Stephen Harper

• SOURCE: CBC
  6-6-13
  

  Ex-museum CEO calls proposed mandate 'narrow and parochial'

  A government plan to rename the Canadian Museum of Civilization as the Museum of History abandons a successful brand and gives it a "deeply worrying" new mandate, says the man who led the museum from 2000 to 2011.Former CEO Victor Rabinovitch addressed the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Wednesday evening, making his first public remarks since the government announced the proposed changes in the fall of 2012.He pointed to reviews in tourism guides about the country's largest national museum, which sees about 1.2 million visitors per year."If the Museum of Civilization stands out as such a good product, why would anyone want to change its brand?" he asked....

• SOURCE: Ottawa Citizen
  5-10-13
  

  New Canadian Museum of History remains apolitical

  In contracting tender documents, the Canadian Museum of Civilization has provided more details about the kind of history it will focus on once it is transformed, at the edict of the Conservative government, to the new Canadian Museum of History.The lengthy request for tender (see below) posted on the MERX contracting site this week sketched out a storyline of “broad topics and more focused communication intentions” that are grouped into themes and time periods in the Canadian History Hall.There is little evidence in the more detailed descriptions to support concerns that the mandated refocusing of the museum would effectively rewrite Canadian history to emphasize certain values — the military, for example — or, perhaps, embellish the fathers of Canadian conservativism....

• SOURCE: CBC
  5-6-13
  

  Conservatives' interest in Canadian history raises eyebrows

  The House of Commons heritage committee has launched a study of how history is preserved in federal, provincial and municipal programs, and how easily Canadians can access historical information.However, it backed down from a plan to examine how history is taught in schools after a barrage of complaints from the opposition, which had accused the government of intruding on provincial jurisdiction, which includes school curriculum development, and of wanting to revise history in its own image.The committee began hearing from witnesses for its history study on Monday....