'In Canada, the study of contemporary world history has not been mandatory on most high school curricula, a lacuna that has lessened our aptitude for awareness.'

Having grown up in Europe, this never ceases to boggle my mind, how important subjects like history, geography etc are elective subjects in high schools here.  No wonder everyone is 'unaware', read ignorant.  In Canada of all places, where everyone comes from somewhere else, it should be absolutely mandatory and would engender further understanding of each other's origins.