If governments hadn’t protected Indigenous children, they would have faced lawsuits for failure to honour their commitments to those children
The Alberta government is working with the ’60s Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta to hold “engagement” sessions with Indigenous adults who were placed as children in non-Indigenous homes. It seems likely that after an apology is officially made, discussions will immediately turn to compensation. The federal government established a precedent by apologizing and announcing monetary…
When we consider the source of electricity, the invasive nature of copper mining for batteries and components, and other factors, the jury is out
In the push to normalize electric vehicles, many forget it’s not the end of the road as far as environmental impact is concerned. Presumably, those using electric vehicles or hybrids are motivated by a desire to improve the environment, especially by reducing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Many owners of these vehicles derive satisfaction and…
The senator has enabled all of us to take the first step in honestly discussing race and culture
Sen. Lynn Beyak was recently removed from the Conservative caucus for saying and publicizing things that many people think are true. This has emboldened her opponents, and some Indigenous activists are now suggesting that Beyak be thrown out of the Senate and investigated for thought crimes. A year ago, Beyak had the audacity to assert…
The concept of rape culture was invented by feminists to tar all men with the brush of the worst of them
Accusations of rape made by students against other students or staff members have caused great concern in universities and beyond. Female students at McGill University, according to individual and in-class conversations, frame rape as a result of “rape culture.” But their definition of “rape culture” doesn’t fit with what’s usually meant by “culture.” In order…
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…
The bad experiences at residential schools have been well documented. But we can't forget that there were good experiences as well
Sen. Lynn Beyak was finally expelled from the Conservative Party caucus because “she allowed” racist posts to be placed on her website. More significantly, she refused to remove the offending material when ordered to do so by the Conservative leader. I’m one of the people with an email message posted on her website. In the…
Forward-looking Indigenous governments realize that transparency is the only way to improved social and economic conditions
It’s distressing that Indigenous activist Harrison Thunderchild has been forced to go to court to make leaders of Saskatchewan’s Thunderchild First Nation disclose expenditures. Parliament passed the First Nations Financial Transparency Act in 2013, when the Conservatives were in power. The law made chief and band council salaries and benefits public information, as well as…
We’re rather smug in our belief that our modern take on things reflects a perfect and compassionate view for all time
The federal government recently announced it will compensate people who lost their jobs or were otherwise persecuted a generation ago simply because their sexual orientation didn’t fit the accepted norm of the day. This perfectly reflects modern thinking, and the government should be applauded for the decision to compensate members of the military and other…
Being a teacher means making sure your students are exposed to more than one perspective
There’s a fine line between teaching and brainwashing. Teaching informs students about the world around them and helps them become critical thinkers. In contrast, brainwashing provides students with heavily skewed information that leads to one predetermined conclusion. It’s easy to mix these two things up if we aren’t careful. People who work in schools are…
Our personal information has become open access. And electronic security is a cat-and-mouse game, a cycle that never ends
In the span of 40 years, Canadian society has gone from paper files in cabinets, to electronic storage of everything from medical records to what you had in your coffee at Starbucks this morning. Our lives have become itemized and catalogued into easily-accessed databases filled with our intimate details. We have, in fact, willingly surrendered…
The Alberta government is working with the ’60s Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta to hold “engagement” sessions with Indigenous adults who were placed as children in non-Indigenous homes. It seems likely that after an apology is officially made, discussions will immediately turn to compensation. The federal government established a precedent by apologizing and announcing monetary…
