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In Part 2 of our two-part series we explore the aftermath of the Avro Arrow’s cancellation. While the cancellation sent short-term shockwaves through Ontario but not much beyond, in later years the cancellation becomes wrapped up in the larger conversation of Canada’s role in the Cold War world. Specifically, our relationship to our American allies and our ongoing efforts to try and grasp on to potentially unifying Canadian symbols. Certainly the cancellation of the Arrow had immediate ramifications for the Canadian aviation industry but its long term significance is arguably even more important. To wrap up our two part series we are going to deep dive into why the Arrow becomes such a polarising issue and settle once and for all why was it cancelled and who was to blame.

Our guest host is Russell Isinger. Russell did his graduate work on the controversial CF-105 Avro Arrow interceptor, one of the first researchers to access the declassified archival record on the project. Since then, Russell has continued his research and writing on the Arrow (usually in collaboration with his former graduate supervisor, Don Story), and they are currently working on a book delving into the political and military decision-making behind the project.

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There are a very few topics in Canadian history that have generated more acrimonious debate than that of the Avro Arrow. Some have called its cancellation a travesty that destroyed a Canadian industry, many of those have laid the blame at the feet of the Americans. Others have approached the topic with a more circusmpect eye, noting it’s exorbitant costs and the refusal of the Canadian government to pay for it. In the public consciousness the Avro Arrow has spawned numerous articles, books, documentaries, and even a film. To take us through this complex subject we've brought in an expert to do the heavy lifting.

Russell Isinger did his graduate work on the controversial CF-105 Avro Arrow interceptor, one of the first researchers to access the declassified archival record on the project. Since then, Russ has continued his research and writing on the Arrow (usually in collaboration with his former graduate supervisor, Don Story), and they are currently working on a book delving into the political and military decision-making behind the project.

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In 1979 a conference was held in Toronto which became a pivotal event for both Toronto and Canada’s lesbian community. While so much attention at the time was focused around the emerging visibility of Canada’s gay community, it was heavily gendered, focsuing almost exclusively on gay men, much less visilbity existed for Candaa’s lesbian community. The 1979 conference was thus a key moment in helping bring visibility to Canada’s lesbian community while also acting as a rally point for the community itself. To cover this fascinating topic we are talking with Rebecka Taves Sheffield, an archivist, author, and educator based in Hamilton, Ontario.

Rebecka was the first Executive Director and Archives Manager of the ArQuives (formerly the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives), an organization that is the inspiration for much of her scholarly work. She trained as an archivist at the University of Toronto (UofT) iSchool and earned a PhD at UofT’s Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies. Rebecka has served as a senior policy advisor for the Archives of Ontario and is now advising on digital and data policy with Ontario Digital Service.

She is the author of Documenting Rebellions: A Study of Four Lesbian and Gay Archives in Queer Times (Litwin, 2020), and was part of the award-winning editorial team that produced Any Other Way: How Toronto Got Queer (Coach House, 2017). Her work has been published in Archivaria, American Archivist, Radical History Review, Library Trends, Papers/Cahiers, and the International Journal of Information, Diversity & Inclusion.  

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