Tag: indigenous

Australian Indigenous Groups Push Back Over Voter ID Proposal

Australian Senator Amanda Stoker has said that a proposed voter identification (ID) bill would allow for a wide range of proof of identity documentation after two Indigenous bodies described the ID requirement as unnecessary and burdensome. The Central Land Council and the Northern Land Council have both told a Senate estimates hearing that they weren’t consulted about…


Trudeau Says Tofino Trip on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a ‘Mistake’

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he regrets the mistake of travelling to British Columbia to join his vacationing family on a day meant to honour Indigenous survivors of Canada’s residential school system. Trudeau’s presence in Tofino, B.C., last Thursday came as a shock after his itinerary initially said he was in Ottawa. Global News filmed…


A Tory Leader Could Never Get Away With the Gaffes That a Liberal Leader Can

Commentary On the inaugural National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I asked some university students what percentage of their holiday federal bureaucrats spent, on average, reflecting about truth and reconciliation. It was obviously a trick question. No one in the class knew the answer because no one anywhere could know the answer. The day was…


What’s in a Name? Addressing the Charge of ‘Cultural Genocide’

Commentary The first couple of sentences in the final Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) report contain a stark condemnation of the way Canada has treated its indigenous peoples: “For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights, terminate the Treaties; and through a…


If Canada Is Committing Genocide, How Can Its Leader Still Be Fit to Lead?

Commentary Without question, the most precise and perceptive analysis of the 2021 federal election came from an expat Canadian at the University of Oxford. Though it was published on election day itself and so came too late to affect the vote as it should have, it’s essential reading for every Canadian from now until the…


If Canada Is Committing Genocide, Why Does Trudeau Want to Lead it?

Commentary Without question, the most precise and perceptive analysis of the 2021 federal election came from an expat Canadian at the University of Oxford. Though it was published on election day itself and so came too late to affect the vote as it should have, it’s essential reading for every Canadian from now until the…


Election Campaign Day 31: Leaders Talk Climate, Child Care, Vaccine Choice and Cheaper Cellphone Fees

With less than a week left before election day, party leaders continued to promote their platforms on the campaign trail on Sept. 14. From the Liberals’ climate policies to the Tories’ childcare promises and an NDP plan for cheaper cell phone and internet services, here is a roundup of the top campaign announcements of the day. …


Keeping the National Flag at Half-Mast Indefinitely A Crass Political Move

Commentary Elections will always bring about new and unexpected wedge issues during the campaign. I don’t think anybody could have predicted that the status of the Canadian flag on federal buildings would come into play though. The decision to fly a national flag at half-mast is not one to be taken lightly. It is an…


Ryerson University to Be Renamed

Following the recommendations of a special task force, Ryerson University is looking for a new name. Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi created the task force in November 2020 with a mandate to review the legacy of the university’s namesake, Egerton Ryerson, in the history of Canada’s colonization. The task force released its final report on August…


Historians Explain Their Objection to Charge of Genocide Against Canada on Treatment of Indigenous Peoples

The charge of genocide against Canada in its treatment of indigenous peoples is “factually wrong,” says a historian and international studies professor at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. “Systematic and deliberate killing on a widespread scale is an absolutely essential component of genocide, and it doesn’t exist in…