Latest news with #anti-Indigenous
Cision Canada
17-07-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Combatting anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment in retail settings
TORONTO, July 17, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), and the Indigenous Human Rights Program (a partnership between Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC) and the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC)) released a guide and two fact sheets, to address anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment in retail. These resources provide practical human rights information to retailers and Indigenous people (shoppers or retail staff members) on recognizing, preventing, and remedying anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment in retail settings. Indigenous people often experience racism and consumer racial profiling in different retail settings (for example, in department stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, malls, shopping centres, independent stores.) The guide and fact sheets explore experiences, which may amount to racial discrimination or harassment or both and can violate Ontario's Human Rights Code (the Code). "The Code requires retailers to ensure a safe, non-discriminatory environment for people to shop, buy products, or receive personal services. The OHRC is aware that Indigenous shoppers often face racial profiling, being labeled as 'suspicious' or potential shoplifters based on racist stereotypes. Frequently, they experience verbal and physical mistreatment, and receive lower-quality service once identified as Indigenous, particularly when First Nations customers show their Status cards. The guidance tool released today is intended for duty-holders and rights-holders. Its aim is to clarify their responsibilities and help them maintain safe retail spaces for Indigenous people and a safe and welcoming shopping environments everyone," said Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The guide and fact sheets offer comprehensive information about the protections provided by the Code, how Indigenous people experience discrimination and harassment in retail settings, and suggested practices to help prevent and address discriminatory actions. "PBSC is grateful for the OHRC's longstanding partnership with the Indigenous Human Rights Program, including our collaboration on high-quality educational resources addressing discrimination against Indigenous people in retail settings," said Jason Goodman, Former Director, Family Justice, Pro Bono Students Canada. "These resources will be a valuable support within the program's Human Rights Clinics and, more broadly, raise awareness and empower action against these too-common injustices across the province." The two fact sheets summarize key information from the guide to help rights-holders (Indigenous consumers) on one hand, and duty-holders (retailers) on the other, understand: What anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment may look like in retail settings. What to do if someone witnesses or experiences anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment. What to do to prevent discrimination in violation of the Code. "It is unfortunate that anti-Indigenous racism continues to be a common experience for many in our community," said Sean Longboat, Co-Executive Director, OFIFC. "It is hoped that by building awareness about anti-Indigenous racism – what it is, how to prevent it, what to do if you see or experience it – that we will create a safer, more equitable society for Indigenous people to live and thrive." Our organizations will continue to promote this guide and fact sheets to help prevent anti-Indigenous discrimination in retail settings, so we can create a more inclusive Ontario. Quick Facts A guide and two fact sheets have been jointly released by the OHRC, PBSC, and OFIFC to address anti-Indigenous discrimination in retail settings. The OHRC collaborated with OFIFC, University of Toronto Indigenous law students and staff from PBSC on the development of these resources. Retail settings include, department stores, grocery stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, malls, shopping centres, and independent stores. Neither the guide nor the fact sheets should be considered legal advice. Guide Identifying and addressing anti-Indigenous discrimination in retail settings Fact Sheets Recognizing anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment in retail settings Preventing anti-Indigenous discrimination and harassment in retail settings SOURCE Ontario Human Rights Commission
Boston Globe
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Fans criticize Beyoncé for shirt calling Native Americans ‘the enemies of peace'
As she prepares to return to the U.S. for performances in her hometown this weekend, fans and Indigenous influencers took to social media to criticize Beyoncé for framing Native Americans and Mexican revolutionaries as anything but the victims of American imperialism and promoting anti-Indigenous language. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up A publicist for Beyoncé did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Who were the Buffalo Soldiers? The Buffalo Soldiers served in six military units created after the Civil War in 1866. They were comprised formerly enslaved men, freemen, and Black Civil War soldiers and fought in hundreds of conflicts — including in the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II — until they were disbanded in 1951. As the quote on Beyoncé's shirt notes, they also fought numerous battles against Indigenous peoples as part of the U.S. Army's campaign of violence and land theft during the country's westward expansion. Some historians say the moniker 'Buffalo Soldiers' was bestowed by the tribes who admired the bravery and tenacity of the fighters, but that might be more legend than fact. 'At the end of the day, we really don't have that kind of information,' said Cale Carter, director of exhibitions at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum in Houston. Advertisement Carter and other museum staff said that, only in the past few years, the museum made broader efforts to include more of the complexities of the battles the Buffalo Soldiers fought against Native Americans and Mexican revolutionaries and the role they played in the subjugation of Indigenous peoples. They, much like many other museums across the country, are hoping to add more nuance to the framing of American history and be more respectful of the ways they have 'We romanticize the Western frontier,' he said. 'The early stories that talked about the Buffalo Soldiers were impacted by a lot of those factors. So you really didn't see a changing in that narrative until recently.' There has often been a lack of diverse voices discussing the way Buffalo Soldiers history is framed, said Michelle Tovar, the museum's director of education. The current political climate has put enormous pressure on schools, including those in Texas, to avoid honest discussions about American history, she said. 'Right now, in this area, we are getting push back from a lot of school districts in which we can't go and teach this history,' Tovar said. 'We are a museum where we can at least be a hub, where we can invite the community regardless of what districts say, invite them to learn it and do what we can do the outreach to continue to teach honest history.' Advertisement Historians scrutinize reclamation motive Beyoncé's recent album 'Act II: Cowboy Carter' has played on a kind of American iconography, which many see as her way of subverting the country music genre's adjacency to whiteness and 'The Buffalo Soldiers play this major role in the Black ownership of the American West,' said Tad Stoermer, a historian and professor at Johns Hopkins University. 'In my view, (Beyoncé is) well aware of the role that these images play. This is the 'Cowboy Carter' tour for crying out loud. The entire tour, the entire album, the entire piece is situated in this layered narrative.' But Stoermer also points out that the Buffalo Soldier have been framed in the American story in a way that also plays into the myths of American nationalism. As Beyoncé's use of Buffalo Soldiers imagery implies, Black Americans also use their story to claim agency over their role in the creation of the country, said Alaina E. Roberts, a historian, author and professor at Pittsburgh University who studies the intersection of Black and Native American life from the Civil War to present day. 'That's the category in which she thought maybe she was coming into this conversation, but the Buffalo Soldiers are even a step above that because they were literally involved in not just the settlement of the West but of genocide in a sense,' she said. Online backlash builds ahead of Houston shows Several Native influencers, performers, and academics took to social media this week to criticize Beyoncé or call the language on her shirt anti-Indigenous. 'Do you think Beyoncé will apologize (or acknowledge) the shirt,' an Indigenous news and culture Instagram account with more than 130,000, asked in a post Thursday. Advertisement Many of her critics, as well as fans, agree. A flood of social media posts called out the pop star for the historic framing on the shirt. 'The Buffalo Soldiers are an interesting historical moment to look at. But we have to be honest about what they did, especially in their operations against Indigenous Americans and Mexicans,' said Chisom Okorafor, who posts on TikTok under the handle @confirmedsomaya. Okorafor said there is no 'progressive' way to reclaim America's history of empire building in the West, and that Beyoncé's use of Western symbolism sends a problematic message. 'Which is that Black people too can engage in American nationalism,' she said. 'Black people too can profit from the atrocities of American empire. It is a message that tells you to abandon immigrants, Indigenous people, and people who live outside of the United States. It is a message that tells you not only is it a virtue to have been born in this country but the longer your line extends in this country the more virtuous you are.'
Winnipeg Free Press
21-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba's MDs mandate steps to end anti-Indigenous racism
Manitoba's doctors are embarking on a path the profession's regulator hopes will eliminate anti-Indigenous racism in medical care. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba is mandating that MDs complete a course of anti-racism training before November 2027. Two other initiatives go into effect as of today — National Indigenous Peoples Day. The first, a standard of practice, requires that doctors report racist behaviour. The other is a restorative practices program to provide education and support to physicians who cause harm to First Nations, Métis or Inuit patients, either intentionally or unintentionally. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The college is moving toward a restorative justice standard, says registrar Ainslie Mihalchuk. 'It is very difficult to practise medicine in Manitoba in any context without interacting with, supporting, caring for people who have Indigenous ancestry or who are from our First Nations and Inuit population and who have had suffered the health effects of colonialism,' Dr. Ainslie Mihalchuk, registrar of the college, said Friday. 'That is part of why we feel it's important that, to practise in Manitoba, you need a baseline understanding of how colonialism impacts health. If you can have that understanding, then you inherently will be a better provider for the people here.' A report on race, ethnicity and Indigenous identity released Tuesday by Shared Health and the University of Manitoba's Ongomiizwin Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing revealed issues in seeking and receiving health care in the province. It showed that Indigenous patients in hospital emergency departments were most likely to leave without being seen and against medical advice, including higher-acuity patients. 'The data supports that we have opportunity to do better,' Mihalchuk said. 'This is about understanding needs of humans and that the needs of certain groups of humans are different than others, and that it's on us as leaders and providers in the health system to recognize that this data points to the fact that our systems are not serving these people in the best way. 'That should lead us to collectively try and say, 'What do we need to do differently?'' She pointed to other examples of anti-Indigenous racism in Canadian health care — from the death of Brian Sinclair, who died after waiting 34 hours without being seen at the Health Sciences Centre ER in 2008 to Joyce Echaquan, a mother of seven, who died in 2020 at a hospital north of Montreal moments after recording health-care staff hurl racist remarks at her, to experiments performed on residential school students. 'We were part of that. The medical profession, the healing profession has participated in that,' Mihalchuk said. 'I think we need to understand how, although we might see ourselves as nice people, there's a lack of trust — that's not on individuals. It's on systems and societies and structures that are older and bigger than we are,' Mihalchuk said. The college self-regulates 3,500 physicians in Manitoba. The 30 per cent of internationally trained doctors in the province may have had no exposure 'to the stories of how Manitoba came to be and who lived here before,' Mihalchuk said. The province often relies on foreign-trained doctors to work in rural and remote communities and areas with large Indigenous populations, she said. 'Asking for people to have a common understanding of the human beings that they're serving in the practise of medicine doesn't feel like a big ask, because we believe that it's a good investment.' There are four college-approved courses — three for those in active practice and the fourth is the Indigenous health program that's part of undergraduate or post-graduate medical training at the University of Manitoba. Mihalchuk said the college received advice from an Indigenous advisory circle about the training and how to discipline those who don't meet the new standard. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Rather than the traditional rigid, 'blame, shame, punish' approach, the college is moving toward a restorative justice approach, she said. 'It's more about healing the harm and going through a process that keeps both parties — the complainant and the person complained about — intact and whole at the end of a process that's not about blame, shame and punish. 'We are leaders,' she continued, 'in the country who are doing this work and really it's about creating a safe space to work on this together as a profession and to contribute to 'better.'' Doctors Manitoba said in an email it is providing professional development funding for the training that counts toward the hours of continuing education doctors have to complete every year to improve their practice and maintain their licence. Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Montreal Gazette
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Discord takes down racist channel used by Quebec med school applicants
Discord, an increasingly popular social media platform based in San Francisco, has deactivated a controversial channel used by Quebec medical school applicants that was overrun by antisemitic and other racist messages, including threats of violence, The Gazette can confirm. Hours after the newspaper reported last Friday about a virulent stream of hateful content on the 1,400-member Med serveur channel on Discord, the chat forum suddenly disappeared. The deactivation occurred following a statement by Discord spokesperson Jillian Susi that 'once we become aware of such (hateful) content, we immediately take appropriate enforcement actions, which can include banning users and shutting down servers.' Quebec med student applicants immediately switched en masse to another server on Discord called 'ADMISSION MED QC 2024,' which had seen little activity since last year. That channel's membership has surged to nearly 700 members since last Friday. The Gazette has learned that Montreal police have launched an investigation into the origin of the racist trolling on Discord, even in going so far as to share information with the RCMP and CSIS concerning some of the perpetrators. Officially, a spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal would neither confirm nor deny that it is conducting an investigation. Dawson College, for its part, is carrying out its own probe into the antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous slurs on the since-deactivated Discord channel. At least one of the perpetrators of the inflammatory content on Discord is alleged to be a Dawson student enrolled in the enriched health science program and, until recently, a medical school applicant. In recent days, most of the language on the revived Discord channel, ADMISSION MED QC 2024, is considerably less prejudiced than on Med serveur. However, one user — who goes by the handle HydroBeatz — praised Hitler on Sunday as a 'charismatic' orator and 'particularly engaging,' but that didn't mean 'my words are antisemitic. That's exaggerated.' In 2024, some anonymous users on ADMISSION MED QC 2024 did engage in antisemitic, anti-Black, anti-Indigenous and misogynistic exchanges. At the same time, users last weekend alluded to The Gazette's coverage of the controversy on the revived channel. 'There are people who are snitching to the police,' a user named AimBot complained on Saturday. The previous day, however, a different user cited The Gazette article as well, saying they hoped the atmosphere on the revived channel would be 'respectful of everyone.' Meanwhile, McGill University's medical faculty released a statement on Tuesday evening condemning the hateful epithets on Discord by some aspiring doctors. 'The McGill faculty of medicine and health sciences does not tolerate hate speech,' the university declared. 'Our university has equity, diversity and inclusion policies that state that hateful and divisive language will not be tolerated in our community under any circumstances. As for the unacceptable comments made on the platform referenced, to our knowledge no students admitted to our faculty were among the authors. Our policies and regulations allow us to act accordingly if this was to be the case.' On Monday, Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry also denounced the incendiary rhetoric on Discord and appealed to both students and medical school applicants to come forward to assist in the investigation by authorities. 'The calls for violence and expressions of hatred in these exchanges are totally unacceptable in Quebec,' Simon Savignac, Déry's press attaché, said in a statement on Monday. In December, Déry opened an inquiry into complaints of racist bullying from students at Dawson and Vanier colleges stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, some academic union leaders have accused Déry of political interference after she demanded Dawson justify the content of a French course with most of the material focusing on the Palestinian cause. This story was originally published
Toronto Sun
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Quebec urges students to help in racism investigation
Higher education minister praises Dawson College for launching probe Published May 12, 2025 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 3 minute read Dawson College has launched an investigation into the origin of antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous slurs on a channel of the Discord online chat forum. John Mahoney/Montreal Gazette Warning: This story contains offensive language and imagery. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Quebec's Higher Education Minister, Pascale Déry, is denouncing a virulent stream of racist and other hateful messages on a popular social media platform for medical school applicants after The Gazette broke the story over the weekend. 'The calls for violence and expressions of hatred in these exchanges are totally unacceptable in Quebec,' Simon Savignac, Déry's press attaché, said in a statement on Monday. 'It is all the more worrying to note that the authors of these comments are aspiring doctors, who could be entrusted with the health of Quebecers. We applaud the fact that Dawson College's management is taking the situation seriously; launching an investigation was the right thing to do to ensure a healthy and safe climate for all students. However, since it is difficult to identify the vast majority of perpetrators at this stage, we invite anyone with information to report them to their school's management.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Gazette reported that Dawson College has launched an investigation into the origin of antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Black and anti-Indigenous slurs on a channel of the Discord online chat forum for students to discuss the applications process involving Quebec's four medical schools. At least one of the perpetrators of the hateful content on Discord is alleged to be a Dawson student enrolled in the enriched health science program, and until recently, a medical school applicant. The offending posts on the Discord Med serveur channel also included threats of violence against Jews and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, with one anonymous troll displaying an image of a firearms locker stocked with shotguns under a gay pride flag. Meanwhile, the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) would neither confirm nor deny whether it has launched a criminal investigation despite the fact that it has received at least two complaints — one from a medical student and the other from an ad-hoc group representing Jewish physicians. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'For reasons of confidentiality, the … SPVM never confirms, with rare exceptions, that an individual or legal entity has filed a complaint or is the subject of a complaint,' spokesperson Mélanie Bergeron said in an email. 'The same applies to any investigation, so as not to hinder its progress.' In contrast, the internal investigation at Dawson is making headway, the CEGEP's director of communications and corporate affairs confirmed on Monday. 'The investigation is advancing,' Donna Varrica said. 'We are awaiting clarity on a couple of important points before considering any action or calling it closed. As for any changes to webpages on our website that reference specific students in order to identify them in another context, … I can't comment on that.' Varrica was alluding to Gazette queries concerning the disappearance of references to a student on its website. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Déry's appeal for assistance from students and members of the public in identifying the perpetrators of the hateful online epithets comes as an atmosphere of fear and secrecy has descended on the the Med serveur Discord channel and within the halls of Quebec CEGEPs. In December, Déry opened an investigation into complaints of racist bullying from students at Dawson and Vanier colleges arising from tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, some academic union leaders have accused Déry of political interference after she demanded that Dawson justify the content of a French course with most of the material focusing on the Palestinian cause. Although most of the offensive posts have since been taken down from the Discord channel, B'nai Brith Canada captured some of them, including the degrading comment: 'Imagine a woman under antidepressant(s) and f—ing Ritalin who (performs) surgery on you. She'll vomit mid-surgery because it's too stressful and she needs a mental health break.' A screenshot of another remark alluded to the Jewish skullcap: 'Don't worry, you can trust me as long as you don't have a kippah under your wig.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. B'nai Brith Canada has exposed a public Discord server used by Quebec medical school applicants and attendees that became a cesspool of antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and hate. For months, a number ofaspiring doctors openly posted Holocaust denial, praise for the 'Final… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) May 8, 2025 Discord, the San Francisco-based app popular among teens and university students, has also launched its own investigation into the Med serveur channel. The racist posts have rekindled feelings of anxiety in Montreal's Jewish community that have persisted since Oct. 7, 2023 — the date when Hamas invaded Israel and committed the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Following the start of the Israel-Hamas war, entrances to Montreal synagogues have been firebombed, among other acts of antisemitic violence.
