-
Afterlife of the Meng Wanzhou affair
Amid the wreckage of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and its allies have turned their sights on China. University of Victoria professor emeritus and historian John Price examines the rise of the coalition of Anglo settler colonial states of Canada, the United Kingdom, the US, Australia, and New Zealand, and how they are today fomenting war in the Asia Pacific.
-
What the Wet’suwet’en raid tells us about Canada’s ‘liberal democracy’
Canada, like most of the Western (wealthy) world, is a self-styled “liberal democracy,” broadly considered the gold standard in global development. Liberal democracies are founded on a commitment to universal human rights and freedoms, values codified in international law. But in the last week in Canada, we have seen these liberal values rocked to their core.
-
Canada’s role in the ‘Core Group’ is weakening Haitian democracy
Unbeknownst to most progressives, Canada is part of a secretive colonial and imperial alliance in Haiti known as the “Core Group”—made up of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the United States, France, and the European Union—that has deepened the country’s political crisis and pushed through elections denounced by independent observer missions as fraudulent.
-
A response to Evan Solomon’s hit job on ‘white man’ Jim Harris
It was quite the performance. CTV Power Play host Evan Solomon’s response to former Green Party leader Jim Harris demonstrates just how enamoured the media is with Annamie Paul’s pro-imperialist identitarian politics. While I have ideological differences with Harris, he is correct that Paul’s refusal to repudiate her senior adviser’s threats to defeat sitting Green MPs is the root of the recent conflict within the party.
-
Organizing for prison abolition and racial justice on the Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies remain a sprawling example of disproportionate incarceration rates and profoundly troubling conditions for inmates—made only worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, a vast enclave of organizations have found solidarity under the banner of the Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta Abolition Coalition, which aims to address and correct the abuses and systemic racism that are widespread in these provinces’ justice systems.
-
Fighting antisemitism (and those who cry ‘wolf’ about it) at the University of Toronto
Just as with the legendary boy who cried “wolf” when there was no such predator in sight, these false claims of antisemitism are dangerous. They harm Palestinians and those who research and advocate for Palestinian rights. And they can leave us all vulnerable when the real beast of anti-Jewish racism bares its fangs. But these attacks keep failing.
-
Policing the poor
The call to defund the police was put on the political agenda in Canada as well as in the United States in the wake of the killing of George Floyd last year, and its importance has not diminished. The vast resources that have been poured into bloated police budgets urgently need to be diverted into the public services to meet the needs of vulnerable communities under attack.
-
Why Canada must confront the myths of its imperial past
Throughout the federal election campaign, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole has taken to referencing his time as a student at the Royal Military College of Canada, describing how his education instilled a “sense of determination” that fuelled a commitment to a life of public service. But how many Canadians are aware of the troubling history of the Kingston-based university and its connections to the racism and violence of British imperialism?
-
Dismantling racism in Canadian universities: a call to action
There is no shortage of actions to be taken going forward. The recent awakening of the mainstream to anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism should be a wake-up call to Canadian universities to catch up on their decades of inaction. In June of 2020, institutions across the country issued public statements condemning anti-Black racism. The question now is whether institutions are committed to translating their words into action.
-
Back in the holster: Sport shooting, 3-Gun, and the ban on assault-style rifles
3-Gun teaches skills valued in modern urban combat. It hones the ability of men and women to move quickly around obstacles and fire at targets at relatively short distances. These skills are useful for tactical police officers responding to active school shooters. Unfortunately, the victims of mass shooters are the ones who most fully appreciate the dangers of modern firearms wielded by skilled gunmen.