Canada and Italian Diaspora: sacrifices breed success
TORONTO – Ten years ago, a retired construction worker-unionist, Marino Toppan, ably assisted by Paola Breda, undertook a personal journey to tell the story of the young [primarily] men who left Italy to find “fame and fortune” in this land of promise Canada. Just imagine the optimism and bravery of these youth, some of them still teen-agers, who travelled 5,000 kms from one continent to North America and in some cases several thousand more to the far reaches of the interior of a land they could barely imagine existed as they journeyed for two weeks and more across the Atlantic, by ship, until the sixties.
The glory that attached to those who emerged from the years -decades – of pain, sometimes humiliation at being treated as dependable beasts of burden, and sacrifice with economic and social independence is the stuff of dreams. It was a prize not easily achieved. Social service and government agencies to assist the needy were uncommon especially for foreigners.
Workplace safety laws were weak, ineffective and injury sparsely compensated until the early to mid-1970s when “activists” unionized, politicized and brought about change. Many of those bold, brave young men suffered crippling injuries on the job. Others died… killed by the negligence and the unconcern of their employers. Marino Toppan lived in that environment. He met the wives, the parents and families of the survivors. These were more than mere statistics.
Their story needed to be told. The Canada we glory in today is the [evolving] infrastructure whose bases were laid that Italian Diaspora on farms, in mines, in factories, in steel mills, in construction sites, railways, nation-building projects in every corner and town of the country. The successes are their own story, and like the “victors’ in history, their triumphs soon become grudgingly accepted by all. The victims are lucky to have been buried, their names recalled only by the families who mourned their loss.
Toppan wanted to tell their story. The more he researched the greater the number of victims emerged… much to everyone’s chagrin. There is a sadness associated with the gradual discovery of an increasing number Italian Fallen Workers. The memorial dedicated to them, in the gardens of The Villa Colombo, is now the biggest of its kind in Canada.
The 28 of April is now a National Day of Recognition for those who lost their lives in building of this nation. There were many, “survivors” who celebrated them in ceremonies at Villa Colombo. Many of the unionists, reviled then but recognized as essential to collective betterment, were there to praise Toppan and those who supported his initiative and his drive and wish his committee continued success in the development of a fuller pictured of the history of Canada and its people.
Here below is a photogallery from the ceremony (photos: Corriere Canadese)
