social issues

Comment January 22, 2016

Systemic racism, dispossession still with us

In a recent CBC interview, Howard Sapers, the Correctional Investigator of Canada, outlined some of the most recent statistics on prison populations and incarceration rates in Canada. They show dramatic increases in the number of Aboriginal people incarcerated in Canada, which can only be described as proof of the systemic racism inherent in our country’s judicial system.

25 per cent of the incarcerated population in federal correctional facilities are of Aboriginal ancestry. In the Prairie provinces, this rises to 48 per cent. When looking at Aboriginal women independently, over 36 per cent of women in Canadian prisons are of Aboriginal ancestry.

These numbers are staggering, but even more so when compared to the statistics from previous years. To put this into perspective, Aboriginal people made up 4.3 per cent of Canada’s population in 2011 (the year of the last census).

Comment January 19, 2016

Louis 16 and Paris ’15

Jan. 21 marks the anniversary of one of the most important days in human history. The liberty that we enjoy on a daily basis made its transition from an idea to a reality on this day 223 years ago. It was the culmination of political, philosophical, physical, and mental turmoil resulting in an act by men and women who believed in the foundation of democracy. On Jan. 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was executed by guillotine. His head rolled no differently than the ones before it.

As we embark upon another year we can remember 2015 by celebrating our accomplishments, mourning our losses, and learning from our mistakes. To do so is intrinsic to our nature and integral to forming our motivations for the year to come. I thought it only fitting that my first piece written for the Manitoban be one of reflection. There are many events that have defined 2015, but for me there were no events more divisive or permanent than the terrorist attacks in France.

Comment January 15, 2016

The systemic issues behind Drumpf’s following

By now Donald Trump has made himself well-known for his rampantly racist and controversial political platform and the questionable comments he has made on his path towards seeking a presidential nomination. Notable examples include his plan to build a wall along the Mexico-United States border to keep Mexicans from entering the U.S. illegally, his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., and his plan to end gun-free zones at schools, amongst others.

Although the idea of these policies actually being implanted likely seems laughable to the majority of Canadians, within the U.S. there is sizable minority of voters who openly and strongly support them and who would like to see Trump become the next US president.

Comment January 5, 2016

More on the STEM gender gap

In early November, I wrote an editorial about the gender gap in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. The article was met with polarizing opinions concerning what I had written: some people really agreed with me and some people did not.

I think the only thing I really regret about that editorial is the last statement I made, which comes off as flippant and shouldn’t have been included. However, I do not back away from my initial statement about gender-focused initiatives.

Comment December 1, 2015

The lack of meaning in Christmas

What do yoga and Christmas have in common? Both are ancient, both are deeply spiritual, and both have been swallowed by the gaping wound that exists in place of our collective soul. Our consumer culture has rendered the most beautiful fruits of human endeavour, living spiritual traditions, into experiences engaged in for personal pleasure.

Things that were the epitome of the sacred – the mastery of the body by the soul, the celebration of the mercy of the divine – are profaned, and not innocently so. To innocently profane yoga would be to do it unmindfully. To innocently profane Christmas would be to ignore it. But instead, both these have been defiled by consumerism: emptied of their original meanings, they have been re-filled with the most disgusting aspect of our culture.

News November 24, 2015

Province sets sights on campus safety

In a marquee promise emerging out of last week’s speech from the throne, Manitoba’s provincial NDP government pledged legislation aimed at increasing campus safety. The…