1. Boat Harbour “The day-by-day countdown to the closing of Boat Harbour happens on a large painting erected in front of the Pictou Landing First Nation band council office, reports Joan Baxter: The painting depicts Boat Harbour as it was before it was dammed (and damned) in 1966, transformed from a healthy tidal estuary to […]
Photos of Trudeau in Blackface don’t surprise Black people; we live this racist reality
When the furor over Trudeau's Blackface photos dies down, to be referred to as an "embarrassing incident" or "controversial," Black people like Abdilahi Elmi will still be facing deportation. Muslim Canadians will still be on the no-fly list. White nationalist editorials will still be commissioned by major newspapers under the guise of "debate." And immigration will still be referred to as a "crisis."
The closest I’ve been to Justin Trudeau was in January, 2017, when I stood beside former Somali child refugee Abdoul Abdi’s sister Fatouma as she asked the Prime Minister if he would deport his own children. Fatouma was seven months pregnant, and was supposed to be on bed rest. When she heard Trudeau would be at […]
Watching deer while Black: Lynn Jones says she was racially profiled for looking at wildlife
Morning File, Tuesday, September 3, 2019
News 1. Yarmouth ferry “Monty Python was funnier,” writes Stephen Kimber: No. Check that. Monty Python is funny. Lloyd Hines? Not so much. Still, one can understand Tory MLA Tom Halman’s description of the latest twists, turns, twirls and top-this folly from the ongoing, never-ending Yarmouth-to-somewhere-in-Maine ferry fandango as “like a skit out of Monty […]
Can I have $15,000? Or maybe just $15 an hour?
Morning File, Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Hi, Erica Butler here filling in for Tim on this drizzly old Halifax day. News 1. On Treaty Day, Nova Scotia archbishop apologizes for Shubenacadie Residential School Monday was Treaty Day, and Nova Scotia’s catholic leaders marked it with an apology and request for forgiveness at a special mass in Halifax, reports Nic Meloney of […]
Reporting While White: When “objectivity” and “neutrality” are inherently biased perspectives
Reading the News While Black: Two recent news stories raise questions about Black representation in the media.
I have never claimed to write “objectively.” That doesn’t mean I write things I believe to be untrue or that are factually wrong, but I am always openly writing from the standpoint of a Black woman. White people, however, believe and are taught that their practices are in fact objective, and that they neutrally present […]
Bearing Witness and Paying Tribute: Morning File, Saturday, November 18
1. What it’s like when someone dies in custody. An original report from prisoners Background. November 22nd will be 10 years since the death of Howard Hyde in custody. Hyde was tasered by correctional officers during a mental health crisis. His death also marks the last time there was a public inquiry in the province into […]
Reparations raises the racism disconnect
"I wasn’t around when slavery existed and I’m not responsible for it, so why should I have to pay reparations? The past is past, things are better now, so let’s just move on…" It’s a comforting argument, but it pre-supposes we, as whites, haven’t benefited from centuries of slavery and racism, or that our black fellow citizens aren’t still suffering its after-effects. It also assumes the economic, educational, judicial, and social scales are now in perfect colour-blind balance. Neither notion is correct.
On Sept. 25, the United Nations Human Rights Council discussed a report on Canada by its Working Group of Experts on Peoples of African Descent. The report, which shone its white-hot light on our country’s sordid history of slavery and racism in virtually every sphere of life — from education to justice to the environment...
Beware of rats in Bedford: Morning File, Thursday, October 5, 2017
News 1. Transit Priority Lanes on Bayers Road and Gottingen Street “Consulting engineers WSP have proposed three options for Bayers Road, the most ambitious of which calls for road widening to allow for two new dedicated bus lanes running from Windsor Street to just past Romans Avenue,” writes Examiner transportation columnist Erica Butler: The most surprising […]
Ghostly memories of the Chronicle Herald: Morning File, Monday, April 24, 2017
News 1. Environmental Bill of Rights “Nova Scotia needs nothing short of an Environmental Bill of Rights if it wants to ensure its citizens can drink clean water, breathe clean air, and hold their governments accountable to make polluters pay,” reports Jennifer Henderson for the Examiner: That’s the position of a coalition of Nova Scotia environmental groups […]
Adding Fuel to the Blais: The Meeting on Police Checks
When I went to the community meeting at the North Branch Library about police street checks, I wasn’t expecting much. I assumed Chief Jean-Michel Blais would say he was listening to the community, he understood our concerns, that they were implementing a number of recommendations — the usual PR type responses. Instead, speaking in the heart […]