The federal government’s recent $23 billion CAD settlement with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and plaintiffs in the Moushoom and Trout class actions for First Nations children harmed by Canada’s discriminatory child welfare system marks an important step in acknowledging the deep injustices and violence against Indigenous communities. The[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
Facing American tariffs, corporate tax cuts threaten Canadians
To many, American tariffs represent an undeniable threat to the Canadian economy. However, Canadian CEOs and lobbyists have come to see the new trade policy as an opportunity. Under the guise of promoting growth in an economy falling ever further behind its wealthy peers, companies are advocating for tax breaks[Read More…]
Quebec’s potential ban on public prayer epitomizes the hypocrisies of selective secularism
With the announcement of a new committee on secularism, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government is poised to tighten restrictions on religious expression, especially through the expansion of Bill 21—a 2019 law barring public employees from wearing religious symbols—and a potential ban on public prayer. The CAQ committee will assess[Read More…]
My thoughts on femininity as a so-called 900-pound grizzly bear
For years, boys at school called me “Boog.” When I asked what they meant, they said that it was a character from the movie Open Season: “A nine hundred-pound bear,” they would say. So, naturally, I thought I was fat. I developed an intense anxiety about eating in front of[Read More…]
Censorship of genocide is inherently anti-education
Quebec Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry has recently come under fire for her interference in course content at Dawson College, where she demanded that a French language course about Palestinian literature avoid sensitive topics. Shortly after, Déry made a similar intervention in a Palestinian literature course at Vanier College.[Read More…]
Quebec’s budget cuts to sexual violence survey put students at risk
Quebec recently cancelled a survey investigating sexual violence on CEGEP and higher education campuses. This cancellation sets a damaging precedent for future policies on sexual violence and student protection, as well as for the salience of institutional accountability, creating a less regulated and more dangerous campus environment. Without data evidencing[Read More…]
Canada must look to its own history—not the United States’—when forming solutions to the fentanyl crisis
First distributed in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin. As one of the world’s most frequently used opioid analgesics, fentanyl’s high potency poses a severe risk of overdose, particularly when consumed unknowingly through dealer lacing. With a mere[Read More…]
As non-profit Autism Speaks closes operations in Canada, the federal government must learn from their missteps
When the federal government unveiled its new Framework for Autism in Canada strategy last year—following years of activism demanding a plan to address disparities—the reaction from families impacted by autism was strongly critical. Opponents argued that the new autism strategy lacked two essential ingredients: Dedicated funding and firm deadlines. This[Read More…]
Privatization derails transportation accessibility
Montreal’s public transit system is at its breaking point. Ongoing weather and power disruptions to the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light-rail network, budgetary challenges within the Societé de Transport de Montréal (STM), and most recently, the looming threat of privatization of essential transit services have left users and workers frustrated.[Read More…]
President Deep Saini owes McGill students more than his own partisan renditions
McGill President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini’s recent messaging surrounding the on-campus pro-Palestine protests against investments and ties to Israel have repeatedly characterized those involved as violent and vandalizing, leaving little mention of the intent behind their actions. His language does not merely criticize the breaking of windows—to me, it paints[Read More…]
