Speak out against racism, demand wholesale change in Canada’s police forces
OTTAWA—In the second quarter of 2020, racism and police brutality was brought to the forefront of the world’s consciousness. Black Americans, Native Americans, and allies closed down American cities as a measure of the stark and desperate urgency to change whole systems. Racism and police brutality have no place in any democracy. The movement crossed […]
‘It’s a lot of lip service’: Black federal public servants hope ‘Floyd effect’ will finally drive change as anti-racism movement grips Canada
Black public servants, already more likely to report being victims of racial discrimination than the rest of the federal bureaucracy, are hoping the “Floyd effect” will help drive the changes for which they’ve spent years trying to gain traction. “In some ways, this has had a positive effect in the amount of interest that it […]
Push to arm police with body cameras ‘euphemism’ for fatter budgets, says expert
The pandemic has added urgency to calls to address widespread racial inequities with large-scale reforms, say experts and parliamentarians, but some are split on whether Ottawa’s commitments so far are transformative enough. In a webinar on racism hosted Friday afternoon by the Pearson Centre, panelists butted heads over the government’s initial pledge to equip RCMP […]
It’s time for Canada’s next steps on sexual, reproductive health rights
A little more than a year ago, at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s largest and most ambitious commitment to date to the health and rights of women and girls to the tune of $1.4-billion per year. With $700-million of that earmarked for sexual and reproductive health and rights, […]
Politics This Morning: Singh says Liberals unwilling to ‘meet halfway’ in talks over new emergency bill
Good Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a commencement address to the class of 2020, commending them for their perseverance at a time when the world is facing heady challenges over how to fight climate change, systemic racism, and the global pandemic. “You came of age during events like Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, the […]
The political test: addressing sly, sophisticated racism
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson complained that he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t join the thousands of people who marched for racial justice on Parliament Hill in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. As it turned out, he did attend and won more praise than criticism for showing up. Prime Minister […]
Social change depends on each of us doing our part
KAMOURASKA, QUE.—As many readers of this column know, I am not much of a monarchist, but I admire the Queen. And while it was a painful childhood duty to watch her annual Christmas message, this year’s resonates with me months later. Recounting the decades of her reign, she said, “positive things can be achieved when […]
Black communities need more than ‘Band-Aid’ funding, say advocates
For too long Black Canadians have felt like a “broken record,” replaying the same recommendations to combat obvious inequality with only “Band-Aid money” applied to redress systemic wrongs, say Black leaders in the wake of protests across the country demanding action on anti-Black racism. Like many in her community, Federation of Black Canadians chair Dahabo […]
Scheer’s gotcha attacks on Trudeau’s march attendance another losing strategy
OTTAWA—Some days I am just utterly baffled by Andrew Scheer and the way he approaches issues. For example, with just more than two months to go before the Conservatives choose a new leader, Scheer is back in the soup again. This time for going after people, including the prime minister, for attending anti-Black racism demonstrations […]
Trump all too eager to hold lit match to U.S. powder keg
OTTAWA—Just two weeks ago it would have seemed almost unfathomable that something could knock the COVID-19 pandemic out of the headlines, yet the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police has done just that. The video footage of Floyd being suffocated by a policeman’s knee to his throat went viral. Initially, […]
