The Daily Ubuntu45 articles · page 1 of 4
"You're not from here": the weight of four words
A harmless-sounding question can draw a border. Even people born in Canada are often reminded that they supposedly come "from somewhere else."
ReadAfricville: uprooted at home
To belong is to be expected. You can be exiled without leaving your country, as the story of Africville reminds us.
ReadForty thousand promises kept, and a few still waiting
After the fall of Kabul in 2021, Canada promised to welcome 40,000 Afghans. The promise was kept, thanks to hundreds of communities, but worry for those left behind does not stop at the border.
ReadKomagata Maru: two months outside the harbour
In 1914, 376 passengers from India were kept for two months in Vancouver's harbour. In 2016, Canada apologized to them.
ReadOne permit, one boss, one fear
A UN rapporteur believes that permits tied to a single employer expose foreign workers to exploitation. Ottawa disagrees, but the debate remains open.
ReadSyrian refugees: a winter of welcome
In the winter of 2015-2016, Canada welcomed more than 25,000 Syrian refugees, several thousand of them in Quebec, with the help of thousands of sponsors.
ReadThe St. Louis: a ship no one was waiting for
In 1939, Canada refused to take in more than 900 Jewish refugees from the liner St. Louis. In 2018, Ottawa apologized to them.
ReadThe head tax: the price of a door
From 1885 to 1923, Chinese immigrants had to pay to enter Canada. In 2006, Ottawa offered a full apology.
ReadA tool too good to be honest
The RCMP used facial recognition software built on photos that the commissioners found had been collected illegally; even the police must know where their tools come from.
ReadThe machine does not refuse alone
Ottawa requires its departments to assess the risks of their algorithms before using them, and to keep a human in the loop when the answer is no.
ReadThree billion faces without permission
A company copied billions of faces online to sell them to police; four Canadian commissioners said no together.
ReadCared for by someone who understands
Black people in distress are less likely to see a mental health professional. Researchers and organizations are building care that begins with trust.
Read