Another great op-ed on racism in Canada. I posted my opinions & thoughts on another article on racism in Canada. I did include immigrants in that blog, & this op-ed does too, but nothing will change in Canada, until we all firmly believe & accept that there is racial discrimination in Canada, & it is only going to get worse as the economy worsens further.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the recently released Social Progress Index, Canada is ranked 2nd amongst all nations for its tolerance & inclusion.
Unfortunately, the truth is we have a far worse race problem than the US. We just can’t see it very easily.
Terry Glavin, recently writing in the Ottawa Citizen, mocked the idea that the US could learn from Canada’s example when it comes to racial harmony. To illustrate his point, he compared the conditions of the African-American community to Canada’s First Nations. If you judge a society by how it treats its most disadvantaged, Glavin found us wanting. ... By almost every measurable indicator, the Aboriginal population in Canada is treated worse & lives with more hardship than the African-American population. All these facts tell us one thing: Canada has a race problem, too.
How are we not choking on these numbers? For a country so self-satisfied with its image of progressive tolerance, how is this not a national crisis? Why are governments not falling on this issue?
Possibly it is because our Fergusons are hidden deep in the bush, accessible only by chartered float plane: 49% of First Nations members live on remote reserves. ... Fewer than 40,000 live in Toronto, not even 1% of the total population of the Greater Toronto Area. Our racial problems are literally over the horizon, out of sight & out of mind.
If we don’t have a race problem then what do we blame? ... Us? For not paying attention. For believing our own hype about inclusion. ... For not acknowledging Canada has a race problem.
We do & it is bad. And it is not just with the Aboriginal peoples. For new immigrants & the black community the numbers are not as stark, but they tell a depressingly similar story.
If we want to fix this, the first step is to admit something is wrong. Start by saying it to yourself, but say it out loud: “Canada has a race problem.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the recently released Social Progress Index, Canada is ranked 2nd amongst all nations for its tolerance & inclusion.
Unfortunately, the truth is we have a far worse race problem than the US. We just can’t see it very easily.
Terry Glavin, recently writing in the Ottawa Citizen, mocked the idea that the US could learn from Canada’s example when it comes to racial harmony. To illustrate his point, he compared the conditions of the African-American community to Canada’s First Nations. If you judge a society by how it treats its most disadvantaged, Glavin found us wanting. ... By almost every measurable indicator, the Aboriginal population in Canada is treated worse & lives with more hardship than the African-American population. All these facts tell us one thing: Canada has a race problem, too.
How are we not choking on these numbers? For a country so self-satisfied with its image of progressive tolerance, how is this not a national crisis? Why are governments not falling on this issue?
Possibly it is because our Fergusons are hidden deep in the bush, accessible only by chartered float plane: 49% of First Nations members live on remote reserves. ... Fewer than 40,000 live in Toronto, not even 1% of the total population of the Greater Toronto Area. Our racial problems are literally over the horizon, out of sight & out of mind.
If we don’t have a race problem then what do we blame? ... Us? For not paying attention. For believing our own hype about inclusion. ... For not acknowledging Canada has a race problem.
We do & it is bad. And it is not just with the Aboriginal peoples. For new immigrants & the black community the numbers are not as stark, but they tell a depressingly similar story.
If we want to fix this, the first step is to admit something is wrong. Start by saying it to yourself, but say it out loud: “Canada has a race problem.”
No comments:
Post a Comment