Hetty (Hendrika) Margaretha van Gurp (born 1949, in Delft) is a Canadian educator.
In 1995, Hetty was appointed to a two-year term as a member of the federal Human Rights Tribunal Panel. In 1996, she was awarded the YMCA Peace Medal. The Nova Scotia School Administrators' Association recognized her contribution to education by presenting her with the "Principal of Distinction" award in 1998. Also in 1998, Hetty was awarded a Baha'i Commendation for "Promoting Racial Harmony." In 1999, she received the Annual Crime Prevention Society of Nova Scotia Award. Hetty was awarded Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003. [1] In July 2006, Hetty was presented with the Canadian Teachers' Federation Special Recognition Award for meritorious service to education in 2006. Hetty was named as a Canadian hero by Time magazine in June, 2006 and by Reader's Digest in January, 2007. Hetty was awarded the Order of Nova Scotia in 2013. [2]
Hetty received her Bachelor of Education and Master of Education degrees from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2005, an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree [3] was bestowed on Hetty from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, based on her work as an educator, author, and community activist.
George Elliott Clarke, is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the 2016–2017 Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. His work is known largely for its use of a vast range of literary and artistic traditions, its lush physicality and its bold political substance. One of Canada's most illustrious poets, Clarke is also known for chronicling the experience and history of the Black Canadian communities of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that he has coined "Africadia".
Sheree Fitch is a Canadian writer and literacy advocate. Known primarily for her children's books, she has also published poetry and fiction for adults.
Daurene Elaine Lewis,, was a Canadian politician and educator. She was the first Black female mayor in Canada.
Myra Ava Freeman is a Canadian philanthropist, teacher, the 29th and first female Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.
The Order of Nova Scotia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Instituted on August 2, 2001, when Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman granted Royal Assent to the Order of Nova Scotia Act, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former Nova Scotia residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Nova Scotia Crown.
Charles Stewart Almon Ritchie, was a Canadian diplomat and diarist.
Saint Mary's University (SMU) is a formerly Catholic, public university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school is best known for having nationally leading programs in business and chemistry. The campus is situated in Halifax's South End and covers approximately 32 hectares.
Margaret Anne Ganley Somerville is Professor of Bioethics at University of Notre Dame Australia. She was previously Samuel Gale Professor of Law at McGill University.
Flora Isabel MacDonald, was a Canadian politician and humanitarian. Canada's first female foreign minister, she was also one of the first women to vie for leadership of a major Canadian political party, the Progressive Conservatives. She became a close ally of Prime Minister Joe Clark, serving in his cabinet from 1979 to 1980, as well as in the cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1988. In her later life, she was known for her humanitarian work abroad. The City of Ottawa recognised MacDonald on July 11, 2018 by naming a new bicycle and footbridge over the Rideau Canal the Passerelle Flora Footbridge.
Phyllis Ruth Blakeley, was a Canadian historian, biographer and archivist.
Budge Marjorie Wilson was a Canadian writer. She was noted for her work in children's literature.
Elizabeth Parr-Johnston, CM is a Canadian business woman. She is the Managing Partner of Parr-Johnston Consultants, an economic policy consultancy based in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia. Parr-Johnston is a past president of two Canadian Universities, a recipient of the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992, the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Order of Canada in 2008.
Sylvia D. Hamilton is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, poet, and artist. Based in Nova Scotia, her work explores the lives and experiences of people of African descent. Her special focus is on African Nova Scotians, and especially women. In particular, her work takes the form of documentary films, writing, public presentations, teaching, mentoring, extensive volunteer work and community involvement. She has uncovered stories of struggles and contributions of African Canadians and introduced them to mainstream audiences. Through her work, she exposes the roots and the presence of systemic racism in Canada. She aims to provide opportunities for Black and Indigenous youth through education and empowerment.
Ruth Miriam Goldbloom,, , DLit was a Canadian philanthropist who co-founded the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was born and raised in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, to immigrant parents. Their immigrant experience influenced her throughout her life and was a major factor in her helping to found Pier 21. She became the first Jew to Chair Mount Saint Vincent University's board, which was a Catholic women's university at the time. She was the chancellor of the Technical University of Nova Scotia in the 1990s and fundraising chair for the Halifax area United Way. She was inducted into the Order of Canada for her work with charities in the 1980s and 1990s.
Bruce MacKinnon is a Canadian editorial cartoonist for The Chronicle Herald in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the recipient of several awards of excellence for his work.
Lena Metlege Diab is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, she represented the electoral district of Halifax Armdale until 2021.
Marie Ann Battiste is an author and educator working as a professor in Canada at the University of Saskatchewan in the Department of Educational Foundations. From the Potlotek First Nation in Nova Scotia, Battiste is the daughter of Mi'kmaq parents John and Annie Battiste and is one of four children. Battiste was raised in Houlton, Maine, where she attended high school graduating in 1967. From there she went on to the University of Maine graduating from the Farmington campus in 1971 with her teaching certificate and a bachelor of science in both elementary and junior high education. She went on to attend Harvard University graduating in 1974 with a master of education in administration and social policy as well as Stanford University, where in 1984 she graduated with a doctor of education in curriculum and teacher education.
Janet F. Kitz was an educator, author and historian in Halifax, Nova Scotia who played a key role in the recognition of the 1917 Halifax Explosion, the largest man-made explosion prior to the atomic bomb and the worst man-made disaster in Canadian history.
Clotilda Adessa Douglas-Yakimchuk was a Canadian nurse. She was the first African-Canadian to graduate from the Nova Scotia Hospital School of Nursing and the first black president of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Nova Scotia.
Sister Dorothy Moore is a Mi’kmaw educator, Indigenous Elder, Residential School survivor, and social justice activist. Moore was born in the Mi'kmaw community Membertou, Nova Scotia. She was the first Mi’kmaw person in a Roman Catholic order, entering the Sisters of St. Martha in 1954 and taking vows in 1956. Moore was an educator in the public elementary school system in Nova Scotia. She also taught at the University College of Cape Breton (UCCCB) and is noted as instrumental in the formation of their Mi'kmaw Studies program. Moore later became the Director of Mi'kmaq Services at the Nova Scotia Department of Education where she was instrumental in the development of the Mi'kmaw language program. She was awarded the Order of Canada on June 29, 2005 and has received numerous other awards including the Order of Nova Scotia, (2003) and three honorary degrees, including an honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Mary's University in Halifax. A collection of her talks, prayers, presentation, and ceremonies, entitled: A Journey of Love and Hope, was published by Nimbus Press in 2022. In 2022 a documentary film entitled Sister Dorothy Moore: A Life of Courage, Determination and Love was premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival in September, 2022.