The very symbolism of standing together to fight a common enemy is being irreparably eroded
We Canadians are always learning to respond to our own failings, the misguided policies and injustices perpetrated by previous generations and governments, and the many institutions that remain unchanged today. Sometimes, clearing the fog of bias, hate and injustice has been a slow process. Nonetheless, the lens is being cleaned, and everyone today has access…
BIPoC Outside works to increase inclusion of under-represented groups in outdoor recreation
“What? You mean I can produce a podcast for my master’s degree?” Native studies student Kris Cromwell had a great idea for a series of podcast interviews highlighting contributions BIPOC people (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) are making to increase inclusion in outdoor sports and recreation. But she didn’t see how she could find…
Indigenous nicknames, logos, mascots and rituals are inappropriate and insensitive
Why is this so hard? In the year 2021, why do some sports organizations still insist on using Indigenous American names, mascots, caricatures, rituals, etc., to promote their team? And in the case of Atlanta’s Major League Baseball team, why do they continue to encourage fans to do the tomahawk chop by turning the lights…
We live in a very diverse world. Not only is each individual unique but, as people from different parts of the world have come into contact, it has become clear that each culture has different priorities. Do we have anything in common? I was very fortunate to have been brought up in a multicultural and…
Good people and bad people can be found in every group
We’re all influenced by the environment we grow up in and our life experiences. We thus adopt paradigms in our effort to make sense of the world around us. Sometimes these perspectives serve us well but other times our core beliefs prevent us from seeing the truth. Yet there’s perhaps nothing more life-giving than experiencing…
Januel Ibasco kept his goals in sight despite the deaths of his mother and grandmother, and was inspired to explore his Filipino roots
The traditional Indigenous game of Back Push sees two competitors seated on the ground back-to-back with their arms locked. The object is to stand up together but push your opponent out of a designated area. The goal of a children’s version of the contest is to simply communicate and lean on each other so that,…
Hopes her work will help intergenerational survivors
The residential school system is the focal point of truth and reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples in Canada. But a University of Alberta education researcher says the schools, which operated in Canada until 1996, aren’t the whole story. Dr. Tiffany Prete, an adjunct professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies, has been conducting research…
Canadians believe in equality and compassion; we don’t believe in pitting one group against another
Canada has always prided itself on being one of the most open and least racist countries in the world. This view may not have always been true, particularly when it comes to our past immigration policies, which only became colour neutral in the 1960s. But since then, and continuing today, the vast majority of our…
Examining use of force by race or counting arrests and charges by colour isn’t about to change police culture
After years of resisting the recording of race-based statistics by police, there has been a sudden change of heart. Now, advocates and those seeking police reform want race-based data collected by police. In Ontario, the authorities hope that by collecting officers’ perceptions of suspects it can expose any racial biases or stereotyping within police services. The…
China is trying to bend Canadian culture to its will. This will only get worse as Chinese economic clout grows in Canada
A Vancouver court is the battleground for two visions of Canada’s future. The United States wants the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, a top Huawei executive, while China wants Canada to let her go. As a matter of principle and strategy, Canada must stand up to Chinese imperialism by siding with the U.S. The Huawei faceoff…
CBC has become tediously missionary rather than journalistic. And the last thing Canada’s private media needs is to compete with a subsidized entity
CBC Radio was once a national treasure. From Peter Gzowski through Arthur Black, Shelagh Rogers and Danny Finkleman, a turn of the knob rewarded the listener with information, entertainment and humour. But now, a push of the button is more likely to bring on someone eager to talk about their sexuality, ethnic origin or skin…
Cultural appropriation is how people learn. We take the most useful information we come across and pass it on to our children
The controversy concerning what’s called cultural appropriation has taken a strange new twist. Complaints about this newly-invented crime have typically involved Indigenous artists complaining that a non-Indigenous person has appropriated something from them. But now a group of Inuit claims a fellow Indigenous artist has culturally appropriated the throat-singing they say belongs to them alone…
The most ethnically diverse team ever to win an NBA championship reflected the nation’s diversity
In our age of enormous salaries for professional athletes and overpriced tickets to sporting events, there are many reasons why the Toronto Raptors winning the National Basketball Association championship is worth celebrating. Behind all the hype, the team succeeded because it was built on the solid principles. First and foremost, the Raptors won with tremendous…
Far too many of our family histories include persecution and disruption. We should never forget this common bond
It’s said that what happens to one person impacts us all. This may seem absurd but as I gain experience, it becomes ever clearer that we have a common humanity. I’ve been teaching high school students about genocide for over 10 years. In the final project of the course, students research a topic of interest…
Decision encourages an infinite, ever-changing, race-based relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
In December 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its Restoule decision, which renders Canada and Ontario equally liable to pay the 21 Robinson Treaties bands their “fair” share of all Crown revenue received from sales, leases and licenses, less expenses, derived from treaties-surrendered lands retroactive to 1850. The land covers basically the entire…
The ties that bind aren’t what they used to be – at least for some of us. For others, they are increasingly intense
I’m old enough to remember when nationalism was viewed as a good thing. And I’m not just referring to my Irish childhood. In the Canada of 40 to 50 years ago, many high-profile progressives self-described as nationalists. People like former finance minister Walter Gordon, journalist Peter C. Newman and the luminaries gathered around the Committee…
Terri-Lynne McClintic shouldn't have been sent to a healing lodge. In fact, the very nature of such institutions defies fair practise
Terri-Lynne McClintic, convicted of the 2009 abduction, rape and murder of eight-year-old Tory Stanford, was recently moved from federal prison to a healing lodge. Canadians were surprised – to say the least – that the transfer of a convicted child murderer to a healing lodge was not something new but had being going on since…
Sociologists have convinced us to think of people solely in terms of their census categories and their victim credentials
When an acquaintance accused me of being unsympathetic to minorities, I was indignant. I’m a member of a much-maligned minority ethnic group, with which I identify strongly. And both of my children are visible minorities: my son was adopted from Thailand and my daughter was adopted from China. In this cultural moment, to be unsympathetic…
Teaching such languages is better done by parents and ethnic associations. Schools must focus on core subjects
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada called upon governments to make the teaching of Indigenous languages in public schools a priority. No one would disagree with the idea of having more Indigenous people become familiar with their ancestral languages. Many Canadians want their children to learn their ethnic languages. Parents with Scottish roots might…
Should every Indigenous person who was required to attend day school be compensated?
CBC reports that a class-action lawsuit against the federal government has been authorized on behalf of Indigenous students who attended day schools in Canada. It seeks damages for every Indigenous student who attended. There are an estimated 100,000 such people alive. The lawsuit could result in a payout of at least the $5 billion that…
The best way to reduce the possibility of more alt-right-inspired violence is to confront its narratives head on
By John Grant Western University and Fiona MacDonald University of the Fraser Valley One year since the violent alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Va., and months since the Toronto van attack, Canadians can legitimately worry about increased political violence. The images of angry white men marching openly in Nazi regalia loom large alongside the revelation that…
Why would a responsible government not immediately issue a total ban on something that’s so explicitly dangerous?
Night hunting is an incredibly dangerous practice involving high-powered rifles capable of killing over a distance measured in kilometres. People have been killed as a result of this reckless activity and livestock slaughtered. It’s also responsible for an alarming decline in moose in Manitoba. It should not be allowed under any circumstances. The Manitoba government…
While there’s great diversity in Canada – regional, urban-rural, French-English and ethnic – it’s encompassed within the framework of Canadian culture
The view that ‘‘There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,’’ put forward by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is incorrect. Notwithstanding Canada’s official multiculturalism policy, Canadian culture is firmly based in western civilization. The main Canadian political structures are derived from western civilization: Language is a foundational substructure of culture, and Canada’s two official…
We Canadians are always learning to respond to our own failings, the misguided policies and injustices perpetrated by previous generations and governments, and the many institutions that remain unchanged today. Sometimes, clearing the fog of bias, hate and injustice has been a slow process. Nonetheless, the lens is being cleaned, and everyone today has access…
