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Globe and Mail
39 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Social justice advocate Susan Eng fought for equity in Canadian policing
Susan Eng brought a steely resolve to the many campaigns she waged in the fight for social equity. But her unflinching public demeanour could be cracked by an old and heavily creased piece of paper that spoke to an unjust chapter of her family's history: her father's Chinese head-tax certificate. In January, 2006, just days before the federal election, Ms. Eng spoke at an event at Toronto's City Hall to demand a parliamentary apology and financial compensation for the tax imposed on Chinese immigrants from 1885 to 1923, and the subsequent ban on Chinese immigration that lasted until 1947. In the audience were many Canadian luminaries who were invited to ensure continuing media interest in redress for the Chinese head tax, which was an election issue. 'Susan was the one who was hosting and also sharing her personal story,' says Amy Go, a prominent Chinese-Canadian activist. Ms. Eng looked out into the crowd, she was overwhelmed by her feelings about her father and paused to regain her composure. 'That was the only time in more than three decades of working with Susan and watching her in public that I have ever seen her get emotional,' says Ms. Go, who was also one of Ms. Eng's close friends. 'She was always able to respond quickly, and she was so quick-witted and so composed. And that was the only time that I saw Susan actually stop – when she talked about her father and when she talked about him having the head-tax certificate sewn to his shirt' for fear of being deported if he was caught without it. Ms. Eng died on July 26 after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 72. She eventually received the national apology she had demanded alongside other Chinese Canadians, including other families who had paid the head tax. A lawyer and tireless advocate for civil liberties, Ms. Eng directed her passion for social justice to a number of causes over several decades: She increased oversight of the Toronto police, fought relentlessly for the rights of seniors, and stood up for minorities including the LGBTQ and racialized communities. 'Susan was just very cool. … Some people may have thought she was intimidating' but injustices touched her deeply, says Ms. Go, who is president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice. She adds that Ms. Eng had 'the ability to connect with others, the ability to see injustice and violations and wanting to do something.' Ms. Eng was the first Chinese Canadian to head the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board. She was a co-founder of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice. And she was the vice-president of advocacy for the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) where, for eight years, she spoke out on behalf of racialized and low-income seniors and pressed the government for changes to the Canada Pension Plan that have helped all Canadians. Ms. Eng was born in Toronto on Aug. 24, 1952, and attended Jarvis Collegiate, where she was an excellent student. She went on to obtain a law degree from Osgoode Hall, specializing in the complex field of taxation, and was one of the few Asian Canadian lawyers of her generation to make partner at a major Toronto law firm. In 1984, she ran for a seat on Toronto's City Council. At one of the all-candidates' meetings, fellow candidate and lawyer Peter Maloney was asked about his stance on abortion. He replied that, as a male and as a gay man, he was unlikely ever to be required to make decisions about the procedure. Ms. Eng 'came up to me after that meeting and said, 'I really like that answer that you gave,' and we discussed it,' Mr. Maloney says. Neither of them won the council seat but they became long-time close friends. 'She was a powerful intellect,' Mr. Maloney says. 'She was an empath, always concerned about her effect on other people but not shy of perhaps rubbing someone the wrong way.' That fearlessness was on public display after her appointment, in 1989, to sit on what was then called the Metropolitan Toronto Police Services Board. At her swearing-in ceremony, Ms. Eng refused to pledge an oath to the Queen, and instead promised to be loyal to Canadians. She was named chair of the police board in 1991 and served in that position until 1995, earning praise for her work to increase public oversight and expand the cultural and linguistic diversity of police services. But she also made some powerful enemies on the force who did not appreciate the change that was being demanded of them. Ms. Eng was believed to be the target of unauthorized eavesdropping by police for several years. At one point, Mr. Maloney learned his own phones were being wiretapped, ostensibly because one of his clients was facing drug charges. He let Ms. Eng know about the surveillance and the two ended telephone communication for several months until Mr. Maloney was informed that the taps on his lines had been lifted. 'The suspicion always existed that one of the benefits of wiretapping me, using that as an excuse, is they wanted to listen to our conversations,' Mr. Maloney says. 'Apparently, we were followed constantly when we were having lunch together or dinner together.' When Ms. Eng was head of Toronto's police services board, the force adopted the first-ever telephone translation services for 911 calls in over 140 languages. She also pushed for mandatory reporting of each time an officer unholstered their gun. 'I believe Susan became the template for today's civilian governance of police in Ontario and, dare I say, across Canada,' Hamlin Grange, a diversity and inclusion strategist and the founder of DiversiPro, said in a tribute posted after Ms. Eng's death. 'She inspired generations of civic leaders and activists who sought reforms in policing. Her tenure was defined by her insistence on accountability, transparency and equity. She was one of the earliest public officials in Canada to speak openly about systemic racism in policing and the need for reforms to address the disproportionate impact on racialized communities.' Ms. Eng was an outspoken member and advocate for social-justice organizations including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations and the YWCA of Greater Toronto. She worked with the Coalition Against Homophobia in the 1990s and helped to promote access to health care for racialized people and newcomers to Canada who were living with HIV. Throughout her life, Ms. Eng was deeply committed to the Chinese community. In the 1990s, she helped Dr. Joseph Wong establish the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, the first nursing home for Chinese Canadian seniors, which now has multiple locations across the Greater Toronto Area. She joined the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) in 1980 after a documentary on the CTV news magazine program W5 portrayed Canadian-born Chinese students as unfairly taking away prized placements from non-Chinese Canadians in professional university courses like medicine and dentistry. The CCNC brought a class-action suit in the 1980s seeking redress for the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act. The case was dismissed but the anger of people like Ms. Eng, whose family had been so deeply affected by the racist policy, continued to simmer. In an opinion piece titled Tell It To My Father, which she wrote for The Globe and Mail in 2002, Ms. Eng said: 'No amount of apology will remove my pain on discovering his head-tax certificate after his death. He had kept it folded in his wallet for more than 50 years because the stamp on the back read: 'It is necessary that this certificate be carefully preserved as it is of value as a means of identification.' No one told him that there was now a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that he could not be stopped on the street and asked to justify his right to remain in Canada.' Ms. Eng revitalized the movement for head-tax redress in the early 2000s, and six months after the event at Toronto City Hall, Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered a formal apology in Parliament. Carol Bream, another long-time friend, recalls a visit she and her husband paid to Ms. Eng's home in Toronto. 'At one point she showed me the head-tax certificate,' Ms. Bream says. 'And both of us started to cry, because that was just such an unbelievable thing that the people had to suffer through.' Ms. Eng's work on behalf of the Chinese community continued to her final days. From her hospital bed, she was in discussions with Ms. Go about documenting the history of Chinese activism in Canada. Part of a close-knit family, she also organized weekly dinners for her siblings and their children at her mother's house in Toronto. To the end, says Mr. Maloney, she minimized her own suffering from cancer to soothe the anxieties of family members and friends. James Lockyer, the Toronto lawyer and prominent social justice advocate who was a close friend of Ms. Eng's for more than a decade, calls her a pioneer. 'Her time as chair of the Toronto police services board was fearless and unprecedented in the face of huge opposition from police chiefs and the police union, and she should always be seen as the role model for police accountability,' Mr. Lockyer says. 'She was a magnificent advocate who always achieved her cause. … We will miss her making it a better world for us all.' Ms. Eng leaves her mother, two brothers and sister, and her cherished nieces and nephews. You can find more obituaries from The Globe and Mail here. To submit a memory about someone we have recently profiled on the Obituaries page, e-mail us at obit@
CBC
40 minutes ago
- CBC
Facing tariffs, canola farmers call on the Canadian government for help
Nichole Neubauer, a farmer in southeastern Alberta, is calling on the federal government to do more to back Canada's agriculture industry, as she said she's at risk of losing thousands of dollars on her canola crops due to new tariffs from China. "It really comes down to government policy and having our folks in Ottawa stand up for our bread-and-butter industry, understanding that agriculture is fundamental," said Neubauer. Neubauer and her husband Mark, who own and operate Neubauer Farms 25 kilometres east of Medicine Hat, are among more than 900 canola producers in southeastern Alberta who watched prices fall after China introduced a 75.8 per cent tariff on Canadian canola seed earlier this week. The new levy comes a year after Beijing opened an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola. Dumping is a trade practice that sees exports from one country flood a foreign nation's market with goods at prices lower than their domestic cost, undercutting local industry. Canada has denied participating in dumping, with politicians and farmers saying canola growers follow rules-based trade. China's probe followed Canada's 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and a 25 per cent levy on Chinese steel and aluminum. Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola have farmers bracing for the worst 2 days ago After China placed 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian canola meal and oil earlier this year, the latest tax means all Canadian canola products face fees when shipped into China. Rick White, president and CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said China's tariff "will have an immediate and substantive impact" on farmers' ability to sell their canola. "Canadian farmers are globally competitive and if a solution is not found swiftly, the impact will be quickly felt on our farms and in our rural communities," said White. The industry contributes more than $43 billion annually to the Canadian economy, and employs around 200,000 people, according to the growers association. 'A wing and a prayer' Canola has been a core part of the crop rotation at Neubauer Farms since the early 2000s. It's an expensive crop to put in the ground, but it's one that can pay off. In any given year, canola producers deal with varying weather conditions, like drought or early frost, that can cause problems for their crops. That's part of farming, explained Neubauer, and producers have tools they can use to "mitigate and manage those risks." But how Ottawa establishes and maintains trade relationships with other countries is out of their control. "The part about agriculture that's so challenging is, up front, you put out hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get the crop in, and you're doing that on a bit of a wing and a prayer that there's going to be something to put in the bin at the end of it all," said Neubauer. "You really need to count on knowing that there's going to be a market for it. And at this point in time, we will harvest our canola, it'll go in a bin and it'll just sit there and we won't sell it." Neubauer said selling her farm's canola product under the current trade conditions would result in a "significant loss" of $40,000 to $50,000 to the family farm. 'Gut punch' Alberta farmer Alan Hampton described China's tariffs as a "gut punch" and agrees with Neubauer that Ottawa needs to work swiftly to find a solution. "Because it's a political issue created by the federal government, I think it's their responsibility to come to canola producers to get up to some solutions," said Hampton, who also serves as an Alberta Canola regional director for southeastern Alberta. "If you're going to create the problem, you better give out the solution to solve it." As the tariff came into force Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he is considering measures to support farmers across Canada. Carney said he and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe agreed to continue talking with agriculture groups about possible options, but didn't reveal any details. Carney said Thursday that Canada will advance talks with China, while also aiming to diversify its trade partners. 'Investment in the future' China is the second-largest market for Canadian canola, with exports of seed, oil and meal valued at $4.9 billion in 2024, according to the Canola Council of Canada. Canola seed accounts for about three quarters of those exports. Andre Harpe, chair of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission, said it's part of a long, mostly healthy trading relationship between Canada and China that the federal government should try to restore. "I would tell them to go back to the table… and talk to the Chinese government and let's see how this can be resolved," said Harpe. Ottawa should also invest in domestic solutions, like the renewable fuel industry, that will buy from canola producers, said Harpe. Canola seeds can be heated and crushed to extract oil that can be used to produce biodiesel for vehicles, and glycerin for the production of soaps, cosmetics and pharmacenuticals. "It can be done fairly quickly and would be a great long-term solution and keep the industry stable for years to come," said Harpe. "Not only would it help Canadian farmers, but it would help the Canadian economy." Harpe noted a new Imperial Oil renewable diesel project near Edmonton could also be part of the solution. He said the facility at full capacity could take about half of the canola seed Canada sends to China in a year.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Parents feeling back-to-school uncertainty, due to possible teacher strike or lockout
Social Sharing Uncertainty looms over back-to-school season for parents this year, as students' scheduled return to classrooms in September could be met with a labour disruption. Negotiations are ongoing between the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) and Teachers' Employer Bargaining Association. The teachers' union overwhelmingly voted in favour of a strike in June. In response, the provincial body has applied for a lockout vote. In a statement to CBC News, the Calgary Board of Education said it remains committed to starting the school year on Sept. 2 — but with formal mediation continuing from Aug. 26 to 29, and a labour disruption possible at any moment, many Alberta parents are worried about a possible delay to their children's return to school. WATCH | Labour dispute leaves parents wondering what's next: Back-to-school plans left in limbo for parents ahead of possible labour disruption 1 day ago Nearly 95 per cent of teachers in Alberta voted in favour of strike action in June. Now that the new school year is approaching, the Alberta Teachers Union and the Teachers Employer Bargaining Association are set to enter formal mediation from Aug. 26 to 29. Calgary parent Calista Dennis is excited for her five-year-old son to start kindergarten next month, but she's concerned abut the possibility of a strike or lockout. "That would be a shock," she said of a strike impacting her child's first day of school. "For my son, I know that would be kind of disruptive, kind of disappointing." Dennis said many young learners are already apprehensive about starting or returning to school, so any disruption could lead to even more confusion and frustration. As a stay-at-home mom who works remotely, Dennis said she could accommodate having her son at home if the start of the school year is pushed back. But she acknowledged that's not a luxury most parents have. "That's not really how most of society runs for a lot of people," she said. "And even then, kids should be in school learning." Another Calgary parent, Adriena Mackarenko, had hoped the labour dispute would have been resolved by now. "It's back in the news again, and obviously we're getting closer to school, and now it's becoming more real," said Mackarenko, who has a nine-year-old going into Grade 5 this fall, and a seven-year-old starting Grade 2. "I was hoping they would resolve something before we needed to worry about it... Kids are going back, and what am I going to do with my children in September?" Mackarenko said the uncertainty around her kids returning to school is not ideal. "Going back to school is challenging enough," she said. "Trying to come up with all of these alternative solutions to how we're going to handle this if the schools do get locked out … I don't need that on my plate as well, right? Life is hard enough." She said disrupting students' schedules would have negative consequences for children and their families. "It's nice to have a predictable place to send your kids every day," Mackarenko said. "They are used to those routines as well, and kids thrive on routine, so changing it partway through September just makes life more challenging for families." ATA president acknowledges concerns Jason Schilling, president of the ATA said he understands where concerned parents are coming from. "I recognize fully that it does create a level of uncertainty for parents and for other folks who are out there," he said. "But it's just the nature of how bargaining is right now." The ATA says it currently has 51,000 members. More than 38,000 teachers participated in June's strike vote, with 94.5 per cent voting in favour. The last time the ATA went on strike was in 2002. Schilling, who was among the teachers that took part in that strike, said teachers don't necessarily want to take job action. "Ideally, we would like a negotiated settlement," he said. "Teachers don't want to go on strike. They want to be in their classrooms working with their students. There's always a level of excitement to meet your new students in September." But Schilling said teachers are facing large class sizes and a lack of resources, in a school year where Alberta's per-student education funding is among the lowest of all provinces. "We're kind of picking off where we let in June, but I fear that things will be worse," said Schilling. In a statement, Alberta's office of Treasury Board and Finance reiterated the province's commitment to invest $9.9 billion in education, with $1.6 billion dedicated to addressing the needs of complex classrooms. Schilling said that won't cut it. "In terms of budget for education, we also have the most kids in the system than we've ever had," said Schilling. "We also have large classrooms with the most complex needs that my colleagues have seen in a really, really long time, and they don't have the resources to meet those kids' needs every day." Following June's strike vote, the ATA has 120 days to take job action. Their deadline is Oct. 7. If teachers do decide to take job action, the union would need to give 72-hour notice ahead of going on strike.
