Aboriginal rights
Friday FTW: Why the Cree trek is more than heartwarming
If you want Google Maps directions from Whapmagoostui, Quebec to Parliament Hill, Ottawa, our trusted search engine doesn’t know what to do with itself. That wasn’t the case for six Cree First Nation youths, who arrived at the capital on Monday. They trekked the 1,600km distance with the help of a guide to show their… More »
Why blockades are now indigenous to Indigenous issues in Canada
Today, the snow-crusted supply road that winds north of Attawapiskat to the Victor diamond mine has a new blockade, right where the last one was only recently dismantled. Blockades are yet again costing mine-owner De Beers, as well as Canadians, mineral revenues, royalties, and taxes. Unfortunately in Canada, blockade stories typically begin and end like this…. More »
Toronto Pride and sponsorship: what to make of the Bud Light stage
This weekend, queer folks and friends at Toronto Pride who reach for a Bud Light under the beer’s namesake music stage may be surprised to know what they’re drinking. Budweiser is just one brand sold by Anheuser-Busch, the American arm of Brazilian-Belgian multinational beer conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev. Just this May, Anheuser-Busch was targeted by Pulitzer… More »
$18 Peanut Butter. What’s wrong with this picture?
On June 9, protesters gathered outside of Nunavut grocery stores and on Parliament Hill to decry Canada’s shoddy food security situation, highlighted in last month’s scathing UN report. At the helm of the June protests is Leesee Papatsie from Iqaluit. Papatsie started the facebook page Feeding My Family, which now boasts 21,500 members. The page… More »
Why mince words?
UN condemns Canada’s lack of food security. If I’d pursued political cartooning instead of sociology, I would be sketching a picture of Immigration Minister Jason Kenney with his mouth full of cheap imported bananas. He’d have one hand over the mouth of UN rapporteur Olivier De Schutter, and the other distributing food aid “to starving… More »
Ontario breaks its own laws to search for gold on Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug land
Activist, writer, and professor Judy Rebick has long been a fighter for social justice. Still, when she spoke at Ryerson University in Toronto last Tuesday about the struggles of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), she muses about how she can still be surprised when the government breaks its own laws. Sponsored by the Canadian Federation of Students, the Council… More »
What to do when aboriginal economies and environmental regulations conflict?
A project that would have provided hundreds of Metis with jobs and affordable housing was quashed on Tuesday, with a 7-6 vote by the Edmonton City Council. And though it may not seem so at first glance, that decision was likely for the best. While the project’s benefits were appealing, there were some deeper problems with… More »
Here's what will happen to 5 bills that died when the election was called
We profile five legislative initiatives that died on the docket—and find out which of them will be re-attempted after the election Compiled by Dylan C. Robertson & Victoria Salvas This election means death. Not only have Ottawa scrums, filibusters, and drawn-out committees been killed, pieces of legislation making their way through parliament have all met… More »
Three real reasons the "Carson Affair" is scandalous (none of which involve escorting)
So there’s this scandal: Bruce Carson, a former adviser to Stephen Harper’s prime minister’s office, allegedly claimed ties to the PMO in order to move forward a deal with an Ottawa company that would provide water filtration systems to First Nations communities. This deal would mean a handsome payout to an employee of that company—who… More »
How privatization will make food less affordable in the North
Changes to the government’s food subsidy program are making some in Northern Canada fear higher prices and fewer small, local stores. The Food Mail Program was axed last October, to be replaced by a redesigned initiative in April 2011. The program, jointly run by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Canada Post, and Health Canada, provided food… More »
