Preserving the Archival Heritage of Ontario's Jewish Community

News Release

Government of Canada supports the Ontario Jewish Archives Foundation

September 11, 2014 – Toronto – Department of Canadian Heritage

The Government of Canada is providing $195,100 through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund to support a renovation project undertaken by the Ontario Jewish Archives Foundation. With this funding the Foundation will retrofit the vault and redesign and furnish the public access space and document processing area in the Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre. As a result, it will be better able to preserve, collect and share the stories of the Ontario Jewish Archives, the largest professionally maintained repository of Jewish archival material in Canada.

The announcement was made today by Member of Parliament Mark Adler (York Centre) on behalf of the Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages.

Quick Facts

Established in 1973, the Ontario Jewish Archives Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre acquires, preserves and makes available documentary sources related to Ontario's Jewish community.
The Archives houses an extensive collection of photographs, oral histories, films, architectural drawings and blueprints, artifacts, unpublished histories and newspapers in Yiddish, Hebrew and English.

Quotes

“Our Government is proud to increase access for Canadians to cultural spaces like the Ontario Jewish Archives that preserve and showcase our country’s important cultural artifacts.”

—The Honourable Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

“We are pleased to provide funding for the Ontario Jewish Archives, an important cultural space in our community that hosts a significant collection of artifacts documenting the contributions of the Jewish community in Canada.”

—Mark Adler, Member of Parliament (York Centre)

“We are thrilled to be the successful recipients of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund funding for the revitalization of our archival facility. As the largest archive of Jewish life in Canada, we have the great responsibility of safeguarding over 150 years of documentary heritage. This funding will better position us into the future and help us continue the important work of preserving the records of Ontario’s Jewish community.”

—Dara Solomon, Director, Ontario Jewish Archives Foundation