Canada must support establishment of UN Permanent Forum for People of African Descent
It was on the eve of 2021 when Canada, right along with the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Israel voted against the comprehensive implementation of and follow-up to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action: Racial Discrimination Program Implementation. This vote was crucial at the UN General Assembly for the eventual proposal and […]
Power maintains power in politicians’ reticence to overhaul policing
OTTAWA—The Derek Chauvin conviction may not be the victory it’s purported to be, given that within 24 hours of the verdict, police in America gunned down six Black people as a show of dominance. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s response to the verdict was exceptionally mealy-mouthed (he essentially said that systemic racism is bad, which is […]
The U.S.A. is not ‘the shining city on the hill’
MONTREAL—In the moments following the conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd in a Minnesota courtroom, a Montreal radio host put up a note on Facebook: “Guilty on all counts. Did you cry?” My knee-jerk reaction was to respond: “Get a grip. This took place in a foreign country with serious problems.” […]
Online hate targeting women journalists hurts us all
The best journalism, whatever the medium, relies on one essential element—an unflinching willingness and ability to gather and report the facts. The journalist’s role, always, is telling truth to power, whether challenging people in authority, unveiling corporate malfeasance, reporting the facts about COVID-19, or examining complex issues of social justice. In an era of “fake […]
Context is critical: response to letter on the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
On April 12, I read with interest a letter to the editor published in The Hill Times entitled “Reforms needed at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, say activists.” As with virtually any piece of information, it can be misleading to not provide its broader context. Unfortunately, the context which was missing was the fact that, […]
Time for widespread gender-neutral language in federal policy, legislation, say advocates
The very act of not being included in government policy is discriminatory, says Estefan Cortes-Vargas, former Alberta MLA, diversity consultant, and one of the first openly non-binary people elected in Canada, referring to the sparse use of gender-neutral language. It’s an issue the federal government says it’s trying to fix, piece by piece. This area […]
New language-learning app named after late Liberal bilingualism champion
A new CBC-based language-learning app, Mauril, hopes to instil the same love of language as its namesake, the late Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger. Mr. Bélanger, who died from ALS in 2016 at the age of 61, had a long history of fighting for Canada’s linguistic duality. He was decorated as Commandeur de l’Odre de la […]
Has the Hill changed for women in the workplace post-#MeToo?
In the years since the #MeToo movement rocked the globe, it has brought changes that women who work federal politics say range from the good, like opening the conversation, to the less positive, such as creating a rift between men and women in the workplace. Parliament Hill was no outlier when it came to the […]
Canada’s continuum of hate: time to address COVID-accelerated bigotry
OTTAWA—How big of a problem is hate-motivated violence in Canada? The fact is, no one knows. Only a small portion of all hate crimes are reported to police, with estimates of incidents going unreported ranging from 60 per cent to 95 per cent. That’s partly because many people, particularly newcomers to Canada, avoid involvement with […]
Canada must formally apologize for its historic role in the enslavement of Africans in this country and acknowledge the contributions of Black Canadians
American civil rights activist James Baldwin once asked, “how much time do you want for your ‘progress.’ ” Canadian Black politicians, leaders, professors, civil rights activists, and associations have for years called upon Canada to formally apologize for its role in the enslavement of Africans in this country. This long-awaited apology would bring about acknowledgment, recognition, […]
