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THE ARTS
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the newspaper The University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly
Since 1978
VOL XXXIV Issue 10 • November 10, 2011
Government pledges millions for biographical dictionary, may prove Canadian history’s not so dull
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GEOFFREY VENDEVILLE
With Remembrance Day approaching, the Government of Canada announced that it would donate $3 million over three years to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, a joint project between the University of Toronto and Laval University documenting the lives of important Canadians, including war veterans. U of T President David Naylor, general editors of the DCB Professors John English and Réal Béllanger, and representatives of Heritage Canada made the announcement at Hart House on Monday. Professor English said the new funding will be used to expand the Dictionary by commissioning biographies into the 1950s and 1960s, and to improve past entries. The DCB comprises more than 8,400 biographies, available in English and French, covering the period between the 11th and early 20th century. There are also a few entries for people who lived after 1940, such as the 18,000-word article on Pierre Trudeau. The DCB chronicles the lives
of historical figures of all backgrounds: politicians, businessmen, explorers, artists, and soldiers - such as U of T graduate Lt. Col. John McRae, author of In Flanders Fields. The Dictionary is also the “single largest source for Aboriginal history in Canada,” editor John English said. The first volumes of the DCB were published in 1966. It went online in October 2003 and now receives more than a million visits per year. President Naylor called the DCP, “A great Canadian resource [made possible by] the close and longstanding partnership,” which began in 1959 between Laval and Toronto. “The dictionary is an unparalleled survey of the men and women who have shaped Canada’s history. It is free, highly accessible and it touches the greater Canadian public,” said Naylor. MP for Oakridges-Markham and parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Paul Calandra, represented the Canadian Government at the event. “The Dictionary of Canadian Biography,” said Ca-
Historians Ramsey Cook (left) and John English chat in Soldiers’ Tower.
Bill Graham (left) listens intently as Omar Samad speculates about Afghanistan’s future MATTHEW D.H. GRAY
by Robby Müff
A long way to go
BODIGEOFFREY BOLD VENDEVILLE
New funding makes history
Former diplomats discuss war in Afghanistan and challenges ahead by Geoffrey Vendeville In July, Canada ended its combat mission in Afghanistan, leaving a small number of troops to advise and train the Afghan National Security Forces until total withdrawal in 2014. Last Tuesday, Bill Graham, chancellor of Trinity College and former minister of Foreign Affairs and National Defence, met with Omar Samad, Afghan ambassador in Ottawa from 2004 to 2009, at the Munk School of Global Affairs to reflect on the war - the longest in Canadian history - and to discuss the future of Afghanistan. The consensus: Despite some flaws in its execution, the war in Afghanistan was certainly justified. Although the country is still a long way from peace and stability, much progress has been made. Samad saluted the Canadians deployed to Afghanistan and expressed his sympathy for the families of the 158 soldiers who gave their lives, including Master Corporal Bryan Greff who was killed in action two weeks ago. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Sa-
mad became a political refugee and moved to the United States where he studied at the American University in Washington, D.C. and at Tufts University. However, Samad said, “Afghanistan always remained the focus of my life.” Following his service as the Afghan ambassador to Canada he was appointed ambassador to France. Drawing on years of diplomatic experience, Graham and
Samad untangled the web of complications preventing a firm resolution to the war in Afghanistan: ethnic divisions, corrupt Afghan politicians, incoherent and conflicting foreign policies, and - most importantly - the tension between India and Pakistan. “In my understanding,” Graham said, “a lot of the problems stem from the fact that Afghanistan
Inside this issue...
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When U of T went to war Page 4
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