With no motions and only four attendees, Mar. 31 general assembly concludes in under 20 minutes and sparks renewed concern about engagement in student politics
On Monday, Mar. 31, the McMaster Students Union held its annual General Assembly, with no student participation. Adam El-Kadi, the MSU's vice president (administration) and chair of the meeting, opened the event at 5:03 p.m. and adjourned it just 18 minutes later at 5:21 p.m. Only four MSU members were present, far short of the approximately 780 students required to meet a quorum.
With no submitted motions and no observers in attendance, the meeting consisted only of a land acknowledgement, a brief procedural explanation and a presentation by MSU president Jovan Popovic. The official minutes confirmed the assembly was non-quorate, meaning any motions passed would be non-binding.
The General Assembly is one of the few democratic avenues through which any MSU member, meaning all full-time undergraduate students, can propose motions directly to the union. In contrast, most MSU policy decisions go through the Student Representative Assembly, which meets biweekly and involves elected faculty representatives.
A motion to adopt the agenda passed with four votes in favour and none opposed. Popovic then delivered his presidential report before the meeting concluded at 5:21 p.m.
In the weeks leading up to the event, the MSU made a post informing students to attend and submit motions, calling the GA a chance to shape the union's operations and advocate for change. Despite this, not a single motion was proposed by students.
Low attendance and engagement with student politics has been a consistent challenge in recent years for the MSU. But this year's lack of turnout has drawn particular concern from student leaders. In an email statement, Jovan Popovic, the MSU president, expressed concern about the lack of students who directly participate in shaping the direction of the organization's future.
Low attendance and engagement with student politics has been a consistent challenge in recent years for the MSU. But this year's lack of turnout has drawn particular concern from student leaders.
"Despite considerable outreach efforts, which included social media, banners, printed materials and features in our monthly newsletter, we saw a disappointing turnout of only four students. This outcome is deeply concerning, especially when we consider the reach of our communication channels. For instance, our March newsletter alone was read by over 10,000 students. If just 10% of those readers had attended, we would have far surpassed quorum," stated Popovic.
Popovic emphasized the union's commitment to improving future engagement, including starting promotion earlier in the academic year and collaborating with student leaders across campus.
"Our goal is to empower students to understand how their involvement in the GA can drive real, meaningful change on campus and ensure that the MSU truly represents the diverse voices of our student body," he stated.
Our goal is to empower students to understand how their involvement in the GA can drive real, meaningful change on campus and ensure that the MSU truly represents the diverse voices of our student body.
Jovan Popovic
President, McMaster Students Union
Although this year's meeting was largely procedural, the MSU maintains that the GA remains a vital part of its democratic structure. Moving forward, the union hopes new strategies and broader student outreach will reverse the downward trend in turnout.
For now, the empty seats at this year's GA serve as a reminder of the gap between available student governance platforms and student participation in them.
Fourth-year McMaster student campaigning to be Member of Provincial Parliament for nearby riding in upcoming provincial by-election
Joshua Bell, a fourth-year political science student at McMaster University, is running to be the next member of provincial parliament for Flamborough-Glanbrook in the upcoming provincial by-election on Feb. 27, 2025. Bell, the Ontario Liberal Party candidate for the riding just outside of Hamilton, is campaigning on issues of healthcare, education and affordability, running against incumbent PC MPP Donna Skelly.
Bell, who has lived in the area his entire life, said his decision to run stemmed from long-standing community involvement and concerns over public service funding cuts.
“We have teachers and schools that are not being looked after and we have funding being cut left and right from our social and public services . . . We need schools to be adequately funded. Heating should be working during the winter and ACs during the summer and in some of our schools that’s not the case,” said Bell.
We need schools to be adequately funded. Heating should be working during the winter and ACs during the summer and in some of our schools that’s not the case.
Joshua Bell, Fourth-Year Political Science Student
McMaster University
He also emphasized addressing challenges with the healthcare system, including emergency room closures and staffing shortages, as key issues his campaign is focused on.
Bell has been involved in mental health and wellness advocacy and supported the implementation of Canada’s national 988 suicide crisis helpline, which was launched in November 2023. He believes there is a lack of adequate healthcare services in the province.
“ERs should not be closing or having to reduce their hours in order to just deliver care because the number of nurses is so short . . . Our healthcare system isn’t keeping pace with the needs of the province, especially for our aging population,” said Bell.
ERs should not be closing or having to reduce their hours in order to just deliver care because the number of nurses is so short . . . Our healthcare system isn’t keeping pace with the needs of the province, especially for our aging population.
Joshua Bell, Fourth-Year Political Science Student
McMaster University
Bell said that, as a McMaster student, he has engaged with student leaders and organizations but has primarily focused his efforts on broader community initiatives.
“I did meet in an official capacity with MSU presidents and VPs over the last number of years . . . I had met with all three candidates in the recent MSU presidential election and had discussions about health and wellness, the economy and housing,” said Bell.
Bell outlined his support for reinstating policies aimed at providing greater financial support for students, including delaying Ontario Student Assistance Program repayments until graduates earn a minimum of $50,000 annually.
Bell acknowledged that his candidacy as a student is unusual but said it should not deter voter engagement.
“I’ve always been active in some kind of volunteer role within our community . . . If you really care about something and really want change, you’re willing to make the time, meet with the people in your community that are being directly affected and work toward solutions,” said Bell.
Bell emphasized that he believes that it is important for students to vote in elections.
“Student engagement is really important, just like our middle-aged and senior populations . . . It’s important to come out and have your voices heard, talk to your candidates, talk to your MPPs and MPs,” said Bell.
With his graduation approaching, Bell said his primary focus remains on the campaign and serving his community.
“My focus has been and will continue to be on my community,” he said.
Advanced polling will run until Feb. 22, with the election set for Feb. 27. More information on voter registration and polling locations will be available through Elections Ontario.
It is important to recognize the politics of books because the art cannot be separated from the artist when it comes to literature
As with many other bookworms, I read to escape my own stressful reality by stepping into the world of someone else. People who read for fun have inspired imaginations and creative thinking skills. Plus, readers tend to have more positive outlooks on life compared to non-readers.
But, reading is much more than simply a form of entertainment. Reading is a great way to gain knowledge about the real world, making it a political act because politics are the intricate relationships between people within society, usually regarding people who have and don't have power.
Historically, reading has been linked to upward social mobility, freedom, and radical change. Reading and education coexist because the organization of political movements cannot happen unless people are educated on the issue.
Historically, reading has been linked to upward social mobility, freedom, and radical change. Reading and education coexist because the organization of political movements cannot happen unless people are educated on the issue. Many independent bookstores and libraries put out reading lists to support movements and to educate their consumers. For example, the Hamilton Public Library has a reading list for Black Lives Matter.
Reading and education are so powerful that many attempts have been made throughout time to censor or ban books. Book bans have been sweeping across the United States, but the removal of books is also happening in our own neighbourhoods in Canada. In September of 2023, the Peel District School Board (PDSB) was accused of weeding out 50 per cent of its library books simply because they were published pre-2008.
PDSB defended its actions by claiming that weeding out old books promoted inclusivity and diversity. However, by following the sole criteria of publishing date, the school board was erasing important history. The loss of certain books sparked anger because many of them were used to educate students on real-world events that should not be forgotten.
Reading influences the outcome of politics, but the creation of books is also influenced by politics. A book cannot be separated from an author just as politics cannot be separated from everyday life. Authors write what they know, embedding little parts of themselves and their beliefs throughout their work. Books reflect reality, both good and bad, and expose readers to a vast range of human experiences and world views.
Although reading can serve as a positive political tool to educate the masses, there are times when books do more harm than good. Unfortunately, readers can sometimes also be exposed to extremely problematic and offensive literature. Where books are hypothetical and imaginative for some, they are triggering for others when they mishandle or glorify topics such as homophobia, racism, sexual assault, and more.
I spend a lot of time in the online book communities of BookTok, Bookstagram, and BookTube where I often encounter the rhetoric of "keep politics out of books." But, for the reasons explained above, it is virtually impossible to remove the politics from books. As a content creator in these spaces who openly criticizes harmful authors, I get frustrated when I'm told I'm "making a big deal out of nothing" because "it's just fiction."
Many comments made along these lines have been in relation to my attempts at exposing authors who romanticize and erase the violent nature of sexual assault. For survivors, these books are never "just fictional" because reading them can easily trigger past or ongoing trauma. In addition, it can teach young readers that certain acts of violence are okay and prevent them from speaking up if they become a victim.
The art cannot be separated from the artist. When not held accountable for their actions, authors continue to profit from their harmful remarks and glorification of violence. For example, J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has never apologized for her transphobic, homophobic, and racist behaviour, yet she remains a multi-millionaire.
To ignore the ways reading and writing are political acts is to remain in a state of ignorance. Being university students we are taught to use our critical thinking skills and we can extend this ability to reading. Yes, it is a fun hobby, but as readers, we are always in communication with society. We decipher what is true and what is not based on what we know about the political world.
By: Donna Nadeem
The Disability Justice Network of Ontario is a Hamilton-based organization launched in September by McMaster alumni Sarah Jama and Eminet Dagnachew and McMaster student Shanthiya Baheerathan.
The co-founders initially got together because of their aligning interests. For instance, Jama was working with the McMaster Students Union Diversity Services as an access coordinator, trying to push the university to create a service for people with disabilities.
“I always think that there is more that could be done, that the institution doesn’t do a good job of supporting people with disabilities in terms of responding to professors who don’t want to accommodate. There is still a lot from what I’m seeing as a person who has graduated,” said Jama.
Last year, the co-founders received an Ontario Trillium grant over 36 months to create and run the organization. The basis of DJNO is to pose questions to the community of people with disabilities to see what it is they want to work on and how DJNO can use their resources to support the community it serves.
One of DJNO’s larger goals is to politically activate and mobilize people with disabilities who consistently get left out of conversations that affect their lives.
“Our goal is to politically activate and mobilize people with disabilities across the city and the province over time and to be able to hold the institutions and places and people accountable for the spaces that they create,” said Jama.
The research committee for DJNO has recently been working on data collection for a study on issues for racialized people with disabilities.
According to Jama, there is a lack of data collection on this subject.
The DJNO also has a youth advisory council that teaches people with disabilities how to politically organize.
In just a few months of being in operation, the DJNO has hosted several events, such as a community conversation event about the Hamilton light rail transit project, a film screening and panel discussion about Justice For Soli, a movement seeking justice for the death of Soleiman Faqiri, who was killed in prison after being beaten by guards.
The film screening and panel discussion was organized alongside McMaster Muslims For Peace and Justice and the McMaster Womanists.
On March 26, the DJNO will be hosting an event called “Race and Disability: Beyond a One Dimensional Framework” in Celebration Hall at McMaster.
This discussion, being organized in collaboration with the MSU Maccess and the MSU Women and Gender Equity Network, will tackle “the intersections of race/racialization, disability, and gender for all McMaster Community Members.”
Next week, the DJNO will also be organizing a rally with Justice for Soli in order to speak out against violence against people with disabilities.
“The Justice for Soli team has been tirelessly advocating for justice, accountability, sounding the alarm of deeply systemic issues in the prison system, namely the violence that it inflicts on racialized peoples, and people with disabilities,” reads part of the event page.
For McMaster students interested in getting involved with the organization, DJNO has some open committees and is looking for individuals to help identify major community issues.
The campaign committee meets at the Hamilton Public Library monthly. Students can email info@djno.ca for more information.
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By: William Li
On Feb. 11, Uighur activist Rukiye Turdush’s presentation at McMaster University about China’s mass internment of Muslims was disrupted by student protestors.
Controversially, these students had rallied not only to protest the event, but to coordinate with the Chinese Embassy.
The Washington Post reports that this coordination went beyond ordinary consular services: in addition to sending photos, the students say they were requested to search the talk for any university officials or Chinese nationals.
This is alarming, as it represents an attempt to harass and intimidate Turdush into silence. It is also disturbing because the Chinese government has no business collecting information about political events on campus.
It is important to remember that the Chinese Communist Party currently runs an authoritarian government with absolute control of China, including its foreign embassies. The regime also has a long history of violently crushing dissent.
Most notably, at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, thousands of students were massacred with tanks and machine guns. Lawyers, activists and even Nobel laureates are regularly imprisoned for criticizing the Communist Party. Today, China also uses internet censorship and a social credit system to neuter any challenge to Party rule.
The incident with Turdush shows that similar political repression is not something distant and foreign; it is something that happened on campus and continues to happen.
One of the most overlooked victims here are the Chinese international students. This is especially true if photos are being sent to the Chinese Embassy. This essentially creates a system of fear in which students surveil each other, reporting to officials any deviance from the Communist Party line.
For international students seeking a liberal education in Canada, where our academic freedom would let them develop skills in independent-thinking that may be frowned upon in China, these hopes are dashed.
Instead, they are kept on a tight leash. Any deviance from Party-approved behaviour risks a report to the embassy, and resulting repercussions back home such as endangering family members or losing job and business opportunities.
Despite being on Canadian soil, these students will never get to fully experience basic freedoms that Canadian citizens take for granted. If Chinese students cannot speak freely, or even attend a political event, without risking state punishment, then this prevents any real discussion about Turdush’s presentation or any issues affecting them.
Even worse, this kind of political repression is being advanced by McMaster Students Union-ratified clubs.
In a statement written in Chinese, the McMaster Chinese Students and Scholar Association, McMaster Chinese News Network and McMaster Chinese Professional Society condemned Turdush and confirmed they contacted the Chinese Consulate in Toronto.
The McMaster English Language Development Student Association, an affiliate of the faculty of humanities, and the McMaster Chinese Graduate Students Club also signed the statement.
This statement was not directed at Turdush, nor any non-Chinese students. Rather, for the international students who can read Chinese, the thinly-veiled threat was crystal clear: promote the Communist Party line on political issues, or you will be reported to the Chinese consulate.
This is deplorable. MSU-ratified clubs and affiliates of the university should not be surveilling McMaster students and reporting their activities to foreign governments.
They should not propagate an environment where fear of surveillance prevents students from speaking out. They should not masquerade as safe spaces for international students if they have a hidden agenda to allow authoritarian regimes a backdoor to covertly monitor their citizens abroad.
There is also evidence that this problem is not unique to McMaster. The Chinese government has actively tried to influence academic institutions in several liberal democracies, particularly with its Confucius Institutes.
The MSU needs to investigate if these clubs have violated the Clubs Operating Policy by reporting political activity on campus to the Chinese government, through negatively affecting students’ ability to conduct their lawful affairs (5.1.1.1), interfering with other clubs’ activities (5.1.1.2) or failing to fully disclose connections to bodies outside of the MSU (4.2).
Declining to take action would betray anybody who feels surveilled, muffled or repressed by the Chinese government, and tarnish the MSU’s reputation as a safe and inclusive union that puts students’ interests first.
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By: Maryanne Oketch
One of the reasons I chose to enrol at McMaster University was for the diversity that the school claimed to offer. Coming from a predominantly white secondary school, I was excited to attend a new school. I was hopeful that I would make connections within my program and maybe gain a support system consisting of people that could relate to the experience of being Black in academia.
When I entered the integrated science program in 2016, I was disheartened to realize that in my year of entry, I was the only student in my program that was Black, alongside two other individuals with mixed backgrounds. Within the week, this dropped to two, as one person switched out. Within the month, it then became clear that the two of us were not just the only Black students in our year, but in the whole four-year program.
This lack of Black peers created a feeling that I had to be the best of the best, and when I couldn’t reach that goal, I would withdraw rather than reaching out. This caused damage to my grades, reputation and relationships with my peers.
It is a well-known fact that there is a disparity between the Black population and our representation in higher education. This gap can be seen more in supplementary-based programs that McMaster offers, and my experience unfortunately is not an isolated one.
Multiple students from different programs stated that the lack of Black students in their programs made them feel like there were few people who could relate to the struggles that come with being Black.
There was also another complexity that I did not consider — the fact that there are more Black women in academia than Black men. One health sciences student, upon realizing that they were the only Black man in their whole year, experienced feelings of isolation.
In addition, a justice, political philosophy and law student was the only Black man in their program, and though he is friends with Black women, he notes that it is not fully the same.
Regrettably, the issues that stem from the lack of diversity do not just have interpersonal effects, but also affect the learning experience. A student in the arts and science program said that there were times when a professor or student would ask a question that pertained to race, and the question would seem pointed at them, the only Black student in their year.
This student can also recall a moment when a professor made a comment about how some students may be used to hearing racist jokes, and then locked eyes with them, creating an uncomfortable situation.
Another former arts and science student had a class where a classmate attempted to defend slavery, and a professor who taught a class about oppression but refused to use the term “racism”. The student states that they never felt challenged by the program, and felt that they had to do the challenging rather than their instructors. This was due, they say, to the structure and instruction of the program being catered to their affluent white peers and not to them.
The catering of programs does not seem limited to just arts and science but can also be seen in McMaster Engineering Society programs. A student within the program switched out after one semester due to the lack of actual inquiry in the program, but a focus on the marks received.
When a peer in their program stated that "the disadvantaged [in Hamilton] aren't doing enough for the more privileged to help them," the professor did not immediately shut down this false and insensitive statement, but instead was complacent. In addition, the structure of the program encouraged students to repeat the same statistics because that is what is needed for a good grade, and not because the students wished to learn more about societal issues.
If multiple Black students in different years and different programs are saying the same thing, there needs to be some sort of change to support these students when they are in the program. I am not suggesting these programs change their selection process, because this lack of diversity is a systemic issue, and I do not have the knowledge to provide suitable solutions to help mitigate the effects.
Regardless, if McMaster strives for diversity and does not have the necessary structure to support the diverse students that they already have, then their efforts are just a baseless claim to obtain more money from a diverse group of students.
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I fell in love with hip hop around 2013 when I listened to my first rap album, Drake’s Nothing Was the Same. To me, hip hop is an art of storytelling, rooted in struggle and triumph. It has its haters and it is not perfect, but it has also saved and changed countless lives.
In the tradition of the 1970s New York City DJs and MCs that founded the genre, the guardians of modern hip hop are innovative, creative and heartfelt. Anyone can pick up the mic and tell their stories. As fans, we just need to turn up the volume on game-changing artists.
Buddah Abusah is a Hamilton-born and raised creator spreading a message of peace and love. He began writing at the age of 11 and rapping seriously at the age of 16. Haviah Mighty is a Toronto-born, Brampton-raised musician who is also a member of the rap group The Sorority. She began rapping at the age of 12, combining her seven years of singing lessons with her newfound interest in hip hop.
I spoke separately to these two local rappers about their thoughts on hip hop. Both artists spoke about the importance of the genre not only because of the music, but because of the culture.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7s8IlnRTJ/
Buddah Abusah: My inner city message is letting all artists know that no matter where you're from, [as] long as you put your mind to it, you can be successful in your way. [I want to] show people [that if you] put your mind to it and indulge yourself properly, you can get yourself to that gold, platinum status [that] Canadians are doing more often now. Also… the message I want to give out is that all my music is to peace, love and equality. No matter what goes down, just treat it with peace and love because at the end of the day that's what everybody needs.
Haviah Mighty: I definitely like to pull from the rawest, truest points of my life to try to create the most effective message possible, which is usually the things that are most important to me. The narrative will always change based on the shifting of the energies around us and things that are happening. But I would definitely say… just being a Black female, I am political in nature. The hair that I have, the skin tone that I have, the gender that I am and what I chose to do for a career are to some people very oxymoronic. I think naturally just my look and my delivery and my vibe is a little bit of an empowering, stepping out of your element, believing in your true self kind of message before even opening my mouth. I don't think that's something I can really escape or run from and I'm actually very happy to naturally represents that. I feel that people around me resonate with that.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt8_KYXAXM5/
BA: Best part is the growth. For me I love seeing individuals or an individual put their mind to something and watch it come into fruition. Right now I'm doing that with a couple people/groups. I've worked with some of them in the past and just watching them help the culture of [Hamilton] is the best part because I know this city will get there. Like everybody knows the city is growing. And it'll be interesting seeing Hamilton have their own culture and their own sound like how Toronto has their own sound. Hamilton is far enough where we see Toronto and we want to be like the [greater Toronto area] and be included like the GTA, but we still want our own.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BorVUiiHLRt/
HM: The best part of the hip hop community is the community. I think hip hop is very cultural and the community is very culture-based… [W]ithin hip hop in my experience, you can go to different venues and it's like these are people that you've grown up with because at the cultural level, you guys are so connected. It might be the same for punk music and rock and stuff [but] I'm not as embedded in those communities to know. I think for me it's the beautiful marriage between the sonic vibe of hip hop and then just like the community of hip hop and how different yet similar those two things are.
BA: I'm going to be releasing new material spring, summer time. I've just been working with other artists, doing some production, audio engineering. And other than that, I'm just taking my sweet, sweet time. I'm not trying to [give] you the exact same trap sound that you're always hearing on the radio or that your friends play. I'm here giving you something completely different. I'm giving you good vibes, I'm giving you vibes for strictly hippies… My goal with this is creating an entirety of a sound for the city.
HM: I have an album coming out. I'm hoping that this can really open up some interesting conversations. I'm really hoping that we can see some shifts in female hip hop and what we expect from being a female in hip hop and what we expect from I guess just the gender expectations. I would love to see some of those surpassed with some of the stuff I'm coming out with. But definitely just trying to contribute positively to the hip hop community and that hip hop culture and to tell good, impactful stories that can make some good change.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp-dJixASg6/
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By: Nyakoar Wuol
The Black experience at McMaster University is not monolithic. I can and will only be speaking in regard to my experience as a Black woman at McMaster.
Being a political science student, I often find myself being the only Black woman or Black person in a tutorial or sometimes even an entire lecture hall.
Within the political science courses, discussions on race, intersectionality and different waves of feminism do not go as in-depth as I would expect them to. After listening to the opinions of white students in these tutorials and their views, it makes sense why these discussions are so limited.
Discussion on race can only go so far if individuals are not sure what to add to the discussion or do not know enough to engage. In tutorials, I feel that when certain topics arise that I find interesting or am knowledgeable of, my opinion is not understood in the way I want.
A perfect example of this would be in my recent tutorial. The tutorial was set up as a debate with around five of us sitting at the front table. We were meant to briefly discuss the key elements of our paper, then answer any questions or rebuttals. For the sake of context, my paper was speaking about the result of Apartheid and its impact on Black South Africans, namely their struggle to be financially independent.
The white man who made the rebuttal made statements along the lines of, “why can’t they pick themselves up by their bootstraps? why don’t they just buy land or a farm? you don’t need a post-secondary education to make money”. All the statements he made would have been answered had he listened to the points I initially made.
I responded by stating that there are systemic barriers in place which limits Black South Africans from attaining wealth or having any form of mobility in their social class. In the wise words of W. E. B. Du Bois, “a system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect.”
And yet after stating that, he was still not satisfied with my answer. He responded in a condescending tone but before I could defend my position, the teaching assistant moved the conversation to the next topic.
What I found most astounding was that this student was willing to stand in his ignorance than to believe that there are systemic barriers in place against Black folks not only in South Africa, but around the globe.
Another thing I noticed mainly in my sociology class and at a workshop I attended was that whenever there was a presence of Black folks, there was an underlying element of censoring from the white students. It seemed like they would mainly stick to saying socially-acceptable answers.
I feel that in order for anyone to learn they should not hinder themselves. White students seem to have this fear that if they say something that is not “acceptable”, then they will be vilified and have their opinion disregarded.
But choosing to only say what one thinks is acceptable does not result in any form of growth. If you fear that your true opinion or view is problematic, then perhaps ask yourself why that is?
Essentially, I feel that as a Black woman at McMaster there is much more that is needed to be done within academic spaces. This is mainly in regards to the limited discussions on race, and the lack of representation within the institution.
I, and many other Black students reading this, may feel that we are given the unasked role of being an educator of all things Black to white people. They may very well have certain questions or are limited in their knowledge on the Black experience.
However, it is not Black students’ job to inform and educate. As a great friend of mine said, “Google is free and it’s a great research tool.”
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By: Nicolas Belliveau
The news in November 2018 that Doug Ford and his provincial government were ceasing the project to build a French-language university in Toronto and eliminating the position of the provincial commissioner for French language affairs was met with backlash.
However, situations like these aren’t novel. French education and culture have been the target of marginalization for hundreds of years. Ford adds to this long list of discriminatory acts, as his decision to cut services and protections to Franco-Ontarians has underlying anti-francophone sentiment and is a violation of minority language rights in Canada.
But why should we care about this? After all, with just over 620,000 people, the French-speaking community in Ontario makes up just 4.5 per cent of its total population.
Growing up French-Canadian in Ontario, practicing and maintaining the language my ancestors tirelessly fought to preserve has proven difficult. Additionally, the limited number of French secondary schools meant that I had to enroll at an English secondary school — adding to the challenge of keeping my mother tongue.
However, Francophones are still Canada’s largest minority with Ontario home to the most populous French-speaking community outside of Quebec. But most importantly, the French language is a right that is protected by the Constitution and language laws.
This didn’t come easily. Throughout all of Canada’s history, francophones have fought for the right to French education and with Ford’s new agenda, the battle appears to be ongoing.
Merely a century ago, the provincial government passed and enforced Regulation 17 throughout Ontario, which restricted the teachings in French beyond grade 2 and limited French teachings to one hour per day in primary schools. After 15 years of enforcement and prohibiting a whole generation from learning French, the law was finally repealed in 1927.
By ending the project for the development of a French university, Ford is reopening a door into the past that most French-Canadians thought was over. The ideology that once disregarded Franco-Ontarians’ identity and equality is now resurfacing, under the new disguise of Ford’s policies.
And what is Ford’s reasoning behind these radical changes? Although Ford has yet to comment on the matter, government officials have cited the province’s $15 billion deficit as being the motivation for these cost-cutting actions.
However, the cost for the French Language Services Commissioner and the university tally up to a total of just $15 million per year. And as of now, Ford’s government has yet to meet the targeted amount of savings, leaving experts to question whether a thorough program review was carried out.
When looking at these realities, it is hard to believe the government’s narrative of the provincial deficit being the sole incentive for premier Ford’s changes, and not worry about an anti-francophone sentiment underlying Ford’s fiscal agenda.
What’s more unsettling is that Ford’s new policy changes cuts into Canada’s Constitution and the protections and rights of French-Canadians.
The functions of a language commissioner prove to be essential in promoting and protecting a language. Not only do they monitor the government for any infringements upon minority language rights, the French language commissioner acts as a liaison between the provincial government and Franco-Ontarians.
By getting rid of the French Language Services Commissioner, Ford is destabilizing the rights and protections of minority francophones and undermining the institutions that promote one of the ‘supposed’ official languages of this country.
I acknowledge that Ontario is already home to three bilingual universities and that the francophone minorities account for just 4.5 per cent of Ontario’s population. Additionally, I acknowledged that the Ford government has created the position of senior policy adviser on francophone affairs following the elimination of the French Language Services Commissioner.
The realities of the mistreatment of francophones throughout history along with the benefits of the French services and protections that Ford is eliminating would make it illogical for one to not consider this as anti-francophone sentiment. To be idle while the government carelessly partakes in these divisive political tactics is a disservice to our ancestors and to all minorities.
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What is the value of an apology? That is one of the questions that JUNO-nominated singer and songwriter Khari Wendell McClelland is exploring in his new concert, We Now Recognize. The show, which consists of all new songs, will tour six Canadian cities for Black History Month. It comes to the Lincoln Alexander Centre in Hamilton on Feb. 19 at 8 p.m.
We Now Recognize is a partnership between McClelland and Project Humanity, a non-profit organization that uses the arts to raise social awareness. The two collaborated in 2017 and 2018 to create the documentary theatre musical of the Vancouver-based artist’s debut solo album, Freedom Singer. Freedom Singer interpreted songs that might have accompanied McClelland’s great-great-great-grandmother Kizzy as she escaped from slavery via the Underground Railroad.
This show is another personal work, although McClelland originally took inspiration from the current sociopolitical landscape. The number of political apologies that have occurred struck him in the past decade or so and especially in Justin Trudeau’s term. He began to question what constitutes a substantive and meaningful apology.
In writing the show, McClelland found himself reflecting on being wrong and the extent of his compassion for those who do wrong. He considered how recognizing wrongdoing feels and how to move forward from it. With this, he also thought about the relationships he has with the generations of men in his family.
“[I was] looking at my grandfather and my father and my brother and even considering what it would be to be… a father and what the implications might mean for a larger society… [I]t's men who are exerting power and have a lot of control in society… What are some of the ideas… I grew up with that I have at different times perpetuated in my own life and trying to figure out like what that might look like through a generational lens,” said McClelland.
The show explores other ideas that McClelland cares about, such as community and the way we wield power over the natural world. In bringing different ideas in proximity with one another, McClelland sees the work as an assemblage like a quilt or collage.
McClelland sees being able to explore a multitude of ideas as a way of celebrating Black life. Unlike his past work with Freedom Singer, which tackled the history of slavery head on, We Now Recognize, is a subtler approach to Black history that it more rooted in the present and in the future.
“I feel like there are ways in which black life can be can be understood as a monolith, that black people in Black communities aren't allowed to have a diversity of experiences and perspectives. I'm very curious… about creating some kind of radical subjectivity around Black life, like being able to be all these different ways that we are just as human beings,” McClelland said.
Not only will the concert allow McClelland a chance to bring forth the multiplicity of Black life, it will allow him to stretch himself and grow as an artist. The personal show will force him to be vulnerable in a way that he hasn’t been before with the communities across Canada that has supported him.
McClelland sees the connection to music as something that erodes for many people over their lifetime. For him, however, it is something that he hasn’t stopped doing ever since it became a part of his life as a kid growing up in Detroit. It moves him in a way that isn’t necessarily positive or negative, but just is. He also sees the medium as essential to building community.
“I feel like healthy communities move together. That they practice together, that they have rituals together… [O]ur connection to artful practices actually has the potential to heal us as communities and individuals coming together… has this real potential for a deep kind of healing… I think it is just a deep medicine in the way that we come together and make music and make art,” explained McClelland.
McClelland is looking forward to this tour to see how audiences connect with the new songs. He is eager to see the way in which people are moved by this meditation on wrongdoing and apology, whether positively or in a way that is a little uncomfortable.
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