Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Light and dark is the dominant theme repeated during the 800-metre climb through 10 permanent and one temporary gallery in the new Canadian Human Rights Museum, through the constant play between translucent alabaster walkways and dark concrete and steel, through the juxtaposition of horrid abuses of human rights and the [Canadian]  human rights defenders who have played a role in addressing those wrongs. “If you think about the great promise of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, it is to inspire the next generation of human rights defenders,” said museum CEO Stuart Murray.

Its critics, and there have been and remain many, argue that its makeup was wrong-headed; its origin and focus too centred on the Holocaust; its handling of the Holodomor and aboriginal issues too offhanded. It would be too heavy on the dark, too light on the light, they said.

“When it comes to the topic of human rights, individuals and communities are incredibly passionate about it,” said Murray. “It may have been their own experience or the experience of a parent or a grandparent. Their desire, of course, is to have their story front and centre. What I think we’ve been able to do … is reach out to other human rights experts and academics to ensure we were bringing balance…..I think we’ve come close, but I’m very realistic. The public will decide.”

Questions remain: Was it worth $351 million, and those $21-million annual operating costs? How can Winnipeg be the right place for a national museum? Will it draw the 250,000 annual visitors being touted by museum proponents? Does Canada even need such a monument?