Identities
Debuting in 1971, the first Identities show was titled Melting Pot or Cultural Mosaic? And so began the weekly debate on Canadian immigration and identity. The one-hour afternoon show examined how immigrants have shaped Canada, from fortune telling to wine making, from holidays to agriculture, from music to ghettos. It explored the challenges of adapting to Canadian life; one show looked at immigrants-turned-emigrants returning to the motherland. Running until 1985, show hosts included Andrew Szende, Luboymr Mykytiuk, Warren Davis, Margaret Pascu and Doug McIlraith. Producers included Ross Porter, Richard Osicki, Geraldine Sherman, Mary Ann Hammond and Barbara Utek.
Railroad exhibit controversy
Broadcast Date: Oct. 2, 1983
Calgary's Glenbow Museum has put together an exhibition celebrating 100 years of the Canadian Pacific Railway. But according to critics, the exhibition doesn't give enough attention to the thousands of Chinese migrants who helped build the railway. The curator says there just weren't a lot of written or visual resources on the topic to be used in a museum exhibit. Historian Patricia Roy, however, says there are many alternative sources that could be used. This CBC Radio report explores both sides of the issue.Railroad exhibit controversy
• "The Great CPR Exposition" at the Glenbow Museum opened in August 1983. It was financed by the CPR, as well as a $45,000 grant from the federal government. In an Aug. 6, 1983, Globe and Mail article, the director of the museum wouldn't give an actual figure on how much the CPR contributed, but said it was "considerably more than the Ottawa grant."• The exhibition was curated by archivist Bill McKee.
• Just before the exhibition opened, freelance writer Barry Nelson (who had seen a preview showing) wrote in the Globe and Mail that "anyone expecting to experience the real story of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the settlement of the West will be disappointed." He called it "a sanitized, pre-digested, squeaky-clean, slickly packaged version of history which will delight its corporate sponsors (Canadian Pacific) but which is an offence to the railway workers, western settlers and Indians whose story deserves a more honest rendition."
• The criticisms didn't dampen the enthusiasm that many fans had for this exhibit. In an August 23 Globe and Mail review, writer Robert Sheppard praised the exhibit as "a stunning commemoration of how the railways opened the West a century ago… Judging by its popularity, the CPR exposition is another success for a museum which has had its share of kudos."
• Besides the limited availability of written and visual resources, curator Bill McKee blamed the shortcomings on the fact that there just wasn't enough physical space in the museum to tell the "complete history" of the CPR.
Railroad exhibit controversy
Medium: Radio
Program: Identities
Broadcast Date: Oct. 2, 1983
Guest(s): Bill McKee, Patricia Roy, David Young
Host: Doug McIlraith
Reporter: Michael Rose
Duration: 10:17
Last updated:
Sept. 23, 2004
Railroad exhibit controversy.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Last updated: Sept. 23, 2004.
[Page consulted on Feb. 13, 2012.]