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The
Census of Canada publications have established that
Armenians lived in this part of Canada at the time of
Confederation. During
the 50’s and the 60’s Armenians in the Ottawa-Hull
area met socially and informally, at each other’s home
and sometimes in a local church at the occasion of the
visit of Armenian clerics, to celebrate Mass.
An initiative in
the late 60’s to compile a list of people with
Armenian roots was started by a small group.
They went through the local phone directory and
identified people with Armenian names.
This led to bringing these people together for
social gatherings and helped initiate the creation of a
non-denominational, independent cultural association to
bring together the region’s Armenians and provide help
and advice to newcomers. This group eventually drafted
the first Constitution and issued an invitation to the
list to elect an executive committee based on the terms
of that first constitution.
The Association became a non-profit body, with an
elected executive in 1971.
Activities
concentrated on culture (music, sculpture, painting,
food and folklore). Gatherings were held in different Community canters and in
the “party-rooms” of new high-rise apartment
buildings. The Annual budget of the Association averaged around $ 3000.
In
1972 the first school of Armenian language for adults
were held in a classroom at Ottawa University.
In 1973 an
application was made to the Secretary of State for a
grant to teach Armenian dances to the local Armenian.
The grant was approved and an Armenian dance
teacher from California came to teach the local Armenian
community together with an even larger group of local
non-Armenians interested in Armenian folklore.
In 1974, the first
school for Armenian children was organized by local
volunteers on Sundays, again in different community centers.
The Armenian classes grew and shrunk with the
community and the school is still run by volunteers.
It even offered with the Ottawa School Board
officially sanctioned OAC courses. These culminated in a
graduating OAC class in 1996, which put on an impressive
cultural show to the delight of the Community and the
managers of the Ottawa Board of Education’s Heritage
Languages Program.
The
ACAO fully participated in promoting and making known
Armenian culture to the Ottawa-Hull Community at large.
Particular participation was instituted during
annual July 1st celebrations with the
National Capital Commission.
During these celebrations ACAO volunteers organized
Backgammon and Chess competitions and sponsored and organized
Armenian dance troops on stage in Ottawa parks. In 1984
the ACAO helped bring the National Song and Dance
Ensemble of Armenia to Ottawa for a performance at the
National Arts Center.
The
Community always considered building its own permanent
building. In
1977 the ACAO adjusted its Constitution and applied to
Revenue Canada to become a “Charitable Organization”
recognized under the Income Tax Act. It also requested
the authorization to accumulate funds in order to build
or acquire a community building.
The request was granted.
The Annual budget of the Association was around $
4 000 by then.
The
ACAO membership grew considerably in the eighties.
In December 1988, disaster struck in Soviet
Armenia. The
ACAO joined hands with the Canadian Red Cross in
collaboration with other Armenian and non-Armenian organizations
and collected and channeled emergency aid to the
earthquake victims.
Much of the money set aside for the Community
building was diverted to help the earthquake victims.
In collaboration with the Civic Hospital, the
ACAO sponsored 2 child amputee victims of the earthquake
and helped get them to Ottawa to fit them with
artificial limbs. These children are now a Director of music in Yerevan Armenia
and a successful medical doctor in Armenia.
In
the 90’s, the ACAO continued to maintain its programs
and welcomed a new wave of refugees from Karabagh, where
war had broken-out within Azerbaijan during the
disintegration of the Soviet Union.
We also received many Former Soviet Artists
(Moscow chamber orchestra) and donated the proceeds to
other charities such as the Ottawa Food Bank.
With the advent of the Internet, more news is
available concerning Armenian culture and related
issues, and the ACAO has developed a capacity to inform
and mobilize its members through the Internet. |
