Winnipeg's Canadian Museum of Human Rights. A comparable residential-school institute is planned on University of Manitoba grounds. Courtesy of Canadian Museum of Human Rights The Canadian Museum For Human Rights (CMHR) is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Built...
Big Topics & Big Ideas
The RCMP has a long and honourable history, and has served Canadians well. RCMP top brass and regular officers have always insisted on doing their job in their own way. They have robustly specifically resisted all attempts by politicians to interfere in their clear...
It is time to reconsider the purpose of the AFN and how it selects its national chief Many Canadians were shocked to hear that RoseAnne Archibald, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), had been ousted in a vote of non-confidence. Careful...
Earlier this year, a group called Equity Matters asked the province to establish an education equity secretariat. They want this office to oversee equity officers working in Manitoba schools. Equity Matters wants to ensure that all Manitoba students are reflected in...
Frances Widdowson probably isn't someone most Canadians recognize. I'm here to tell you why they should. In terms of Canada's intellectual culture, Frances Widdowson matters because she is a classic and prolific academic. In a time when demagoguery easily flourishes,...
A conversation about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with Dr. Rodney Clifton, co-editor and author of the Frontier Centre's recent book, From Truth Comes Reconciliation. We have not written this book for people who think that this Report is too sacred for...
Canada has consistently failed to make progress that is commensurate with so many lofty pronouncements and expectations on the Indigenous file. By statistics alone, it is a national shame that most Indigenous Canadians on reservations live far below acceptable...
There is a concerted effort in Winnipeg to rename Bishop Grandin Boulevard. The Mayor is in support. The Bishop has been convicted of a crime he didn’t know existed when he was alive a century or so ago - thinking like a man of his time. But Grandin would be doubly...
Here is a link to a 1962 CBC documentary about life at a residential school. It shows healthy and happy indigenous schoolchildren going about their day. Nuns and teachers - some of whom are indigenous - are shown interacting with the children in a normal way. The...
The Senate or an election are the only things that could amend or end a badly worded and contentious bill that seeks to harmonize federal laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Bill C-15 has received third reading in...
The discovery of human remains at the site of a former residential school has set off a firestorm that has already resulted in demands for another national inquiry, and massively expensive forensic and excavation projects. But maybe we should take a pause, and ask...
Sometimes, self-determination for Indigenous communities can become problematic in meeting certain standards or policy goals, especially if it is done with a hands-off approach from the federal government. This can be the case when it comes to ensuring all First...
In December of last year, the Assembly of First Nations’ (AFN) national chief announced he would not be seeking re-election. Coming up on the next leadership race, it may be important to have a conversation about what the AFN wants to be and where it wants to go. Here...
Canada’s Indigenous policy has officially been one of “reconciliation” between Indigenous Canadians and non-Indigenous Canadians since the Liberals came to power in 2015. Too many Indigenous remain on the margins and billions have been spent to remove obstacles to...