By April Fong
Centretown will soon be home to Ottawa’s first Chinese-Canadian heritage centre, a project many hope will unite the city’s Chinese community.
Starting next month, the Ottawa Chinese Community Association will begin transforming 397 Kent St., formerly the First United Church, into the new heritage centre.
The main purpose of the project is to promote Chinese culture in Ottawa’s mainstream society and also within the Chinese community, says the association’s chair, Xing Huang.
“Within the Chinese community in Ottawa, there are lots of organizations,” he says. “They close the door and benefit just people inside the group.”
The Chinese Canadian population is diverse. With different dialects from mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, immigrants bring their own distinct traditions. Those born and raised in Canada are also adding to the variety of experiences and cultures in Ottawa’s community.
“The heritage centre will be a little bit of a reminder to encourage people to open their doors, get along with different groups and join together,” Huang says.
The group has received wide support within the Chinese community, raising enough money to buy the building. The Ottawa Chinese Community Association has collected about one-third of its total cost so far.
“All this money has come from donations,” Huang says. “From a four-year-old boy giving his birthday money, to people who are 80 years old.”
The association has been collecting Chinese books and materials to establish a comprehensive library in the centre with about 10,000 books, DVDs and CDs.
Along with holding Chinese performances, art lessons, immigrant services and a variety of cultural exhibitions, Huang says the heritage centre will also offer language training to Canadian politicians and business people travelling to China for the first time.
Expected to officially open in July, the cultural centre will be a place where everyone is welcome.
“At least for me, I feel I have an obligation to serve all the people in Ottawa. This is the Canadian value of celebrating a variety of cultures and history. We can enjoy the differences,” he says.
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes says the heritage centre is “a wonderful idea” and that the community groups were well-organized in purchasing the building.
“The First United Church is an interesting heritage building and I’m glad to see it will be put to new use,” she says.
But Peter So, owner of Chinatown’s So Good restaurant, says the heritage centre is too far from Ottawa’s Chinatown area.
“It is a busy area and there is a lot of traffic,” So says. “If someone is visiting and they happen to be in Chinatown, they won’t spend a trip just to go (to the centre).”
A heritage centre could better promote his area’s businesses and restaurants if it was located in Chinatown, he says.
Winnie Wang, chair of the Federation of Ottawa Chinese Community Organizations, says her group is supporting the heritage centre project with donations.
“We would like to have this building because it is not only beneficial to the community, but also to the rest of society. People can learn more about Chinese culture,” Wang says.
FOCCO is an umbrella organization comprising of 31 different Chinese community groups, including friendship associations, Chinese schools and dance troupes, among others.
Wang says groups from the federation will likely use the heritage centre to facilitate classes, performances and social gatherings.
While FOCCO’s groups have been renting space across the city to facilitate activities, Wang says the heritage centre will meet the needs of Ottawa’s growing Chinese population of about 40,000.
The heritage centre is a beneficial contribution to both the Chinese community and the city, Holmes says.
“It’s not a homogenous community. There are lots of different groups within the Chinese community with different needs, backgrounds and interests,” Holmes says.
“Different people will add to the life and variety of this cultural centre.”