Caribbean Migrants – A Gift to Canada
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
10:00 a.m. on ZOOM*
* This is part of the History Interest Group's program. To join this group contact the convenor.
If you are not a member of CFUW but would like to join us, email cfuwkanata.publicity@gmail.com to request a link to our ZOOM meeting. We always welcome new members.
Caribbean Migrants - A Gift To Canada
Mr. Walters will speak on the broad impact of Caribbean migrants on Ottawa and Canada. He will refer to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which certifies our full citizenship, and mention various outstanding individuals.
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Ewart Walters
M.J (Journalism) Carleton University
Author, former diplomat, and retired editor
Born in Kingston Jamaica in 1940, Ewart Walters has lived and worked most of his life in Ottawa, Canada.
Educated at Calabar High School and Carleton University he holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Journalism. He worked with Public Opinion, The Daily Gleaner as Parliamentary and Education Reporter, the Daily News as Deputy Editor, as well as Radio Jamaica and the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation before serving as a diplomat in Ottawa and New York.
He then had a 20-year career as a Canadian Federal Public Servant and launched and published his community newspaper The Spectrum. He has followed Jamaican politics closely since 1944 and in 2015 authored a book, We Come From Jamaica: The National Movement 1937-1962.
Mr. Walters has led several community efforts over the years, and he has written widely in Canadian media about race relations. He was awarded the Order of Distinction, Commander Class (CD) by the government of Jamaica, and has also been awarded the Order of Ottawa.
For three decades Mr. Walters has played an important role in the effort to harmonise relations between the Black communities and the Ottawa Police Service (OPS); and the OPS has continually called on his service.
A keen cricketer, he played competitively in Jamaica and Ottawa for 40 years. He has been a member of choral groups and choirs all his life and is a former Moderator of the Fourth Avenue Baptist Church in Ottawa. Married for 56 years and counting, he is the father of three sons and four grandchildren.
Citations
• Order of Distinction, Commander Class (CD) for the promotion and defence of minorities in Canada through journalism and community activism 2010 (Governor-General, Jamaica)
• Order of Ottawa (2015)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Keepers Award for community support through media 2010
• Citizen of the Year Award from the Carleton University fraternity Omega Psi Phi (2010)
• Canadian Ethnic Media Association Award for Print Journalism (2010)
• Community Builder Award from the United Way (2011)
• Ottawa City 150 Award (2017)
• Employment Equity Award, CIDA, 2003. Also cited in Treasury Board 2003 publication, "Embracing Change – Leading the Way", for work on Embracing Change – a project designed to promote racial equality in the Federal workplace
• Canada 125 Medal, Government of Canada, for service to "Compatriots, Community and Country," 1993
• Community Service Award, Ottawa Police Services Board, 1992
• Volunteer Service Award for Community Television, Cable 22, 1990
Publications
• The Spectrum Community newspaper (1984-2013) – a monthly publication of news and commentary directed at the Black and Visible Minority communities in Ottawa.
• William Knibb Memorial High School – 2018
• Revelation Revealed 2016
• We Come From Jamaica: The National Movement – 1937-1962, 2015
• To Follow Right – A Journalist’s Journey, autobiography, 2011
• Sugar Boy: The Story of Cedric Titus & Jamaican Cane Farmers, 2009
• Resistance and Vision (1997)