By: Sarah Ngoyi
Africville was a small community located in Halifax, Nova Scotia that existed from the early 1800s to the 1960s. It was founded by Black Nova Scotians from a variety of origins. In the 1950s, Halifax deposited a toxic waste dump in Africville, poisoning the community with mounds of toxic waste. For more information, take a look at the following sources:
"Africville." Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 13 Dec. 2018.
academic-eb-com.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/levels/collegiate/article/Africville/625854. Accessed 31 May. 2020.
The story of Africville. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://humanrights.ca/story/the-story-of-africville
Environmental Racism: The first step is recognizing we have a problem. (2017, March 29). Retrieved from https://www.ecojustice.ca/enviro-racism-we-have-a-problem/
Montreal North is a borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This borough is primarily inhabited by black immigrants and other people of colour. Despite claiming to provide peace, the Montreal Police Service has a history of racial profiling and police brutality especially when it comes to arresting black people. Radio Canada documented the issue 3 years ago. The video is in French but as a Bilingual French & English speaker, I can confirm that auto-translate is pretty accurate. Take a look at the sources:
Le profilage racial : une réalité quotidienne à Montréal-Nord. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-hl_HKLUMQ&t=237s
(2018, March 7). Retrieved June 1, 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-guilty-racial-profiling-1.4565586
“The missing and murdered Indigenous women epidemic currently affects Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States, including the First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and Native American communities. It has been described as a Canadian national crisis and a Canadian genocide.” (Baker, 2019).
Baker, C. N., Kennedy-Howard, N., & Sleighel, M. (2019, December 2). Making Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Visible. Retrieved from https://msmagazine.com/2019/12/02/making-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-visible/
Minister's comment highlights confusion over missing, murdered women numbers | CBC News. (2016, February 17). Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mmiw-4000-hajdu-1.3450237
Northern Affairs Canada. (2019, June 12). National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Retrieved from https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1448633299414/1534526479029
A lot of Canadians do not know that there was slavery in Canada. This is largely due to the fact that the grade 6 Social Studies curriculum in most provinces that touches on slavery only covers the topics on the slaves that crossed the border from the United States to Canada which is very problematic. Slavery did happen in Canada and it was legal because Canada did and still does (to a certain extent) operate under British rule. Don’t just believe me, look at the sources:
Bèssiere, A. (n.d.). Population. Retrieved from https://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/population/slavery/
From Slavery to Settlement . (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://web.archive.org/web/20130214020850/http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/alvin_mccurdy/settlement.aspx
Slavery in the Maritime Provinces. (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2713627/2713627#mode/2up
A lot of students who speak languages other than English at home are placed in the “ESL” stream because it is assumed that their English does not meet the language proficiency standards or the “benchmarks” imposed by ESL specialists and ELA teachers. According to Alberta Education, “benchmarks are used when English language learners enter the school system in order to establish baseline proficiency and to identify the level and types of instructional supports these learners require to be successful.” In other words, even if you are fluent in English, if you speak another language other than English, as soon as you enter the school system, you are put in an ESL stream and required to meet benchmarks to prove your English Language proficiency.
There are benefits and disadvantages to this. The benefits include getting extra support in terms of accommodations (i.e., more time to write exams, having teachers sound out words for you, having the option to use translation tools, etc.). However, the disadvantages can be detrimental for students as the “ESL” marker on students’ records can prohibit them from taking higher-level courses necessary for specific post-secondary education programs, students who are assumed to be ESL are not challenged and are frequently excluded from normal classroom settings. Source:
Alberta Education. (n.d.). Supporting English Language Learners. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/eslapb/search_about.html
This one should not be surprising to anyone especially given how outspokenly conservative the province of Alberta is and how historically, extreme conservatism has been tied to racism. For those of you who don’t know, the KKK or ‘Klu Klux Klan’ is an “American white supremacist hate group, whose primary target is African Americans.” There have been and still are active chapters of the KKK in Edmonton & Calgary. Take a look at the sources:
Maharaj, S. (2017, January 14). Edmonton's historical ties to the Ku Klux Klan resurface. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://globalnews.ca/news/3180050/edmontons-historical-ties-to-the-ku-klux-klan-resurface/
A dark chapter: should Edmonton's KKK history be acknowledged? | CBC News. (2016, November 30). Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/a-dark-chapter-should-edmonton-s-kkk-history-be-acknowledged-1.3872961
Wakefield, J. (2019, April 23). Extremist groups in Alberta detailed in first-of-its-kind report: The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/canada/extremist-groups-in-alberta-detailed-in-first-of-its-kind-report-304363/
Despite building the majority of the transcontinental railroad, Chinese workers, immigrants and other people of Asian decent were faced with extreme racism and xenophobia. Not only were people of Asian decent not able to vote until 1947 but the “Chinese Immigration Act” prohibited Chinese people from immigrating to Canada. In 2006, the then Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for the treatment of Chinese-Canadians as well as the numerous racist acts enforced by law. Source:
Archives Canada. (2017, April 19). History of Canada's early Chinese immigrants. Retrieved May 31, 2020, from https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/history-ethnic-cultural/early-chinese-canadians/Pages/history.aspx
Canada has a long history of anti-blackness. This specific order of council dates back to 1910 where according to the Canadian Council for Refugees, “a number of boards of trade and the Edmonton Municipal Council called on Ottawa to prevent black immigration. In 1911 an order in council was drafted prohibiting the landing of ‘any immigrant belonging to the Negro race, which race is deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada.’” Source:
Discrimination/oppression. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ccrweb.ca/en/issues/discriminationoppression