On Feb. 7, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond returned her honorary degree from Royal Roads University. This is the second honorary degree she has returned—one of 11 she received, including from McGill—after an investigation late last year by the CBC called her claims of Indigenous identity into question. The Canadian lawyer and[Read More…]
Tag: racism
MISC panel tackles anti-Black racism in academia and beyond
Content Warning: Mention of racist violence The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) brought three McGill academics together for the “Anti-Black Racism in Canada and Beyond” panel at Centre Mont-Royal on the evening of Feb. 2. The event delved into entrenched systems of power and oppression that limit[Read More…]
Stricter bail is a far cry from justice
On Jan. 13, all of Canada’s premiers signed a letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging him to take immediate action in enforcing stricter bail measures. Such reform would place the onus on the accused to qualify for bail, increase the number of people held in jail without trial,[Read More…]
First, eliminate random traffic stops. Then, abolish the police.
The federal government has until Nov. 25 to appeal a Quebec Superior Court ruling that ended random traffic stops in Quebec—which the court argued is an iteration of racial profiling that disproportionately affects Black people. The case was brought to the court by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a 22-year-old Black resident from[Read More…]
I’m so tired of being a person of colour
It’s a thought that fills me with unparalleled shame. As soon as it forms, I want to bury it. But as I sit with my friends, at home, at work, I feel the burden of existing as a radical act, as political praxis: The thought creeps back in. How do[Read More…]
How the NHL failed Nazem Kadri
With the Stanley Cup Finals kicking off late last week, the hockey world is already beginning to reflect on the narratives of the playoffs: Another first-round Leafs exit, a historic Connor McDavid performance, the brick wall of Jake Oettinger, and stand-out defence from Cale Makar. As fun as these narratives[Read More…]
Two years after the administration falsely reported her deceased to her family, Fanta Ly speaks about systemic racism at McGill
On July 30, 2020, the sister of Fanta Ly received a call from McGill falsely reporting that Fanta had passed away. In the two years since, there has been little explanation from the administration regarding how this mistake occurred. A Student Affairs case manager had mistakenly called Ly’s sister instead[Read More…]
SSMU executives set a low bar for next year
In the latest scandal in a long line of occurrences that have kept elected student officials from fulfilling their duties, an anonymous Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) director spoke out about blatant racism within SSMU. More concerned with drama and airing out personal grievances, the 2021-2022 SSMU executive team[Read More…]
On justice and mathematics
There is a passage in Plato’s //Meno// that goes something like this: The well-born Meno asks for proof of Socrates’ claim that no one is ever taught anything, and instead they recollect things they already know. Socrates calls over one of Meno’s enslaved attendants and asks the boy, who has[Read More…]
‘When Injustice is Fully Bilingual’: Emilie Nicolas’ Mallory Lecture discusses linguistic barriers to anti-racism work in Quebec
Emilie Nicolas, a columnist for Le Devoir and the Montreal Gazette, took to the virtual stage on Feb. 15 for this year’s Mallory Lecture, speaking about language barriers to anti-racism work. The McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) hosted the talk. Nicolas introduced her lecture by describing a[Read More…]
