Canadian Injustices Historical and Contemporary injustices that challenge the "inclusive" narrative of Canada

Canada is known as a country that is peace keeping – though we have and will fight in wars, environmentally conscious – though we use and damage the planet; and inclusive – though we have, and still have, members of our country and global community that have had to fight for their rights and for justice. What are some of these injustices that have and are occurring and what is being done about them. Why do they happen, or how were they allowed to happen, who makes the rules and who follows them,…?

Terms Contemporary: Injustice: Inclusive: Narrative: Reconcile: Reconciliation:

Contemporary: Something that is occurring in the present time (such as 2018, or today)

Injustice: something that has happened with a lack of fairness or justice.

Inclusive: All people can: freely express who they are, their own opinions and points of view. fully participate in all aspects of society, government and social activities. feel safe from abuse, harassment or unfair criticism.

Narrative: Our Story

Reconcile: To restore relationships

Reconciliation: The process of restoring broken relationships. This can take on many forms, and time a long time to do (generations of people).

Has Canada always been Inclusive? How did this event/issue/conflict start? What were the causes? Why was this allowed to happen at that time? Who was involved and why? What are the opposing views? How was Canada involved – socially?                                                 - economically?                                                 - politically? What changed to make this not acceptable anymore?  What has been done to try and reconcile the issue to date?

Chinese Head Tax http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-head-tax-in- canada/

Indian Act http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools/

Komagata Maru incident The SS Komagata Maru was a chartered ship featured in a dramatic challenge to Canada’s former practice of excluding immigrants from India. This challenge took place in the spring and summer of 1914, on the eve of the First World War. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/komagata-maru/

Japanese internment WW2 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/japanese- internment-banished-and-beyond-tears-feature/

Africville in Halifax The book of Negros http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/africville/ Africville was an African-Canadian village located just north of Halifax and founded in the mid-18th century. The City of Halifax demolished the once- prosperous seaside community in the 1960s in what many said was an act of racism. The mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality apologized for the action in 2010. For many people, Africville represents the oppression faced by Black Canadians, and the efforts to right historic wrongs.

St. Louis - ship of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazism declined entry to Canada 1939 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ms-st-louis/)

Women denied the right to vote until 1917 http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/suffrage/https:// youtu.be/SdbG6EIHrbs Women’s suffrage (or franchise) is the right of women to vote in political elections; campaigns for this right generally included demand for the right to run for public office.

The Glass Ceiling women being marginalized in the workforce/ making less than men for the same job http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-hit-glass- ceiling/ So a smattering of women have actually made it to the top of the heap, the corporate pinnacle, the apex of conventional business achievement. Canada now has women running 10 of the top 500 revenue-churning, publicly traded companies in the land. But the success stories are still pitifully few

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls RCMP’s lack of response to the issue http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/missing-and- murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-in-canada/ Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada (MMIWG, formerly MMIW) refers to a human rights crisis that has only recently become a topic of discussion within national media. Indigenous women and communities, women’s groups and international organizations have long called for action into the high and disproportionate rates of violence and the appalling numbers of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

Special needs students denied entry into mainstream classrooms until the 1980s http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/special-education/ Historically (1700s–1800s), handicapped people were excluded from general society and largely ignored. The Eugenics movement (early 20th century) influenced the field of intellectual disabilities, which was associated with high levels of institutionalization, and early history was much influenced by the use of required intelligence testing which resulted in the prevention of many students with disabilities from moving into the regular education system.