I know that in the province of Nova Scotia there is an elective program—students can choose a history course as an elective course, whether it be black history or aboriginal history, to graduate. My company spends a great deal of time in producing educational material for the school systems. Black History Month is an extremely popular celebration in the educational system across Canada. In most of the large cities' inner city schools, a great deal of time and preparation is devoted to teaching black Canadian history. My company has produced several educational plays for schools, to help introduce kids to the rich black Canadian history.
History is history. It should not be defined by colour. People like Elijah McCoy, the great inventor, Mary Ann Shadd, and William Hall were Canadian heroes who belong to every Canadian and should be included in Canadian history books as Canadian heroes and heroines who contributed to this country. So I think the educational system has to take a serious look at incorporating these Canadian heroes. We know the reasons why it wasn't done in the first place years ago. Now that we have the opportunity to recognize them and now that Canadians have been informed of these wonderful Canadians, the educational system should really take a serious look at incorporating the contributions of these amazing heroes and heroines.
Rosemary.