On reconciliation, the government can and must do more
A year has passed since the closing event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Ottawa — a brief moment of self-reflection that punctured through a stubborn, willful and long-standing national blindness.
Read moreLeft and liberal colour blindness imperil real change for Black people
Since the very public executions of Alton Sterling and Philander Castile, I find myself in a profound state of sadness.
Read moreIndigenous children and racial discrimination as fiscal policy
The federal government knowingly discriminates against Indigenous children and their families. That discrimination is part of the colonial fabric that holds together Canadian political-economic development.
Read moreBroadening the electoral reform discussion
The Liberal government campaigned on electoral reform, promising “that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system” and that they “will make every vote count.”
Read moreFighting seniors poverty
The new Liberal government is on track to seriously address the growing problem of poverty in old age. But their election promises need some critical reconsideration.
Read moreAre the culture wars over in Canada?
The Canadian federal election that took place on October 19th was historic in ways that go beyond the popular account. Forgoing the wisdom of avoiding sweeping statements about history, something my church history professor warned me against forty years ago, it seems to me the election marked the end of at least one era in Canadian politics, an era that is sometimes called the culture wars.
Read moreA national child care system... because "it's 2015"
The best line of the Trudeau government’s first day— widely reported and praised in the international media—was the new PM’s.
Read moreThe TPP: A secret deal that binds the hands that heal
Picture this: a patient returns to the office for a follow-up visit with their physician. When asked how the prescribed treatment is working out, they answer: “I don’t know, I couldn’t afford to fill the prescription.”
Read moreTime to move beyond "tough on crime" rhetoric
Not since Governor Michael Dukakis’ 1988 presidential bid was derailed by attack ads about the dangerous inmate Willie Horton being released into the community has any well-briefed politician dared not to be “tough on crime.”
Read moreStephen Harper's abhorrent record on refugees and immigration
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives took power in 2006. For some 30 years prior, Canada’s immigration system was consistently viewed as of the most welcoming and generous in the world. Although not without growing pains, Canada once worked to accommodate the cultural, religious and ethnic diversity that travelled with immigrants to Canada. After 10 years of Conservative rule, the immigration climate in Canada is now darker and more exclusive than it has been since the 1970s.
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