, reverence and study. We have stories--hundreds of them--that have shown our tenacity and resolve as a nation and many that have also shown our mistakes. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights proposes to break these heroes and stories free from their purgatory in dusty, old textbooks and bring them to life so that people can be inspired by their passion.

It's time for Canada to live up to its international human rights brand, and visibly and decisively step forward as a world leader in the promotion and protection of human rights--both at home and abroad. The Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. says, "Freedom is not free." Unless we are vigilant, unless we "stand on guard" for justice and the rights of all people, we stand to lose our freedom. Senator Mobina Jaffer, a member of our National Advisory Council, says, "We live in paradise in Canada--but it's a bubble that can burst at any time." She's so very right. We are fortunate as a nation, but we also tend to be complacent, indifferent and even selfish.

Canadians have fought long and hard for the rights we enjoy today. The Museum for Human Rights will tell the stories of these human rights heroes to teach people, especially young people, what to watch for and what to be aware of to ensure our freedoms and justice for others are not eroded.

There is no better time than now for Canada to secure its place in the world. In a world of uncertainty, emerging democracies, terrorism, and war, Canada has a unique opportunity to define itself as a leader--not a leader through force but a leader through hope. Last month when Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the troops in Afghanistan, he stated, "You can't lead from the bleachers; I want Canada to be a leader." In fact, it is this ideal that is emblazoned in our vision that the world will embrace the museum as a powerful symbol of Canada's unwavering commitment to recognizing, promoting and celebrating human rights.

As Bob Ward, President of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, said to me in support of the museum, "When was the last time Canada did something big that could change the landscape of this country?" I couldn't think of an answer.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the answer.

My second passion, as mentioned previously, is for Winnipeg. Given that I am referencing the national anthem today, I'd just like to remind people that the song says, "from far and wide, oh Canada" and not just from certain parts of Canada.

This sentiment reflects a more serious issue that needs immediate attention--the economic and spiritual revitalization of Winnipeg and Manitoba. Winnipeg is ready and deserving to reach for the stars. We are the logical place for a Canadian International Centre for Human Rights. We are a central destination--the geographic centre of North America. We have secured a breath-taking, historical site--the Forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, which has been a meeting place for thousands of years and is the place where First Nations tribes first assembled to settle disputes peacefully through negotiation. Winnipeg is where labour rights, the rights of women and the rights of the Metis were fought for respectively through the General Strike of 1919, the brave efforts of Nellie McClung of the Famous Five and Metis Leader, Louis Riel. We are building a human rights centre of excellence through the recognized efforts of Lloyd Axworthy and the University of Winnipeg's Global College and the Arthur V. Mauro Centre for Peace and Justice at the University of Manitoba.

Perhaps most importantly, Winnipegers dream of and deserve a revitalized economy, a spiritual renewal and an influx of tourism that will be generated, in a large part, by the museum. Statistics Canada tells a sad story of the disparity in cultural funding between eastern and western provinces. Per-capita federal funding for arts and culture in eastern provinces is often double and sometimes triple the funding for western provinces. Conversely, the provincial per-capita investment in culture in the East generally lags behind the per-capita investment in culture in the West. Think of what parity with eastern provinces could do to revitalize a wonderful city like Winnipeg. We truly believe it's our turn and that's why we are not giving up on reaching for the stars in terms of architecture and content.

Signature architecture is an essential component to drawing an international audience--specifically the growing cultural tourist market that is looking for a life-enrichment as opposed to a life-escapement experience. Conservative estimates by Lord Cultural Resources--a respected, international museum planning and development corporation--estimate the draw for our museum at 250,000 visitors annually. This estimate, by the way, is similar to predictions for the Frank Gehry-designed, Guggenheim Museum in a small, isolated, regional capital in Bilbao, Spain. Today, 10 years later, thanks to Gehry's brilliant and inspiring architecture, Bilbao consistently attracts nearly one million visitors annually and its presence has virtually turned around the local economy.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights will be designed by an architect of equal stature to Gehry--American Institute of Architects 2006 Gold Medal winner, Antoine Predock--who, by the way, was secured by us BEFORE winning the gold medal. That is the Winnipeg way--pay wholesale, get retail!

You may have seen the recent Globe and Mail series on the people behind Toronto's cultural revival. I heartily applaud the visionaries here in Toronto who are working to raise the funds for the AGO, ROM and Four Seasons Opera House. This is a splendid hat trick of cultural renaissance that will yield dividends of increased tourism here and great civic pride. The Globe questioned Matthew Teitelbaum, director and chief executive officer of the Art Gallery of Ontario, on the Bilbao effect--suggesting it is actually starting to wane. Mr. Teitelbaum responded that, "Our projects are not simply about great architecture. If we think they are, we're in trouble. Buildings are a way to satisfy mission, at the highest level." Truer words were never spoken.

Our architect, Antoine Predock, said something very profound when he visited Winnipeg last week. He said that the mission is what the building is about. Once visitors get past the stunning architecture of the museum, they will be fully engaged in the mission--a life-changing experience--a journey of hope, that will be brilliantly orchestrated by renowned exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum and Associates, who designed the William J. Clinton Presidential Centre and the U.S. Memorial Holocaust Museum, to mention a few. Ralph understands that this museum is about what Canada stands for--freedom and inclusiveness. He is designing the journey to reveal the power of the individual, making us each feel and understand how important we are as individuals in promoting and upholding human rights.

And that brings me to the third, and, perhaps, most compelling passion, my passion for justice and the rights of others. I strongly believe that this museum will change the world--one attitude at a time. And I have proof.

Despite our best efforts, racism and intolerance still exist and raise their ugly head in increasingly violent ways in our communities. Recent shootings in Toronto have no doubt left your wonderful city feeling changed and a little more vulnerable. Headlines across our nation of gang violence, murders, and hate language make us all wonder how safe and how tolerant a nation we really are. Closer to home, most of us have been affected by the topic of bullying--an issue that affects nearly every school in this country now, and when we were kids as well.

One of the very best first steps I know of to take towards creating a better society is education. The Holocaust, for example, was allowed to happen because of the brilliant ability of the government propaganda machine to convince the public that the elderly, the disabled, the gypsies, the homosexuals and the entire Jewish race were to be regarded as "less thans." In Rwanda, the Hutus stopped referring to the Tutsies as people and started referring to them as cockroaches--opening the door for the ultimate elimination of one million people.

The reason I spend night and day on this museum travelling across the country, missing my family, and investing millions of dollars is because I know hateful attitudes can change through education and through the belief that one person can make a difference. And even if hate isn't eliminated, we'll be creating human rights champions who will speak out. As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." We want our visitors to look for their inner Paul Rusesabagina of Hotel Rwanda fame and be human rights stars.

I've witnessed this in the change demonstrated by 14-year-olds who have participated over the years in the Asper Foundation's Human Rights and Holocaust Studies program. This life-changing program combines an 18-hour human rights course with the signing of a personal commitment by the students to invest their time in their community and to stand on guard by protecting the rights of others. It is a program that culminates in a visit to the various freedom memorials and museums in Washington, D.C. No similar experience exists yet in Canada.

The change in these young people is tangible and meaningful. In the room with us today, for example, are many students of Marshall MacLuhan High School--a Toronto school that has been involved in this program for several years. These kids, with changed attitudes from the program, are working diligently to change the attitudes of others. They have recently focused on the atrocities happening in Darfur. They have organized an incredible education and support campaign in their school that, to me, epitomizes the meaning of "we stand on guard for thee." Through the inception of what they call "The "Darfur Minute," they have spent a full week educating all the students of the school for a minute at the beginning and ending of each day about Darfur. They have developed and presented presentations and raised $500 for Darfur through the sale of bracelets. They have organized an event called Xtravaganza to raise funds for those suffering in Darfur and to send other students on the Asper Foundation's program. That's the importance they place on the program. Just this week, many of the students participated in the "Scream For Darfur" rally, simply because they wanted to be a voice for the voiceless.

In the nine years since we have offered the program we have funded, in partnership, approximately 4,500 students from across Canada--students from all walks of life--to participate. And, about 1,000 grade 9 students will be in Washington this May on the program. By year two of the museum's operations, we will be funding, in partnership, trips for 20,000 Canadian students with the numbers projected to increase in subsequent years. Can you imagine the impact we can make in Canada and around the world by sending tens of thousands of students each year through an even more compelling engaging program that focuses on the story of Canada, our home and native land?

This is where I find the passion to do what I do, despite the hurdles of changing attitudes about museums, about trying to build a national institution outside Ottawa and about approaching a national institution as a public/private partnership. It really is a great job and that which doesn't kill you. It makes you stronger. I hope you will join me in my passion to make it happen for all Canadians. We are more than two-thirds of the way to completing a $311-million campaign. We have thousands of supporters across Canada who can hardly wait for opening day. We have a national advisory council of some of the most prominent Canadians in our history including the Governor-General of Canada. We have the support of three levels of government and people from all walks of life--business, labour, individuals, human rights groups and ethno-cultural groups. Our private campaign is growing daily and the only thing separating us from a complete home run is a few--and I mean a very few--million dollars annually from the federal government to help support an overall sustainability plan. We are feeling hopeful and positive that this will happen because it's hard to find anyone more passionate about this museum than many of our MPs.

So I invite you to bring your passion and action to the fore and stand on guard with me. This star pin means we can all be human rights stars. It challenges us to reach for the stars when it comes to human rights. It says that we don't have to be rock stars or politicians to make a difference. We can be ordinary people like Craig, Glen, Bluma, Charlie and the students of Marshall MacLuhan who, one day, decided to take a small step that will, in the greater scheme of things, be extraordinary.

John Diefenbaker said, "I am Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind." This is Canada's brand; this is Canada's passion; it's time we boldly promote it and embrace it through the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The appreciation of the meeting was expressed by Charles S. Coffey, Chair, National Advisory Council, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and Third Vice-President, The Empire Club of Canada.