Founder of Cathedral Arts Citizenship Judge: John Gordon Dennison
Judge John Gordon Dennison
Sec 110, Range 14, Grave 8 ‘A’
John Gordon Dennison was born in Guyana on June 22, 1947. He attended Queen’s College of Guyana and then attended Laurentian University in Sudbury, ON for a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and then a Master’s degree in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa, ON. Dennison then worked for the Government of Canada for over 25 years in various departments, including Citizenship and Immigration and Canadian Heritage.
He was the Founding Chairman of Cathedral Arts, the performing and visual arts programme of Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.
Cathedral Arts celebrates and promotes the visual and performing arts in the unique setting of Ottawa’s historic Christ Church Cathedral. The celebration of the arts within the precincts of the Cathedral is by no means new or novel. Throughout mediaeval Europe, the crowning glory of any great city was its cathedral. These beautiful edifices were more than places of worship. They were the very heart of the communities’ culture and society – offering settings where artists and musicians presented their masterworks, and where dramatists and performers of the day taught and entertained with their mystery and morality plays. It is this respected tradition that inspired Cathedral Arts to embark upon its program of celebrating the arts at Christ Church Cathedral. By offering concerts, dramatic productions, educational dinner lectures and exhibits, Christ Church Cathedral is becoming known as a welcoming place where members of the entire community, irrespective of background or ethnicity, can come to be inspired spiritually, culturally and educationally.
He has served on the Ottawa Public Library Board Foundation and volunteered with several community organizations in Ottawa. His main passion was multiculturalism related issues in the Government of Canada.
On June 4, 2012, Dennison became the first black person appointed as Citizenship Judge for Ottawa.
Dennison is the recipient of a number of awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award Medal; Lignum Vitae Award from the National Institute of Jamaican Canadians for outstanding leadership in the Ottawa community; Community Builder Award, from United Way of Ottawa, for contributing to the engagement of the Black community in the arts in Ottawa; and, Award of Excellence, from the North American Black Historical Museum and Society Inc., for exceptional contribution to improving awareness and appreciation of Black Canadian Heritage.
John Dennison died on January 14, 2014.
The Black History Ottawa board created the Jon G. Dennison Award in 2014 showcase an individual or organization exemplifying the excellence for which the late citizenship judge was known for.
The Black History Ottawa board created this award in 2014 to showcase an individual or organization exemplifying the excellence for which the late citizenship judge, John Dennison was known, in the promotion of Canadian black history and culture. Mr. Dennison, who passed away on January 14, 2014, was a staunch supporter of Black History Ottawa for many years, and this is our way of acknowledging his legacy and reminding the community of his great work in the area of multiculturalism.