Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I introduce the video, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Anthony Sherwood. I'm a film producer, actor, writer, and director who has worked in the entertainment business for over 35 years. My production company has produced many high

Canadian Heritage committee  The nation of Canada has been built by many hands of different colours. Canada's diversity is what makes it strong and makes it the envy of the rest of the world. Today, Canada is a mosaic of many different cultures that have made significant contributions to the development of o

Canadian Heritage committee  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 sch

Canadian Heritage committee  I think it starts with the local provincial ministries of education taking an active part in changing the teaching of history. History is such an important subject to Canadians. You have to know where you come from to move on to the future. Certainly in Nova Scotia they've recog

Canadian Heritage committee  I want to add, Tyrone, that it's changing our perspective. There has been considerable resistance to introducing black history into schools, from teachers and parents. It was all based on ignorance, because they weren't aware of the rich history and the contributions of African C

Canadian Heritage committee  You're absolutely right. Film is a powerful medium with which to tell stories. That vignette you saw is just one of five that I produced for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. If you go on their website, you will see five different stories, very similar to the Historica. I sat o

Canadian Heritage committee  It's just money. Well, money operates to change everything.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's a good point, Mr. Simms, but I prefer the national museum because it is permanent. A film is something that is hot for a few years and then it sits on a shelf and people forget about it. A museum is a lasting, standing monument that people can visit, that people can take pri

Canadian Heritage committee  Likewise.

Canadian Heritage committee  There are a number of ways...my company is involved in a number of ways. We produced a documentary film 10 years ago that was broadcast on CBC nationally called Honour Before Glory, which was the story of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada's all-black unit. It has received

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely. How are Canadians going to know? When you read stories about William Hubbard, as a Canadian, regardless of where your background is, you are fascinated because you admire this person because of the obstacles they overcame. You admire the qualities of this individual.

Canadian Heritage committee  You see, these are all the things that my company...but I am only one person. My company is only one company, and I can't do it all.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely, it's an excellent point. They all have diversity programs to bring in new diversity filmmakers, but more needs to be done. They have to take an active stance in terms of reaching out to the African Canadian filmmaking community, and there's a very strong, active, and

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll let Rosemary answer that.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think the Department of Canadian Heritage has realized for a long time that systemic racism is a fact that causes social problems, as Tyrone mentioned, like a sense of worth that leads to youth violence and crime. One of the things they created in the early 1990s was the March