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The Canadian Slovak League (CSL) was founded in December 1932 by Andrej Kučera, Juraj Rodoš and Pavol A. Sabo, representatives of the Winnipeg Branch of the Slovak League of America. The founding members of the CSL wanted to create an organization catering to the needs of Slovak-Canadians and sought to broaden the social and financial support to their members. In 1934, this organization received a “Dominion Charter” therefore making the CSL a fraternal benefit society. For the remainder of the 1930s, this organization continued to support Slovakia’s independence as promised by the Pittsburg Agreement. It also paid death benefits according to the size of its treasury to deceased members’ family. The Oshawa and Hamilton branches of the CSL established the First District of the Assembly followed by the first Slovak Day in Oshawa. Slovak Days in cities such as Toronto, Hamilton, Welland, Montréal and Windsor would soon follow.

In the 1940s, the CSL was involved in the Canadian war effort. Members purchased war bonds and participated in the war effort. The CSL donated an ambulance to the Red Cross. During these years, the CSL established its organ newspaper Kanadský Slovak, edited respectively by Štefan Hreha, Konštantin Čuleň, Štefan Reištetter, Andrej Brazda and Julius Behul. Upon World War II’s and the beginning of Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the CSL sent a delegation to Ottawa to persuade the Canadian government to accept Slovak refugees fleeing the Communist regime, a situation intensified by the Pact of Warsaw in 1968.

In 1954, the CSL was reorganized as an insurance company. Members now had to pay monthly fees according to their age. Due to this new policy, membership dropped making this organization return to its previous role as a fraternal organization. Culturally, the CSL continued to support Slovak Halls where plays and Slovak folk dance groups performed culminating in a performance at Expo ’67. CSL members also sponsored radio shows and television programs.

With the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1989, the CSL demanded that a full Canadian diplomatic post be created in Bratislava. To this day, the CSL continues to help Slovak immigrants arriving in Canada and promotes Slovak culture and heritage with activities in various branches.

Dr. Lubomir Gleiman (1923-2006), son of Dr. Jan Gleiman and Anna Urbanek, was born in Trnava, Czechoslovakia (now in Slovakia), on May 21, 1923. His grandfather Ferko Urbanek had been a famous Slovak playwright and poet. During World War II and the Slovak National Uprising, Lubomir and his family were removed from their home, and he was forced to work in labour camps. In a particular occasion, he and his colleagues from medical school were made to march across Austria in a defensive measure against the allies. After being freed when the 506th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division liberated his camp, he became secretary at the displaced persons camp in Rauris (Austria). He became friends with the US Commander Al Hazzenzahl and Lt Gerald Evers. The latter gave him a letter of recommendation after the camp closed, which was invaluable to Lubomir during his subsequent months as a refugee.

Lubomir and his father later joined the movement to organize a resistance against the communists in Slovakia. They were also active participants in the attempts to resist the advances of communism and in the conservation of an independent democracy in their country. Father Tomislav Kolakovic (Father George), a Catholic priest who opposed communism, was among Lubomir’s anti-communist connections. In 1948, after the resistance movement failed, Lubomir and his family immigrated to Canada, where they worked in farms in the Glencoe/Alviston area. Later, they held several odd jobs to support themselves in Montreal. His father and his sisters Wanda and Zora worked in a chocolate factory while Lubomir was employed at various occupations, from janitor and hospital orderly to bookkeeper and graduate assistant. Despite their difficult life, Lubomir nevertheless managed to complete his bachelor’s degree in 1952 from the Thomas More Institute.

After earning his master’s degree in 1954 and PhD in philosophy in 1957, both from the University of Montreal, he moved to the United States, where he began his distinguished scholarly career. He was a professor of philosophy and political science until 1978 at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, which later became Boston College. In Boston College, Lubomir had been the Newton senior fellow in political science from 1975 to 1977. He was appointed professor of philosophy at Salve Regina University (Newport, RI) in 1978, where he taught until he retired at age 70. He continued his scholarly studies, however, even after his retirement. He was fluent in five languages, and wrote profusely. His writings included poetry, scholarly articles, essays and reviews. He also published two books: “Etudes D’Histoire Litteraire, Medieval Roots of Totalitarian Syndrome” and “Graham Green: Poet of Ambivalence and Transcendence.”

He married Nancy Waeber (1941-2018), one of his students, in 1963, and they had three children: Mary Melanie (Phelps), Cyril Gleiman, and Jan Kenneth Gleiman. Lubomir Gleiman died on May 22, 2006 at age 83.

Dr. Ján Gleiman (1893-1983) was born in Slovakia, on September 11, 1893. He served as a captain in the Austro-Hungarian army during WWI, but surrendered his unit to the Russians because they refused to fight against those they considered their “Slavic brothers”. He was then made a prisoner of war and was sent to Krasnojarsk. He learned to speak fluent Russian during this time.

Before World War II, Ján Gleiman had been a prominent lawyer, notary public and local judge in his country, and had enjoyed a comfortable upper middle class life with his family while living in Revuca, Banska Bystrica, Banovce, and Bratislava. He was also part of the Hlinka's Slovak People's Party, the Slovak right-wing nationalist party, and allegedly a confidant of Father Jozef Tiso, who was one of the party leaders and later president of the First Slovak Republic. Jan’s son Lubomir had been Tiso’s altar boy. Tiso was executed after World War II for having collaborated with Hitler and Nazism. With the advance of communism in Slovakia, Jan became worried that his political connections posed a threat to his and his family’s security, and so they sold their personal belongings and left Slovakia. They travelled throughout Europe before finally boarding a ship in Italy and immigrating to Canada in 1948.

The Gleiman family’s move to Canada after the war was not easy for any of them, but especially for Jan. Because of his age and poor knowledge of the English language, he was required to accept manual work in Canada as a condition for immigration, and could not be employed in his own field. According to his own diaries, he was very much dissatisfied with his new life and the difficulties he faced while trying to integrate in Canada. However, he continued to devote a lot of his time outside of working hours to intellectual activities such as reading and writing, mostly in relation to philosophy and politics. The family finally managed to save enough money to buy a house in the late 1950s, which had by then become Jan’s final goal in Canada. Ján died on March 13, 1983 in Montreal, at age 90.

The Slovak Studies Association (SSA) was founded in 1977 in Washington, D.C. during the National Conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS). Attending this first meeting were Thaddeus Gromeda, Richard Liba, Thomas Marzik, Jozef and Renee Mikuš, Mark Stolárik, Anthony X. Sutherland and Edward Tuleya. The purpose of this first meeting was to discuss a tentative constitution, enabling the secretary-treasurer, Mark Stolárik, to write its first draft, and to elaborate the procedures for the election of SSA’s officers. Procedures pertaining to the election of SSA officers were also elaborated during this reunion.

The SSA promotes interdisciplinary research, publications and teaching relating to worldwide Slovak experience. This scholarly organization assists scholars interested in Slovak studies, sponsors panels on Slovak history and themes (i.e. “14 March and the Slovak State“ and “Slovak Literature as a Mirror of National Awakening“), and issues a bi-annual newsletter. In addition, the SSA “conducts all of its activities in accordance with academic freedom and completely devoid of partiality to any philosophical, political, or religious orientation“. The SSA is affiliated to the Association for Slovak, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEES) (formerly the Association for Advancement of Slovak Studies). In 1983, the SSA was incorporated to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a non-profit scholarly organization.

Women Working with Immigrant Women (WWIW) was established in 1974, incorporated in 1985, with the goal of organizing workshops and sharing information to understand the problems and needs of Canada's growing immigrant population. WWIW sponsored workshops, courses, events, and programs, produced information kits, published books and articles, and produced a film. WWIW has also worked with other organizations to lobby the government for rights of immigrant women and women of colour, and to spread awareness about the issues encountered by immigrant communities in Canada.

In 1983, WWIW joined forces with the Coalition of Visible Minority Women to form the Ontario Immigrant and Visible Minority Women's Network. WWIW was also affiliated with the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women. In the 1990s, funding cuts caused WWIW to lose its core membership. By 1995, due to federal and provincial cutbacks, WWIW had lost so much of its funding that it could no longer support its staff. Although WWIW is no longer as active, it remains present in the Canadian women's movement, and was last seen in 2015 protesting discrimination against women wearing niqab.
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L'association Women Working with Immigrant Women (WWIW) a été créée en 1974 et constituée en société en 1985, dans le but d'organiser des ateliers et de partager des informations afin de comprendre les problèmes et les besoins de la population immigrée croissante du Canada. WWIW a parrainé des ateliers, des cours, des événements et des programmes, produit des kits d'information, publié des livres et des articles, et produit un film. WWIW a également travaillé avec d'autres organisations pour faire pression sur le gouvernement en faveur des droits des femmes immigrées et des femmes de couleur, et pour faire connaître les problèmes rencontrés par les communautés immigrées au Canada.

En 1983, WWIW a uni ses forces à celles de la Coalition of Visible Minority Women pour former l'Ontario Immigrant and Visible Minority Women's Network (Réseau des femmes immigrantes et des minorités visibles de l'Ontario). WWIW est également affilié au Comité national d'action sur le statut de la femme et à l'Organisation nationale des femmes immigrantes et des femmes appartenant à une minorité visible. Dans les années 1990, les coupes budgétaires ont fait perdre à WWIW son noyau de membres. En 1995, en raison des coupes budgétaires fédérales et provinciales, WWIW a perdu une si grande partie de son financement qu'il n'est plus en mesure de subvenir aux besoins de son personnel. Bien que WWIW ne soit plus aussi actif, il reste présent dans le mouvement des femmes canadiennes et a été vu pour la dernière fois en 2015 en train de protester contre la discrimination à l'égard des femmes portant le niqab.

Helen Jefferson Lenskyj was born in Sydeny, Australia and moved to Toronto, Canada 1966. From 1972 to 1983, she completed her BA, MA, and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto. In 1986, she began teaching part-time at the University of Toronto. In 1990, she was appointed Associate Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (O.I.S.E.), at the University of Toronto. Between 1986 and 2007, she was Professor of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She was also involved with the Centre for Women’s Studies in Education (CWSE) at the University, mostly with the subcommittee that she coordinated, which investigated a free-standing women’s studies program.

Helen is currently Professor Emerita of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Since the 1970s, she has been involved in several community activist groups, including the Feminist Party of Canada (F.P.C.). She continues to work as a researcher, writer, public speaker and community activist. She has published books and numerous book chapters, journal and magazine articles on women, sport, sexuality, and the Olympic industry.
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Helen Jefferson Lenskyj est née à Sydeny, en Australie, et s'est installée à Toronto, au Canada, en 1966. De 1972 à 1983, elle a obtenu sa licence, sa maîtrise et son doctorat à l'université de Toronto. En 1986, elle a commencé à enseigner à temps partiel à l'université de Toronto. En 1990, elle est nommée professeur associé à l'Institut d'études pédagogiques de l'Ontario (O.I.S.E.), à l'Université de Toronto. Entre 1986 et 2007, elle a été professeur de sociologie et d'études sur l'équité en éducation à l'université de Toronto. Elle a également participé aux activités du Centre for Women's Studies in Education (CWSE) de l'université, notamment au sein du sous-comité qu'elle a coordonné et qui s'est penché sur la création d'un programme autonome d'études féminines.

Helen est actuellement professeur émérite de sociologie et d'études sur l'équité en éducation à l'université de Toronto. Depuis les années 1970, elle s'est impliquée dans plusieurs groupes d'activistes communautaires, dont le Parti féministe du Canada (F.P.C.). Elle continue à travailler en tant que chercheuse, écrivain, conférencière et activiste communautaire. Elle a publié des livres et de nombreux chapitres de livres, des articles de revues et de magazines sur les femmes, le sport, la sexualité et l'industrie olympique.