Note worthy
Canadian civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond to grace the front of a banknote
A Truro man, who this weekend will receive a Nova Scotia Human Rights award, is applauding the decision to have Viola Desmond featured on a Canadian banknote.
“I think it’s a great honour,” said Raymond Tynes, who will receive his award for his efforts involving community, equity and diversity.
“It’s well deserved and it just shows that the powers that be in government are now starting to show some diversity and recognizing the different cultures.”
It was announced Thursday in Ottawa that Desmond will be featured on the $10 bill. It will mark the first time that a portrait of a Canadian woman will be seen on the front of a regularly circulating Bank of Canada note.
“Today is about recognizing the incalculable contribution that all women have had and continue to have in shaping Canada’s story,” said Minister of Finance Bill Morneau. “Viola Desmond’s own story reminds all of us that big change can start with moments of dignity and bravery. She represents courage, strength and determination – qualities we should all aspire to every day.”
One of Viola Desmond’s sisters, Wanda Robson, was in Ottawa for the announcement.
“It’s a big day to have a woman on a bank note, but it’s an especially big day to have your big sister on a bank note. Our family is extremely proud and honoured,” said Robson, who was instrumental in making Desmond’s story widely known.
The selection of Viola Desmond is the final step in the #bankNOTEable campaign to choose an iconic Canadian woman to appear on the new $10 bank note.
Last spring, an open call for nominations launched by the Bank yielded more than 26,300 submissions from across Canada, resulting in 461 eligible candidates. An independent Advisory Council composed of Canadian academic, sport, cultural and thought leaders narrowed down the list to five candidates.
They were: Viola Desmond (1914–1965); E. Pauline Johnson (1861–1913); Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill (1905–1980); Fanny (Bobbie) Rosenfeld (1904–1969) and Idola Saint-Jean (1880– 1945).
A businesswoman turned civil libertarian, Desmond built a business as a beautician and, through her beauty school, was a mentor to young black women in Nova Scotia according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. She is best known, however, for her courageous refusal, in 1946, to accept racial discrimination by sitting in a whites-only section of a New Glasgow movie theatre.
Desmond was arrested and fined for “attempting to defraud the provincial government” of the one-cent difference between the balcony seats (the “black section”) and the seats on the main floor. Her actions inspired later generations of black people in Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada.
“Canadian women made our country what it is today, and they deserve a place on our currency,” said Morneau. Wanda Robson speaks about her sister, Viola Desmond, during an interview in Gatineau, Que., on Thursday. Desmond will be the first Canadian woman on a Canadian banknote.