The exhibit chronicles some of the important people and milestones from courageous and hardworking immigrants to Canada who were instrumental in physically building the City of Toronto from the 1950s to the 1970s. Coming to a new country without a lot of money and in many cases not knowing the native language, fighting discrimination and low wages, coupled with dangerous occupations made a demanding life for these tradespersons who sought a better life for themselves and their families.
The videos are available on Youtube and you can use a QR reader to find more information on the traveling exhibits. I watched several of the video interviews and was amazed by the strength of the workers as they had to do almost everything by hand, without modern construction methods or technologies, day after day, many suffering injuries or death while working to build the city that we all enjoy today. One thing I learned was the name of the brick carrying, inverted 'V' device used by bricklayers to carry the heavy bricks; it was called a HOD. Today the bricks are carried on skids moved around site by fork lifts.
It was hard to miss the contributions of Unions in dramatically improving the lives and working conditions of those early, postwar labourers and tradespersons. The strikes, both legal and illegal, brought attention to the plight of the workers and often the arrest of scores of workers. Safety was also a priority for the unions.
Well published tragedies like the deaths of five Italian workers in an underground fire and the immigrant mother who killed herself when she was arrested trying to feed and cloth her children because living wages weren't paid helped other Canadians realize the extent of the problems facing immigrants in the construction industry. This sentiment led to improved government regulations and safety requirements which drove down the rates of deaths beginning in the late 1960s.
"But the most deadly and famous of construction accidents in Toronto happened on March 17, 1960, St. Patrick’s Day. That evening, a fire broke out in the main shaft of a watermain tunnel being built under the Don River, in the area known as Hoggs Hollow."
The impressive Columbus Centre features dance studios, an art room and music studio, kitchen classroom, gymnasium, swimming pool, yoga and boardrooms, as well as a ballroom, restaurant and extensive outdoor grounds with a wide variety of statues - definitely worth a visit. The grounds also have the Italian Fallen Workers Memorial of Ontario.
See more of the Centre and the exhibition after the jump.
See more of the Centre and the exhibition after the jump.
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