Speer: As Canada’s diversity increases, anti-racialism becomes essential

2024/11/25 Leave a comment

We are more than individuals and outcomes reflect a mixture of individual and group characteristics and experience, along with intersectionality within and between groups. Not one or the other, but need to consider both aspects as the various datasets indicated:

…As an epistemological framework, it represents a way of thinking that systematically organizes individuals into group categories based on race and then grants it explanatory power for virtually everything.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that every “pretendian” cited in Pete’s article is a progressive. As the principal purveyors of identity politics, progressives are distinctly predisposed to racialist thinking. They’re more inclined to think in terms of racial identity and attribute value to membership in certain racial groups.

It’s logical therefore that within progressive circles claiming a particular group identity has greater upside than among conservatives who are more instinctively anti-racialist. Does anyone for instance doubt that progressive figures like Turpel-Lanford or Boissonnault realized status gains from adopting fake Indigenous identities?

Which brings us back to Pete’s case against affirmative action and its perverse incentives. His argument is well taken—but one can argue that we actually need to go deeper. We should aim to address the racialist thinking that underpins those policies and the political culture that enables them. Herein lies Salam’s case for anti-racialism.

The good news is that he believes that in the U.S. context, anti-racialism may represent a powerful political proposition across a multi-ethnic coalition. Donald Trump’s election victory is evidence that he’s right.

There’s a strong case to think that the same is true in Canada—particularly in the coming years. As the country becomes more diverse, the distinction between majority and minority populations will necessarily become far weaker. Defining one’s identity in contradistinction to the so-called “white mainstream” will presumably have less resonance in a world in which “racialized” Canadians represent as much as half of the population as early as 2041. Racial salience may counterintuitively decline in a polity composed of a growing multiplicity of racial identities.

If so, we may look back at this era of identity politics and the “pretendians” that it has produced as a regrettable yet temporary waystation on the path to the meritocratic culture that Pete envisions.

Source: As Canada’s diversity increases, anti-racialism becomes essential

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The Great Regression: How do we reverse course in a societal death spiral?

2024/11/25 Leave a comment

New term for me but seems appropriate. Sound recommendations to improve self-awareness (“know thyself”):

…The Great Regression is a full-out threat to civility, peace, democracy and humanity – a social and public health emergency, or what some have called a social death spiral. And I’d like to offer this plea from the therapist’s chair: We’re so distracted by the left-right axis that we haven’t understood the deeper problem of regression, which is a truly dangerous aspect of polarization.

To be clear, I’m not calling for anyone to water down their cherished ideals or strong political beliefs. But I am asking that those swept up in the culture wars take time to consider these questions: Are you no longer able to be friends with people who hold differing views? Do you dehumanize your political opponents? Do you believe they wish you and your family harm? Do you wish them harm? And are you able to consider the other side in a political debate – even though you strongly disagree?

These are all signs, in my view, that you may be drifting downward on the Great Regression axis. It’s important to catch yourself before you descend to regrettable actions such as destroying relationships, or creating a toxic work environment.

Gaining self-awareness of our processes can be life-improving. It helps us mend fences with family members, develop deeper friendships and get along better with colleagues. At one time, our leaders and institutions – not just political, but in all facets of life – were role models of emotional regulation. In a regressed society, we see fewer healthy examples in public life. That’s why I believe individuals must begin to look at their own position on that up-down axis, painful as it might be. The ability to identify and resist regression in ourselves and others is a great power, and an opportunity to help heal our society’s emotional health.

Thomas Ungar is a professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and a staff psychiatrist at North York General Hospital.

Source: The Great Regression: How do we reverse course in a societal death spiral?

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Beech | The federal government is spending millions fighting a discrimination suit by Black employees. This is what it should do instead

2024/11/22 Leave a comment

Reminder that the public sector employment equity numbers for the past 6 years have shown Black Canadians having better hiring, promotion and separation outcomes than whites and most visible minority groups (Executive Diversity within the Public Service: An Accelerating Trend and How well is the government meeting its diversity targets? An intersectionality analysis):

…Knowledge of Canada’s legacy of racism against Black, Indigenous and other people of colour needs to become as mainstream as the multiculturalism that masks its existence.

Acknowledging anti-Black racism while simultaneously attempting to dismiss a class action lawsuit about anti-Black racism within the federal public service is an example of the paradox of progress that fuels the relentless cycle of performative politics. Working conditions in the federal public service are so hostile toward Black employees that it led to mental health challenges resulting in the use of antidepressants and suicide attempts.

More broadly, what are Black Canadians supposed to feel when a federal government seems so keen to avoid taking responsibility for bigotry in its own service? If we truly want to become the Canada we claim to be, and who Canadians believe themselves to be, we must live up to our stated ideals.

The federal government must stop fighting for a dismissal, and the Federal Court should greenlight the lawsuit and reckon with this country’s legacy of anti-Black racism. Only then can we build a future rooted in truth, transparency, equity and inclusion. Until then, Canada will remain a hostile homeland.

Source: Opinion | The federal government is spending millions fighting a discrimination suit by Black employees. This is what it should do instead

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Le Devoir editorial: Le racisme vu autrement

2024/11/22 Leave a comment

Of note:

En définitive, Haroun Bouazzi s’est disqualifié comme porte-étendard de la lutte contre le racisme au Québec. Ce serait cependant une grave erreur de nier l’existence des disparités de traitement et des iniquités qui minent les conditions du vivre-ensemble. Le profilage racial perdure au sein de la police malgré les condamnations et les plans d’action. Le gouvernement Legault s’entête à ne pas reconnaître l’existence du racisme systémique, en jouant sur les mots, alors que des commissions d’enquête, des jugements des tribunaux supérieurs, des rapports ou études produits par des organismes gouvernementaux nomment le problème et suggèrent des mesures pour l’endiguer. L’immigration a le dos large pour expliquer les nombreuses carences du filet de sécurité sociale et les carences dans les services publics, alors qu’il s’agit de phénomènes multifactoriels. La réconciliation avec les peuples autochtones avance à reculons…

Le repli communautariste sous-jacent à l’analyse d’Haroun Bouazzi ne forme pas une base acceptable pour un débat fécond. Il faut tout de même trouver un espace pour entendre la détresse et l’inquiétude des Québécois issus de la diversité ou des Premières Nations. Ils ont droit à la pleine égalité, à leur voix discordante aussi pour dénoncer les imperfections qu’il incombe de nommer, dans un débat public qui doit demeurer vigoureux et respectueux, de part et d’autre.

Source: Le Devoir editorial: Le racisme vu autrement

.. Ultimately, Haroun Bouazzi disqualified himself as the standard-bearer of the fight against racism in Quebec. However, it would be a serious mistake to deny the existence of the disparities in treatment and inequities that undermine the conditions of living together. Racial profiling persists within the police despite convictions and action plans. The Legault government insists on not recognizing the existence of systemic racism, playing on words, while commissions of inquiry, judgments of higher courts, reports or studies produced by government agencies name the problem and suggest measures to stem it. Immigration has a broad back to explain the many deficiencies in the social safety net and the deficiencies in public services, while these are multifactorial phenomena. Reconciliation with indigenous peoples is moving backwards…

The communitarian retreat underlying Haroun Bouazzi’s analysis does not form an acceptable basis for a fruitful debate. It is still necessary to find a space to hear the distress and concern of Quebecers from diversity or First Nations. They have the right to full equality, to their discordant voice also to denounce the imperfections that must be named, in a public debate that must remain vigorous and respectful, on both sides.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with , ,

John Ivison: It’s not ‘cancel culture’ to silence people who encourage terrorism

2024/11/21 Leave a comment

Poster child for when cancel culture warranted:

….Canada’s Online Harms Act, which is currently before Parliament, aims to hold the online platforms accountable for content that invites violence. It has many shortcomings: the parliamentary budget officer estimates the legislation could cost upward of $200 million over five years to establish the ranks of bureaucrats the government believes are necessary to police the online world. But at least it should make some of this content inaccessible.

But in the real world, it would not stop characters like Kathrada telling impressionable young Muslims that martyrs are “winners” who will be permitted to intercede on behalf of 70 of their relatives in the afterlife.

He is scheduled to deliver a lecture to the University of Victoria’s Muslim Students Association this Sunday and it is safe to say that he will not be arguing that diversity is our strength.

Should he be banned, or at least denounced by the university, or would doing so equate to the worst of the cancel culture that has dominated campuses in recent years?

Yes, he should. This is qualitatively different from the academic environment where there is only one righteous path — the equality of outcomes for “oppressed groups” — and where political diversity is a threat to social justice.

As John Stuart Mill asserted, individual freedom should only be infringed to prevent harm to others.

Kathrada’s history suggests his glorification of martyrdom could encourage those listening to emulate the acts of the martyr.

In a sermon last December, Kathrada prayed for the annihilation of “the plundering, transgressor Jew.” He has previously praised the October 7th terrorist attacks for humiliating Israel.

Hate speech, as defined by the Supreme Court, expresses detestation or vilification of an individual or group that goes beyond disdain or dislike. Incitement occurs when a person is actively encouraged to commit or threaten physical violence.

Section 319 of the Criminal Code bans both of those things.

However, Kathrada has a “stay out of jail” card in the form of an exemption included in the Criminal Code that says if the person bases his or her opinion on a religious subject or religious text, he cannot be prosecuted.

Jewish groups have called for new legislation that would outlaw the glorification of terror acts and symbols. But Kathrada’s exemption would likely still apply.

Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at B’nai Brith Canada, said Parliament should clarify the limitations on the religious exemption under the Criminal Code.

However, what is clear is that Kathrada’s “kafir society” is passive, if not paralyzed, in the face of the exploitation and abuse of its good will.

Source: John Ivison: It’s not ‘cancel culture’ to silence people who encourage terrorism

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Farber | Canada must confront its shameful history of harbouring Nazi war criminals

2024/11/20 Leave a comment

Agree:

…Yet, instead of setting the truth free, the government has offered a long line of opaque justifications for withholding the Deschênes documents. Most recently, federal government departments have claimed that releasing these documents could somehow embolden Russia in its war against Ukraine. Such feeble excuses underestimate the intelligence of Canadians and erode public trust in the transparency, accountability, and integrity of our government.

It’s time for Canada to stop concealing the truth and release the Deschênes documents, fully and unconditionally. If the documents embarrass our country, so be it. These documents hold stories of atrocities committed in Europe, lives lost and justice denied. But they also hold the potential for education and healing — a way forward to confront uncomfortable truths about our nation’s past.

Only by revealing the past can we begin the work of reconciliation, educating future generations and building a more just and principled nation. It’s an imperative that Canada can no longer ignore.

Source: Opinion | Canada must confront its shameful history of harbouring Nazi war criminals

Filed under Antisemitism, Holocaust, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win

2024/11/19 Leave a comment

More anecdotal than hard numbers but likely:

From a tiny office behind a Haitian grocery store on Springfield’s South Limestone Street, Margery Koveleski has spent years helping local Haitians overcome bureaucratic red tape to make their lives in the Ohio city a little bit easier.

But Koveleski – whose family is Haitian – has noticed a major change recently.

Haitians are now coming to her to figure out how to leave.

“Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” she told the Guardian recently. “People are leaving.”

Koveleski, leaders in Springfield’s Haitian community, and others have relayed reports of Haitians fleeing the city of 60,000 people in recent days for fear of being rounded up and deported after Donald Trump’s victory in the 5 November presidential election.

“The owner of one store is wondering if he should move back to New York or to Chicago – he says his business is way down,” Koveleski remarked.

Trump has repeatedly said he would end immigrants’ temporary protected status (TPS) – the provision through which many Haitians are legally allowed to live and work in the US – and deport Haitians from Springfield once in office.

For many, the threats are real.

A sheriff in Sidney, a town 40 miles (64km) north-west of Springfield that is home to several dozen Haitian immigrants, allegedly told local police in September to “get a hold of these people and arrest them”.

“Bring them – I’ll figure out if they’re legal,” he said, referencing Haitian immigrants in the area.

As Jacob Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance who runs a business that includes helping Haitians in Springfield to file tax returns, said: “People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation.

“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston. I know three families that have gone to Canada.”

Some are thought to have moved to nearby cities such as Dayton, where they believe they would be less visible to law enforcement. Others who had temporary asylum in Brazil are pondering going back to the South American country, community leaders say.

Springfield’s Haitian community has been in the spotlight since Trump falsely accused immigrants here of eating pets during a presidential debate in September. Since then, the city has seen false bomb threats and marches by neo-Nazi groups after having experienced a revival in recent years in large part because of Haitians who took jobs in local produce packaging and machining factories that many previously there found undesirable….

Source: Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win

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Chris Selley: The perils of ‘defining’ bigotry

2024/11/16 Leave a comment

A valid dissenting view. Although I find illustrative examples are helpful improving understanding and can be the basis for conversation:

…This is the world we live in. If Holocaust denial is illegal (or sort of), then, the thinking goes, why shouldn’t denying the Nakba or the disastrous effects of the residential school system be illegal (or sort of) as well? A reasonable person could give a reasonable answer to that question. But governments aren’t reasonable people.

As I say, I totally understand Jewish groups’ concern. Some of the definitions of anti-Palestinian racism out there certainly seem studiously, deliberately vague. Citing the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East includes as examples “erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians,” which is meaningless; and “justifying violence against Palestinians,” which could easily include defending Israel’s right to retaliate against Hamas atrocities.

But it should also be noted that Elghawaby welcomed the prospect of a definition, not any specific definition. I see little point in such “definitions” if they’re not going to be enshrined in law. But it would have made much more sense for Canada to craft its own definition of antisemitism instead of signing on to an international one that, in my view, does activate freedom-of-speech concerns. Free speech in Canada is far more protected than in many of our peer nations, and that’s a good thing.

It probably would have made far more sense still to leave all of this alone. Canadian law sets an appropriately high bar for prosecuting hate speech against any group. We don’t need the added confusion and division of “defining” every single form of bigotry.

Source: Chris Selley: The perils of ‘defining’ bigotry

Filed under Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Multiculturalism Tagged with

Black Class Action Secretariat apologizes after public disapproval of federal official

2024/11/16 Leave a comment

Always a risk for activists:

…Six months later, the group, and its president, Nicholas Marcus Thompson, have retracted their original statement and issued a new one, apologizing to Mohammed.

“The purpose of the press release was to highlight issues of systemic racism at the Canadian Human Rights Commission and ensuring that government appointments are consistent with addressing and combatting systemic racism,” the Oct. 15 release states. “Unfortunately, the Press Release could be fairly interpreted as being critical of Ms. Mohammed. For this, Black Class Action and Nicholas Thompson apologize unreservedly.”

The statement said that Mohammed “understands racism and is an advocate for racial equality and combatting systemic racism and discrimination. Her commitment to fighting anti-black or any other type of racism should not be questioned. She is also committed to upholding the highest values and ethics and she has upheld the public service’s ethics and values.”

At the time of the April press release, Mohammed declined to comment on the matter via her lawyer, Charles Daoust.

In June 2023, Mohammed filed a lawsuit against Thompson and the organization, claiming their statements were libellous and defamatory. The lawsuit said that BCAS’ statements contained “serious false allegations against her” and sought $50,000 in damages.

Daoust said the lawsuit has been settled “during confidential mediation to the satisfaction of all parties.”

“Ms. Mohammed, the plaintiff, will be discontinuing the action without costs,” he said in an email.

Noting that Mohammed is racialized, the claim said Mohammed didn’t have the opportunity to defend herself or respond to the allegations before they were published on the Black Class Action Secretariat’s website.

It also said the comments were published recklessly to “exact pressure, influence and gain leverage over the Government of Canada in the context of the Federal Court class action” and that the actions were “motivated by shameless and careless attention-seeking and greed and by jealousy.” The Black Class Action Secretariat’s lawsuit against the federal government was in Federal Court for more than two weeks for certification hearings that ended Thursday….

Source: Black Class Action Secretariat apologizes after public disapproval of federal official

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Ottawa asked to adopt ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ approach, alarming Jewish groups worried about pro-Israel speech

2024/11/15 Leave a comment

Better to concentrate on refining a working definition of Islamophobia or anti-Muslim hate than anti-Palestinian racism. Just as criticism of Israeli policies and actions is legitimate, so should criticism of the governing bodies in the West Bank and Gaza.

While there are a number of working definitions of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate, there is a need for a more widely adopted definition, comparable to IHRA. A challenge, of course, is that there is no comparable international group to develop such a working definition:

Jewish-Canadian groups are voicing concerns after special anti-Islamophobia representative Amira Elghawaby met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week to urge him to adopt a federal definition of “anti-Palestinian racism.”

Critics warn that embracing the concept could end up targeting Jewish Canadians by conflating pro-Israel speech with racism, while insulating pro-Palestinian interpretations of history from criticism.

“While we stand firmly behind protections against discrimination for all communities, including Palestinians, (anti-Palestinian racism) crosses a line by targeting expressions of Jewish identity linked to Israel,” said Richard Marceau, the vice president of external affairs at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, in a statement to the National Post.

“Holding differing opinions is not a breach of human rights,” continued Marceau.

Elghawaby said in a press release that she met with the prime minister to “highlight how Islamophobia, and its intersections with anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, continues to harm our social fabric, undermines pluralism and poses a direct threat to our democracy.”

She said in the statement that she welcomed Trudeau’s “commitment on adopting a definition of (anti-Palestinian racism) to describe the bias and discrimination far too many Canadian Palestinians are experiencing.”

The Prime Minister’s Office didn’t respond when asked by National Post whether Trudeau plans to follow Elghawaby’s suggestion.

A definition of anti-Palestinian racism put forward by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association in a spring 2022 report calls it “a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives.”

“Racism is an appropriate construct for describing the experiences of Palestinians,” reads the report. “Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is… at its essence(,) predicated on the superiority and dominance of one group of people over another.”

The definition directly mentions “denying the Nakba,” a term used to characterize the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War as an act of ethnic cleansing. It also includes “failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity.”…

Source: Ottawa asked to adopt ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ approach, alarming Jewish groups worried about pro-Israel speech

Filed under Islamophobia, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

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