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House Hansard - 303

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 19, 2024 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 303 - Apr/19/24
Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)
  • Apr/19/24 11:13:56 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, today I recognize the accomplishments of esteemed historian and Black Canadian heritage expert, Elise Harding-Davis. Throughout her career, Elise elevated positive Black history in Canada, earning many accolades including the Order of Ontario designation, being named among the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women, and receiving the Ontario Black History Society's Daniel Hill Award, the Ontario Museum Association's Award of Excellence, Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Ontario Historical Society's Carnochan Award. For over 60 years, Elise has highlighted how African Canadians were essential to Canada's development and was the first Black female curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum. Elise comes from a family of strong character. Her late sister, Shelley Harding-Smith, was Canada's first Black female master electrician and an activist, and was a friend and a mentor to me, personally. Their great-grandfather was a slave, and both Elise and Shelley progressed in a challenging world, where they let nothing stand in their way. August 1 this year will mark the 190th anniversary of Emancipation Day, marking the day Canada's Slavery Abolition Act came into effect. Canada still needs to apologize for the enslavement of Black Canadians. An official apology would mean a lifetime of work recognized. Elise exemplifies the true meaning of preserving Black history in Canada. Her legacy will no doubt inspire future generations.
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Context: House Hansard - 303 - Apr/19/24
Mr. Brian Masse (Windsor West, NDP)
  • Apr/19/24 12:20:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the petition I am tabling is for the Government of Canada to apologize to Black Canadians for its role in chattel enslavement in Canada. Specifically, four items are noted in the petition: first, chattel enslavement was initiated over 400 years ago to assemble a cheap, ready and usable workforce that was dehumanized and dispersed globally; second, in colonial Canada, King Louis XIV's Code Noir became law in 1743 and required both indigenous and Black slaves brought into the French colony to be considered the possessions of those who purchased them; third, Great Britain further supported the practice of chattel enslavement after the French in 1759; and fourth, following the Slavery Abolition Act of 1834, and after the Dominion of Canada was created in 1867, systemic racism continued, thereby perpetuating the practice of discriminating beliefs in societal institutions, organizations and legislation, which treated Black people as marginal and inferior. Therefore, these petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to finally do the right thing and apologize to Black Canadians for the centuries of mistreatment and racism in Canada. I thank Elise Harding-Davis for bringing this petition forward.
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