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January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Samra Zafar

The survivor and award-winning academic who empowers women to leave abuse

Fatima Syed@fatimasyed401

WHILE MOST PEOPLE’S FACEBOOK messages brim with congratulatory notes on the day of their graduation, Samra Zafar’s inbox was overflowing with two words: “Thank you.” On Monday June 10, 2013, Zafar, then 30 years old, had kept her phone off for the duration of her University of Toronto graduation, where she was awarded top student […] More »
January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Erica Violet Lee

The university student who challenges Indigenous stereotypes and advocates for change

Justine Ponomareff@JPonomareff

ERICA VIOLET LEE IS A SELF-DESCRIBED “Nēhiyaw Philosopher Queen and Indigenous Feminist,” but the terms activist and writer also aptly describe the 25-year-old University of Saskatchewan student. “The first activism event I did was when I was about five years old,” says Lee, the hint of a smile detectable in her voice, even over Skype. […] More »
January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Mohammad Ali Aumeer

The hip hop artist who energizes crowds with songs about human rights and social justice

Hillary Di MennaWebsite@HillaryDiMenna

IT’S MARCH 2015 and the Toronto crowd is rallying to protest Bill C-51. There’s excitement in the air. With every new body comes a greater sense of solidarity. Speakers file on and off stage. The crowd is committed, but human: there comes a point when attention wanes and distraction takes over. The energy starts to […] More »
January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue: Amira Elghawaby

The former journalist who now works to end anti-Muslim press coverage

Adam RasmiWebsite@AdamRasmi

“WHY DO YOU HAVE TO WEAR THAT THING HERE?” “Why don’t you just go back to where you came from?” That these kinds of remarks are ever voiced might seem far-fetched, almost cartoonishly so, but they are actually common enough that many Muslim women in Canada who wear the hijab hear them at some point […] More »
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Gender Block: Remembering Jewel Kats

Hillary Di Menna

Jewel Kats, author, disabilities advocate, and real life Archie Comics character, died this past weekend. I profiled her in This Magazine’s ‘30 Totally Awesome Social Justice All-Stars‘ issue last year. I remember that she would get tired throughout the interview process so we would take breaks, but when she came back it was always with […] More »
January-February 2016

The People do Good Stuff Issue: Ilana Labow

The urban farmer who grows the green movement through gardens and education

Emily Rivas@RivasEmily

WHEN ILANA LABOW was getting her hands dirty planting baby greens and carrots in a friend’s backyard in 2009, she never envisioned that it would lead her to start a non-profit organization. “It was accidental. I’m not going to lie,” says Labow, the 32-year-old co-founder and director of Fresh Roots. “It was a lot of […] More »
January-February 2016

The People do Good Stuff Issue: Jen Sungshine

The youth LGBTQ advocate who preaches love and celebrates diversity

by Larkin SchmiedlWebsite@LarkinSchmiedl

SPREADING LOVE AS AN ACTIVIST can be a tricky balance to achieve, especially for those who do in-depth social justice work in a world rife with pain. Addressing injustice through education is emotionally demanding work and can be disheartening. But co-founder of Love Intersections, Jen Sungshine, practices love with intention. Her work focuses on raising […] More »
January-February 2016

The People Do Good Stuff Issue

Available to buy on newsstands now!

This Magazine

HERE AT THIS MAGAZINE, we spend a lot of time focusing on what’s gone wrong in Canada. It’s our job as independent media to loudly speak out and brightly shine a light on issues too often left in the dark. And there is, after all, so much that’s worth criticizing: violent Islamophobia; an ever-deepening rape […] More »

Gender Block: Canadian universities and sexual violence

Why do universities have such a laid-back approach to sexual violence on campus? Plus, CBC's documentary School of Secrets

Hillary Di Menna

On Monday night, CBC’s The Fifth Estate streamed the episode School of Secrets (still online). The episode featured Mandi Gray of Toronto’s York University and Glynnis Kirchmeier of the University of British Columbia. Both women have filed human rights complaints against their schools for not responding to reports of sexual assault by alumni. Since her […] More »
November-December 2015

What kind of citizen?

Today’s test-focused, results-based education system discourages critical thinking and puts democracy at risk. Why it’s time to start teaching dissent

Joel WestheimerWebsite@joelwestheimer

If students from a totalitarian nation were secretly transported to a Canadian classroom to continue their lessons with new teachers and a new curriculum, would they be able to tell the difference? I do not ask this question facetiously. It seems plausible that a good lesson in multiplication, chemistry, or a foreign language might seem […] More »
November-December 2015

In their shoes

Nearly 20 years ago, Mary Gordon created a program to bring moms and babies into school classrooms. How empathy can create kinder kids, better adults, and a more equitable society

Blair MlotekWebsite@blairmlo

Mary Gordon believes in the power of empathy. It can, she says, stop patterns of abuse, draw the curtain on generational cruelty, and create kinder, better worlds—especially if we instill its importance at a young age. That’s why, in 1996, the former teacher, as well as creator of the first Toronto District School Board daycare […] More »