Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to this year's Governor General's History Award winners.
The teaching of history in our great country is much more than an academic pursuit. It reminds us that behind this vast land are stories of amazing sacrifice and achievement.
One of six winners for excellence in teaching was Daraius Bharucha, a resident of Ajax who teaches at Bill Crothers Secondary School in Unionville. He and his colleague Stefano Fornazzari San Martín use multimedia to connect their students' family experience of immigration with major periods of Canadian history through a project called “My Place in Canadian History: Digital Storytelling with Historical Thinking Concepts”.
The Sir John A. Macdonald Prize was awarded to François-Marc Gagnon, Nancy Senior and Réal Ouellet for their magnificent edition of the Codex Canadensis and the Writings of Louis Nicolas: The natural history of the New World, Histoire Naturelles des Indes Occidentales. What a gorgeous book.
Published at the beginning of the 18th century, the Codex Canadensis documents the flora, fauna and aboriginal life in New France, a true reflection of our Canadian renaissance.
I encourage all members and all Canadians to give the gift of Canadian history this Christmas, to share the beauty of the Codex canadensis and to celebrate our GG's history award winners.