By Paul Gessell

The Canadian Museum of Civilization was once known for avoiding controversy at any cost. An exhibition some years ago on the history of Acadians, for example, failed to mention they had all been expelled from Canada in the period 1755-63. That, frankly, was a shocking whitewash of history.

Over the years, the museum has slowly been taking steps to tell more complete versions of our history. And thus, we come to the new exhibition opening July 1 marking the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee as monarch, in which the museum has bravely shown, through old news photos and political cartoons, that Her Majesty is not universally loved in this country.

Of special interest is an information panel on Truncheon Saturday, which occurred Oct. 10, 1964, in Quebec City when police brutally attacked demonstrators protesting the Queen’s visit to the provincial capital.

Now, it may not sound like a big deal to acknowledge there are anti-monarchists, even some violent ones, in the country. But considering anything related to the Queen must be handled by a government funded agency with the utmost diplomacy, it was a courageous step indeed for the museum to give some wall space to the Queen’s foes. When it comes to anything royal, die-hard monarchist Stephen Harper and his heritage minister James Moore are close by, watching intently, deciding whether to tighten or loosen their purse strings while funding museums. (more…)