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Thursday, December 22, 2016 | 6 | | § P MILTON CANADIAN CHAMPION A heroine of If you don‘t recognize Viola Desmond‘s name and face today, you soon will. In the notâ€"tooâ€"distant future, whenever you open your | wallet to pay for a loaf of bread or carton of milk, you‘ll | see this brave, black Canadian civil rights pioneer lookâ€" | ing back at you from the $10 bill. And you‘ll be reminded how she struck a decisive blow against racial segregation in this country. Desmond received a distinctive honour earlier this our times month when she was chosen as the first Canadian | woman to appear on the front of a Canadian banknote. The decision likely surprised some history buffs who asâ€" | sumed the recognition would go to one of the women on the government‘s shortlist with a more established | reputation. First Nations Victorian poet Pauline Johnâ€" son or Elizabeth MacGill, the first woman in Canada to become an aeronautical engineer as well as a major force in producing fighter planes during the Second World War, could be counted in this category. In comparison, Desmond is known today, if at all, for a single, noteworthy act of defiance. Yet what she did changed Canada for the better. And it‘s why she should be remembered. It happened in New Glasgow, N.S. in 1946 in the Roseâ€" land Theatre. Desmond was sitting downstairs when the manager ordered her to move to the balcony where black patrons, like her, were expected to sit. Desmond refused. She had suffered from discriminaâ€" tion all her life, travelling to Montreal and New York to | become a beautician because no Nova Scotia school would accept a black woman. But this time she wouldn‘t give in. Police dragged her to jail and locked her up overnight. Freed after paying a $20 fine, Desmond decided to challenge the injustice of legallyâ€"sanctioned racism She went to court, but lost. Persisting, she had a judicial review of the decision. She lost that, too. And eventuâ€" ally, due to the strain of her courtroom battles and the notoriety her case brought, Desmond left Nova Scotia, finally settling in New York City, where she died in 1960 at the age of 50. But Desmond‘s act of defiance and the publicity surâ€" rounding her legal struggle galvanized Nova Scotia‘s black community and convinced them to demand change. This, in turn, led to the scrapping of the provâ€" ince‘s segregation laws as well as the passing of its huâ€" man rights act. Canadians have waited too long to see a woman, other than Queen Elizabeth, on the front of a banknote. There are strong women who fought for the vote, to run for elected office or receive equal pay who would be worthy of this distinction. Simply having a national discussion about which woman belongs on our currency has been | a valuable, enlightening experience. We hope such hisâ€" tory lessons continue and that, in future, banknotes feaâ€" ture other significant Canadian women. But on this occasion, it is most appropriate to applaud the decision to put Viola Desmond on the $10 bill, starting in 2018, and to salute Desmond herself. Her refusal to move from her seat moved a nation. Opmion Around town Justin Hammond, 3, meets vith Santa Claus at Springridge Farm earlier this month. Santa made a number of appeannces around town this holiday season, including during the | Milton Santa Claus Parade, a: Milton Mall and other local retailers, and most recently durâ€" ing the Campbellvilie County.Christmas Parade. For many more photos of holiday festiviâ€" ties in Milton, visit online at vww.insidehalton.com. Greg Hammond / Special to the Champion NDAUGT Milton united An article pubâ€" lished in a Toâ€" ronto daily has got Miltonians all riled up. As a journalist and . managing editor of this awardâ€"winning newspaper, I wanted to proâ€" vide readers with my two cents. Catherine O‘Hara The Globe and Managing Editor Mail story published «online earlier this week centres on the accommodation crunch experienced at many local schools | as a result of exploding popuation growth. | However, qualifiers related to race and coâ€" | lour are peppered throughout the article, | leaving this reader scratching her head. What does race, culture or aperson‘s skin colour have to do with the accommodaâ€" | tion pressures experienceg by Halton‘s coterminous school boards: Weil, nothing. The Milton | have come to know is home to a vibrant and culturally diverse comâ€" munity that has, for many years now, been in a state of flux. As it adapts to nevâ€" erâ€"ending change, its residents further | their efforts to maintain the town‘s charâ€" | acter, charm and traditions. The Milton I have come to know is warm and welcoming. It‘s a place where one school opened its doors to students atâ€" | tending another, facilitating their aging | | building‘s expansion. It seems to me that, in an éttempt to exâ€" | plore aspects of Milton‘s growing pains, the writer missed the mark | The Milton I have come to know is incluâ€" sive. It does not discriminate. In fact, it celebrates diversity and welcomes newâ€" comers, including those from afar. The | | resettlement of Syrian refugee families is | a prime example. | The Places to Grow Act may have led to | Milton‘s residential boom, which in turn made way for the development of new arâ€" | eas and the evolution of the town‘s existâ€" ing neighbourhoods, but it certainly did not divide this community. With growth comes change and chalâ€" lenges, of which we know there are many. However, together, Miltonians are working to overcome these hurdles. They are proud |_of their hometown. They are united. insidehaiton.com ‘ (tfili(l]anadlan * ampion 555 Industrial Drive, Milton, Ont. L9T 5E 1 905â€"878â€"2341 Advertising Fax: 905â€"876â€"2364 Classified: 905â€"875â€"3300 Circulation: 905â€"878â€"5947 www.mil ancanadianchampion.com VP â€" Group Publisher Nell Oliver Regional General Manager | Director of Advertising | Daniel Baird Managing Editor Production Manager Circulation Director Charlene Hall Office Manager Lorl Ann Gvozdanovic The Canadian , published Champion every Thursday, is a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of the advertising space occupiled by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or deciine. @CCAB ccas Audited 6 &# Gala Awards a 23 L The Oakville. Milton ®