Alice Wong, MP

The following is a press release from the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration:

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Government of Canada supports Chinese-Canadian historical recognition project –
Multi-year initiative aims to preserve knowledge of Chinese-Canadian legacy

Vancouver, BC, August 9, 2010 – Citizenship and Immigration Canada will fund the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) efforts to preserve and share the history of Chinese-Canadians by various means, including archiving project materials prepared under the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP). Dr. Alice Wong, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism and Member of Parliament for Richmond, made the announcement today.

“The Community Historical Recognition Program has funded many projects that tell the story of the Chinese community in Canada, and how it has persevered, thrived and contributed to the building of our country,” Dr. Wong said. “Now, through the UBC project, the community’s proud history will be preserved for the benefit of all Canadians.”

UBC will receive $900,000 for a 25-month project to gather all of the materials created or collected through other Chinese-Canadian CHRP projects. The project will create:

o A website on the history of the Chinese community in Canada;
o A digital archive, housed at UBC, accessible across Canada;
o Learning resources for students based on the archived projects;
o Three ‘Mobile Museum’ kiosks

“Through this project, we will ensure that all Canadians, now and into the future, have access to the work of those organizations that have completed historical recognition projects,” said Stephen Owen, UBC’s Vice President External, Legal and Community Relations. “We welcome the support of the Government of Canada toward UBC’s goals of promoting intercultural understanding and expanding knowledge through new technologies.”

“I urge all of the organizations who have participated in the program to work with UBC to ensure the success of this project,” added Parliamentary Secretary Wong.

Announced in June 2006 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and formally launched in May 2008 by Minister Kenney, the CHRP is a grants and contributions program that funds community commemorative and educational projects related to Canadian historical wartime measures and immigration restrictions. For more information about the program, please visit our website.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Alykhan Velshi, Media Relations
Minister’s Office Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

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