Recently, an Indigenous acquaintance asked me if I had ever taken a course or training on understanding Indigenous worldviews or perspectives. He also asked if I had ever tried incorporating two-eyed seeing into my life and thought processes. My correspondent feels it...
When Parliament unanimously passed its motion declaring that residential schools were genocide, it was probably inevitable that municipal and provincial elected bodies would follow. City councillors in Brandon, Man. are currently debating the following motion: “The...
It is easy to separate the facts from the myths about “genocide” allegations at Indigenous residential schools. Just read the TRC report
Winnipeg City Council needs to know renaming streets will not advance Indigenous reconciliation and it will deny Winnipeggers a chance for a learning experience about the residential schools legacy. A final motion goes to city council on March 23. The motion aims to...
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
Facts that are inconvenient to the “woke” social justice narrative have to be explained away. The narrative is that we live in a class society in which whites, males, heterosexuals, Christians and Jews, and the rich all oppress people of color, females, LGBTQ++,...
The saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” should not be applied to First Nations bands. Those that have maintained the same tired model that has failed for decades are still failing. Ones that have adopted property rights, economic...
We have all seen this movie before. The theatrics now underway at city hall over the city’s ongoing budget “crisis” is just too predictable. Taxpayers have seen this movie so many times before that we know the plot. City bureaucrats float various dire scenarios,...
Maclean’s magazine once declared Winnipeg as “Canada’s most racist city.” Now it is Thunder Bay’s turn, a city in turmoil after a report slammed its overstretched police force (if not the entire city) for alleged “systemic racism” towards its Indigenous population....
I have been asked to describe Canada’s Indigenous child welfare problem. I am told that there are similarities between it and New Zealand’s Maori child welfare issues. I confess that I am largely ignorant of the New Zealand situation, but I have some experience with...
In a democracy, decisions are based on how the majority of people vote on a given issue. However, having a majority of people vote in a certain way does not equate with a correct decision being made, especially if the decision is made with little to no discussion....
The trial of a German tourist who was shot in the head while driving through the Stoney Nakoda Nation, west of Calgary is now taking place in an Alberta courtroom. A German tourist, Horst Stewin, and his wife and son were driving their black Durango SUV through the...
The federal government has signed “self-government” agreements with “Métis nations” of Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan. More agreements are in the works. Until Métis requests for “self-government”, the term has been used in relation to First Nations (reserves)....
Winnipeg is a great city. Brutal winters and buggy humid summers don’t dampen the enthusiasm Winnipeggers feel for the city and its vibrancy of a unique culture. Nonetheless, a long list of civic problems requires the mayor and councillors to concentrate on bread and...