Achievement recognized

Dr. Mavis Burke, a pioneer in the field of multicultural education, and retired trade unionist and human rights activist Bromley Armstrong, were presented with the first ever Lifetime Achievement Awards at the third annual Friends of L. Ron Hubbard Humanitarian Awards dinner recently.

“This is a new category installed to honour exceptional individuals who have dedicated their lives to humanitarian causes,” said Rev. Al Buttnor, the Church of Scientology’s Director of Public Affairs in Canada.

Dr. Burke — she was born in Cuba to Jamaican parents — taught at the University of the West Indies for more than two decades before coming to Canada in 1971 to complete her Doctorate at the University of Ottawa.

She pioneered the idea that the accommodation of newcomers required an understanding that “children of other lands” were now present and highly visible in the classrooms of urban Canada, and that teachers could no longer teach as if they were not there and able to speak for themselves.

To reinforce the idea of relevance in curriculum delivery, she led the first group of educators on a “see for yourself mission” to Jamaica in 1976.

A former Chair of Ontario’s Advisory Council on Multiculturalism and Citizenship, Dr. Burke played a key role in establishing the Multicultural Youth Leadership program that was adopted by many school boards of education across Canada. She also helped produce the Ministry’s Guide to Black Studies.

Armstrong, a pioneer in Canadian labour and race relations, is a member of the Order of Canada and recipient of many honours, including the Stanley Knowles Humanitarian Award and the Baha’i National Race Unit Award.

He is also a founder of several important organizations. Among them are the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA), the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA).

Armstrong, who migrated to Canada in 1947, became active in the trade union movement and other causes, including a march through Dresden in 1954 to help end racial segregation in the town’s barbershops, restaurants and theatres.

He was also part of a movement that persuaded the federal government to relax immigration policies.

Retired Citizenship Court judge Pamela Appelt was among 11 people involved in human rights and community relations to have also been honoured.

The first female African-Canadian judge in the Court of Canadian Citizenship, Appelt is the patron of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development and the York University Community Cultural Foundation. She is also a founding member of Oakville’s Women’s Mosaic.

“The evening gives us the opportunity to acknowledge those in the greater community who through their hard work and dedicated efforts are also making a difference in society as Ron Hubbard has done,” said Rev. Yvette Shank, the president of the Church of Scientology.

“It is our exact purpose to recognize these individuals who have done exceptional things and are not necessarily always in the limelight, but also reflect the broad diversity of our nation and the commitments within it.”