Wednesday 3 February
Over a hundred people gathered at the Canadian Museum of Nature on McLeod Street to participate in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Black History Month, hosted by Canadian Heritage Minister Hon. Melanie Joly. Among the distinguished and diverse audience were Hon. Jean Augustine Canada’s first Black female Member of Parliament, who was responsible for tabling the motion in Canada’s parliament in 1995 , for February to be declared Black History Month in the entire country. Other distinguished guests included the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Celina Caesar-Chavannes; the national capital’s first Black Member of Parliament Hon. Greg Fergus (Hull-Aylmer); Robert Downey, descendant of the fame 2 Construction Battalion; Susan Margles, Vice President Government Relations & Policy Canada Post; Nikki Clarke President of Ontario Black History Society; June Girvan, Acting President Black History Ottawa; Kathy Grant, Black History Ottawa 2016 John Dennison award winner; Sarah Onyango, broadcaster and social activist and Community Outreach Officer, Black History Ottawa. The occasion also featured the unveiling of Canada Post’s Black History Month commemorative stamp honouring the 2 Construction Battalion of World War 1 fame.
