A highly visual and engaging look at important cases of racism and discrimination in Canada’s history.

Righting Canada’s Wrongs is a series devoted to the exploration of the government actions that violated the rights of groups of Canadian citizens, the subsequent fight for acknowledgement and justice, and the eventual apologies and restitution by governments.


Now available as a set

  • Each book documents a specific, historical case of discrimination by the Canadian Government
  • Explores institutional racism and discrimination in Canada
  • Supports history and civics curriculums
  • Highlights the resilience and resistance of impacted groups
  • First-person accounts
  • Teachers’ resource guide and links to video resources
  • Illustrations on every page: historical photographs and documents, maps, artwork, and more

This set is also available as a streaming online resource at www.canadiancloudlibrary.ca

Find out more about the set at: www.rightingcanadaswrongs.ca

New and upcoming in the series

About the series

“As indicated by its name, this series is hopeful. It is not about opening old wounds; it’s about remembering the past, understanding it and moving forward.” — Nikkei Voice

  • Each book documents a specific, historical case of discrimination by the Canadian Government
  • Explores institutional racism and discrimination in Canada
  • Supports history and civics curriculum
  • Highlights the resilience and resistance of impacted groups
  • First-person accounts
  • Teachers’ resource guide and links to video resources
  • Illustrations on every page: historical photographs and documents, maps, artwork, and more

Awards and Reviews

Praise for Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Japanese Canadian Internment

Commended – Best Books for Kids & Teens  — Canadian Children’s Book Centre – 2012

Authors Pamela Hickman and Masako Fukawa skilfully follow the story of the Japanese in Canada, from the first wave of immigrants in 1877 through the internment years and the fight for redress. Arresting images dominate the pages, mixing family photographs, posters, museum artifacts, and news archives to create a vivid scrapbook, which also contains the recollections of five internment survivors. Their accounts, peppered generously throughout the book, bring to life the imagery and facts that might otherwise seem impersonal… The book proves an essential history lesson for a generation that may be unaware of this deplorable part of our nation’s past.

— Quill & Quire

…an effective educational volume…”

— BC Bookworld

“This book is very well-done… The visuals are spectacular and will surely be a drawing card for students… These are topics our students need to be informed about in order to understand and appreciate our history.” Rated E – Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!

— Resource Links

“…inviting like a yearbook or a highly polished scrapbook, bursting with photos as well as historic political cartoons and posters… The inclusion of simple maps, a detailed timeline and a glossary also contribute to the readability of this large-format volume… This book holds appeal for any young adult with an interest in the history of Canada.”

Nikkei Voice

Japanese Canadian Internment in the Second World War is a phenomenal achievement. More than 300 full-colour and black and white visuals (maps, photos, document facsimiles) powerfully evoke the times they represent, the personal stories give a strong and poignant voice to those who lived the experience, and the combination of historical content and first-person accounts make this a hugely accessible work for high school students in Canadian history and human rights courses. This book has a place, both in high school libraries and as a supplementary text for social studies classrooms. 
Highly Recommended.”

CM: Review of Materials

This is an impressive book filled with heart-wrenching stories of Japanese Canadians who endured this difficult period in their lives. It is a must have for all history teachers as it recognizes an event in Canadian history that should never be repeated.”

Canadian Children’s Book News

Praise for Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Residential Schools

If I were purchasing materials for a high school library, I would buy at least 2 copies, and I would urge Social Studies and Aboriginal Studies classroom teachers to have at least one copy on their bookshelves. Perhaps the strongest work to date in the Righting Canada’s Wrongs series, Residential Schools underscores the importance of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work… Highly Recommended.”

— CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Visually, it’s a wonderful book, organized by topic and time with pictures and blurbs, and it feels almost like a scrapbook or a new travelling museum exhibit. Written by Melanie Florence, who is of Plains Cree and Scottish descent, this book does not allow residential schools to be the first or the final word on Indigenous culture and life. It takes us into the vibrant life and culture before the schools, the horror and grief during, and it takes us to the other side.

— Atlantic Books Today

As one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action states, ‘Make age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada a mandatory education requirement for kindergarten to Grade Twelve students.’ (p. 7) this book certainly contributes to this action and should be added to every junior and senior high school and public library in Canada. Highly Recommended.” Rated E – Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!

Resource Links

Praise for Righting Canada’s Wrongs: Anti-Semitism and the MS St. Louis

This story and the others in the “Righting Canada’s Wrongs” series should be essential teaching in Canadian classrooms at all grades.

— CM: Review of Materials

Books and sets in the series

Teacher Resources

Selected resources for students and teachers

Chinese Head Tax

• Chinese-Canadian Stories: Uncommon Histories from a Common Past
• Chinese Canadian Stories
• Across the Generations: A History of the Chinese in Canada
• The Early Chinese Canadians, 1858–1947
• Chinese-Canadian Genealogy

Japanese Canadian Internment

• Relocation to Redress: The Internment of the Japanese Canadians
• Japanese history in Greenwood B.C.
• Resource materials on Japanese Canadian history for teachers 
• The Japanese Canadian National Museum. 
• National Association of Japanese Canadians 
• Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre National Historic Site of Canada 
• University of British Columbia’s Subject Resources for Japanese Canadian internment
• University of Washington holdings relating to the Japanese Canadian internment 

Italian Canadian Internment
• National Congress of Italian Canadians, Toronto  
• The story of the internment camp Ripples, in Minto, New Brunswick 
• Beyond the Barbed Wire: Experiences of Italian Canadians in WW2 (Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia)
• Presenza: A New look at Italian-Canadian Heritage (The Virtual Museum of Canada)
• Italian Canadians as Enemy Aliens: Memories of World War II (Columbus Centre, Toronto) 

 Komagata Maru
• Educational resources on the Komagata Maru journey (Simon Fraser University) 
• Sikhpioneers.org 
• Historica Canada: Asia/Canada
• Canadian Sikj Heritage
• Vancouver Daily News Province Archives

Series Resource Guide

A resource guide with seven lessons to engage students with topics from the Righting Canada’s Wrongs books! 

  • Historical thinking concepts introduced in each lesson
  • Video links to supplement lessons
  • A special guide to teaching about racism
  • For more information, click here.
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