Posts Tagged ‘multiculturalism’

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Black people more likely to be arrested, charged, shot and killed by Toronto police, Ontario Human Rights Commission finds

Monday, August 10th, 2020

The results are “highly disturbing, and confirm what Black communities have said for decades — that Black people bear a disproportionate burden of law enforcement”… although Black people represent 8.8 per cent of Toronto’s population, Black people represented 32 per cent of the charges in the data set… The charges… involve a high degree of discretion on the part of the officer.

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These mental health advocates are working on an alternative to police intervention when someone is in crisis.

Monday, August 3rd, 2020

“When someone is in crisis, they are already feeling afraid, overwhelmed, out of control. They don’t need an officer with a gun and handcuffs showing up… “What they need instead is a mental health expert, who they can trust, who can help them calm down. Someone who can help them feel safer.”

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Trying to avert two Ontario child-welfare deaths a week

Friday, July 31st, 2020

… in 2016, 121 children or youth involved in the system, including those who recently aged out, had died. In 2017, it was 126, in 2018 it was 126 again, and in 2019, 99… But some of the issues… are much broader than those in the child-welfare system. Data is siloed in ways that complicate co-ordination and planning… There are major regional inequalities in available services… “The pandemic really highlighted some of the long-standing issues in the system”…

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We must go back and fetch our forgotten Black history

Friday, July 31st, 2020

Canada’s strategically crafted narrative has created a framework within which racial inequities have simultaneously been upheld and delegitimized through the erasure of Black experiences. It’s actually quite ingenious. If we can’t identify the roots of our systems of oppression, we will never dismantle them. If we don’t recognize the whole of our history, we will never learn from it.

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Inequality means we’re not all in this together

Thursday, July 30th, 2020

The pandemic showed us that challenging the status quo is essential in tackling the inequalities we see today across Canada. Certain policies and interventions implemented at different scales across North America have proven both feasible and practical… They should not disappear after the pandemic subsides. There is nothing radical about housing the homeless, preventing drug overdoses, feeding the hungry, increasing minimum wages, or reducing prison populations. These measures are urgently needed and are simply humane. They should be our “new normal” in Canada moving forward.

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Why assume Indigenous peoples speak with one voice?

Thursday, July 23rd, 2020

… while many Indigenous communities might share certain cultural traits or values, our experiences and approaches remain distinct from one another… And, by virtue of the broad diversity of experiences and histories, Indigenous nations will have different needs and priorities… it’s normal, and even healthy, to see these diverging opinions and approaches. Nations’ different economic, cultural and spiritual considerations will inherently lead to different thoughts and opinions.

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Ontario Eliminating the Practice of Birth Alerts

Wednesday, July 15th, 2020

Birth alerts are notifications sent by children’s aid societies to hospitals when they believe a newborn may be in need of protection… It has been reported the practice of birth alerts disproportionately affects racialized and marginalized mothers and families. Expectant mothers can be deterred from seeking prenatal care or parenting supports while pregnant due to fears of having a birth alert issued.

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Ontario to end streaming in Grade 9 and change other ‘racist, discriminatory’ practices

Monday, July 6th, 2020

The Ontario government plans to end streaming in Grade 9 — a long-standing practice that research has found disproportionately impacts Black and low-income students and severely limits their chance of graduating and going on to post-secondary education… The province will also introduce a ban on suspending younger, elementary-school kids — Black students are again disproportionately affected — and improve diversity in hiring and promotions.

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How does Ontario respond to people in crisis — and how should it?

Friday, June 26th, 2020

… a big part of this new model has to be better mental-health care in general, so fewer people end up getting to that crisis point in the first place. The current model produces tragic outcomes, yes, but it also doesn’t work for a lot of people who never have a tragic outcome, per se, but need help they don’t get. And this is especially true with racialized or otherwise marginalized communities.

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Police shouldn’t be answering mental-health calls

Thursday, June 25th, 2020

At this point… there’s no excuse for politicians to refuse to act… there are models elsewhere that could usefully provide direction. One that’s receiving lots of attention… involves teams of medical professionals and crisis workers responding directly to calls involving people in mental crisis, and rarely has to resort to police backup.

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