Turn left and walk straight. Face the left wall. This is the Official Languages Act of 1969 which made English and French the official languages of Canada. Keith Spicer became the first official Commissioner of Official Languages and established the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (The Commissioner of Official Languages). In his role, he laid the foundations of supporting and implementing the act; he viewed institutional bilingualism as an ideal of human dignity, which showed respect upon the two languages of English and French. Furthermore, he explained the Act and its objectives, as well as distributing information kits and giving speeches (The Commissioner of Official Languages). In 1977, he also played a role in the creation …show more content…
Welcome to our ninth exhibit. This is a copy of Romeo Dallaire’s book, Shake Hands with the Devil, which describes his experiences in Rwanda- the genocide of over 800,000 souls and the death of his fellow comrades (Laura Neilson Bonikowsky). This book depicts the situations UN peacekeepers faced in 1993 to 1996 when they arrived in Rwanda. In his book, Dallaire writes about his “Rwandan nightmare”. He was the commander of the UN Assistance Mission For Rwanda (UNAMIR), and had an armed force of about 2,500 troops. According to Laura Neilson Bonikowsky, the extremist Hutu wanted a complete genocide of the Tutsi, and as a result, over 800,000 people were murdered. Eventually, after serving as a deputy commander of Land Force Command and commander of the 1st Canadian Division, Dallaire fell into despair and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was released in 2000, and in 2003, he wrote this book. This book has impacted millions of Canadians, as it shows the horrid conditions of Rwanda, and depicts the same stress placed upon soldiers. In March of 2005, Romeo Dallaire was awarded the Pearson Peace Medal for his international services. Millions of Canadians became impacted by Shake Hands with the Devil because of its strong message and accurate depictions of the situation in