Advertisement

UM Press 3 Leaderboard

Racism

Volume 50, Issue 1: Winter 2016

Canadian Dimension encountered some stormy weather in 2015. Unexpected financial difficulties and problems arising from illness and staff changes, compelled us to reduce our publishing schedule. But we have regrouped and are now reorganizing as we enter our 54th year of continuous publication.

We want to share with you, our valued readers and supporters, some developments affecting CD. In an effort to manage our predicament this past year, we cancelled the July/August issue and concentrated on publishing the Harper Demolition issue, which hit newsstands in advance of Canadians taking to the polls this fall. We are proud of the issue, which constitutes CD’s intervention in the debate around the 2015 election with a hard-hitting analysis of the Harper government’s reactionary and damaging policies and practices on all fronts.

With the Harper issue published, we set to work to get the magazine back on track, undertaking an internal reorganization and review to resolve how best to sustain the magazine in the future. A steering committee was formed comprised of emerging and established CD collective members. In addition to founding publisher Cy Gonick (still resident in Winnipeg), the committee includes Andrea Levy and Peter Wheeland (Montreal) and Sean Carleton (Peterborough). Richard Swift, David Hugill and Krishna Lalbiharie have also come on board in recent weeks. As well, we are fortunate that Paul Graham, one of CD’s former managing editors, has agreed to help us sort things out in the CD office and reorganize our procedures to better serve our readers and contributors. Paul is also a member of the steering committee. While unable to publish the NovemberDecember issue, we worked hard to produce the first issue of 2016 — devoted to the very topical theme of racism — that you now hold in your hands.

Even though the reading habits of Canadians are tending strongly toward digital formats, we remain committed to print publication. However, rather than six issues per year, we will produce four issues, one per season. And to keep pace with the new times, we plan to expand and enhance our website to offer more dynamic digital Canadian Dimension content in addition to our print magazine.

We are asking you, our friends and subscribers, to bear with us during this challenging time. As a small independent left-wing magazine, we have surmounted obstacles in the past and we are confident that we can do so again and continue to deliver a unique and indispensable publication that readers count on and enjoy.

We were heartened by a note received in the fall from a subscriber who wrote: “Canadian Dimension is so far above the current standard level of ‘journalism’ that there is simply no comparison. … Only a handful of periodicals or other news outlets are in this league. Z Magazine, CounterPunch, New Internationalist, Global Research and Trends Journal are the only ones I have ever found, anywhere, that compare to CD.”

With that kind of encouragement, we feel optimistic that we can turn things around in fairly short order and continue to produce the alternative news, views and critical analysis that progressive readers depend on and appreciate.

Of course, we deeply regret the interruption of your scheduled issues. We will honour current subscriptions, so those who paid for 12 issues will receive their full complement of magazines. And we will keep you posted on any changes that may affect your subscription in the future. We are counting on your patience and understanding. Canadian Dimension has been a leading voice on the Canadian Left for 53 years. From the beginning, to survive, we have been forced to call on our readers to contribute something more than the price of a subscription. This is inevitable for a magazine of the Left, especially so, since years ago Dimension was denied charitable status even as right-wing organizations like the Fraser Institute enjoyed this status unchallenged for decades. Thanks to generous support from hundreds of our readers each year and frugal management by our production team, we have published continuously and, as we hope you agree, the magazine has only gotten better with time.

If you value the job Dimension does, please help us now. Offering $100, even $500 — we’ve had a few of those — or something less, $25 or $50, will help pull us through. Pay any way and in whatever amount you can: by cheque, credit card, a monthly donation of $10 or $20 or more by way of an automatic transfer of funds from your credit union or bank. Every dollar raised is critical for the future of the magazine. You can send any donations to:

Canadian Dimension, 2E, 91 Albert Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1G5, or write to us at [email protected]. Thank you for your solidarity,

The CD steering committee: Sean Carleton, Cy Gonick, Paul Graham, David Hugill, Krishna Lalbiharie, Andrea Levy, Richard Swift, Peter Wheeland

Table of Contents

The Regulars

  • Canada’s timid refugee policy
  • Leaping toward February 29
  • Weathering the storm
  • Finding our bearings under Trudeau: Fighting the TPP
  • Labour Report: Airport union assembly wins gains for workers
  • Emperor’s New Clothes: Willful blindness kills home for climate change proposal
  • Sovereignty: What can we learn from Catalonia

Special Feature

All That’s Left

  • Geography and genocide on the Medicine Line
  • The Popular Front: Changing the world with comedy
  • Bruce Cockburn: The moral imperatives of a modern troubadour
  • Canada’s colonial past still haunts African mining operations
  • Human rights and indigenous rights, inseparable and indivisible
  • There’s only one winner in the “war on drugs”
  • Don’t start the party: The witch ain’t dead

Browse the Archive