SPRING 2017

PRACTICAL AND AUTHORITATIVE ANALYSIS OF KEY NATIONAL ISSUES DIRECTOR’S INTRODUCTION The gap between borders and identity

he 2016 Robarts Centre Graduate York University has sought to support BY ANNA HUDSON TStudent Conference, “: increasingly interdisciplinary research Homeland or Hostile Land?,” antici- Anna V. Hudson, PhD, is acting director of pertinent to the study of Canada and the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies pated the country’s 150th anniversary in and associate professor and Tier II York “Canada in the world.” Our greatest 2017 with an outpouring of critically Research Chair in the School of the Arts, measure of success is the students we engaged considerations on the status of Media, Performance & Design at York gather and mentor and from whom we our nation-state. The success of the con- University. She is the principal investigator appreciate contemporary concerns. ference is a testament to the profession- of Mobilizing Cultural Heritage: I would like to thank two exceptional A Multi-media/Multi-platform alism of our graduate students and their Re‑engagement of Voice in Visual Art doctoral students for their organization colleagues across the country. This next and Performance. of the 2016 conference and this issue of generation of activist scholars speak Canada Watch: Jennifer Mussell and from the gap between borders and iden- tensions of Canadian Studies embraced Erin Yunes. Thanks are also due to our tity, between diversity and a new global- by the Robarts Centre. Centre Coordinator, Laura Taman, and to ity. In so doing, this issue of Canada Since its founding in 1984, the all of the contributors to this issue for their Watch bears witness to the productive Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at keen engagement with social justice.

CO-ORGANIZERS’ INTRODUCTION Canada: Homeland or hostile land?

n April 2016, the Robarts Centre for section, “A Legacy of State Oppres- BY JENNIFER MUSSELL AND ERIN YUNES ICanadian Studies at York University sion,” examines events in Canada’s past hosted its third annual graduate student Jennifer Mussell is a PhD candidate in and present in which the Canadian state conference, entitled “Canada: Home- political science at York University. Erin has perpetrated acts of oppression Yunes is a PhD candidate in art history land or Hostile Land?” Over the course and visual culture at York University. They against its citizens. The essays by Peltier of the two-day conference, more than were co-organizers of the 2016 Robarts and FitzGerald examine the legacy of 50 students from universities across the Centre Graduate Student Conference. settler colonialism and the contem­ country presented their work and porarily relevant issue of Indigenous engaged in critical exploration of social and economic inequalities along people’s human rights and security. inequalities in Canadian society. Panels lines of gender, race, indigeneity, ability, Gibbs’s essay focuses on the use of lan- and papers ranged in subject from Can- region, socio-economic status, and guage in the construction of narratives adian settler colonialism and its leg­ migration status, among others. As Can- Canada: Homeland or hostile land?, page 8 acies, to multiculturalism, to state policy ada approaches its 150th birthday cele- and its impacts on minorities. Despite brations, there is no better time to reflect The contents of this issue are listed the diversity of topics and range of per- on the fact that, for some, Canada is in the Features box on page 2. spectives, all the discussions that ensued more hostile land than homeland. featured a common conclusion: that This issue includes 11 essays, each of Canada has both a history and a pres- which was developed from a presenta- ent characterized by deeply entrenched tion given at the conference. The first

Canada Watch is a publication of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies of York University CANADA WATCH SPRING 2017

PRACTICAL AND AUTHORITATIVE ANALYSIS OF KEY NATIONAL ISSUES Canada: Homeland or Hostile Land? EDITOR Anna Hudson, Acting Director FEATURES Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, York University

DIRECTOR’S INTRODUCTION Muslim-Canadian women speak out! GUEST EDITORS The Harper government, the “niqab The gap between borders and Jennifer Mussell ban,” and Muslim-Canadian women’s PhD candidate, Political Science, identity voices in communications media Robarts Centre Graduate Student By Anna Hudson...... 1 Conference Organizer By Nicolette Little...... 13 CO-ORGANIZERS’ INTRODUCTION Erin Yunes The politics of social work: Do PhD candidate, Art History and Canada: Homeland or hostile land? racialized social workers belong in Visual Culture, Robarts Centre Graduate By Jennifer Mussell and Erin Yunes...... 1 the practice space of public policy Student Conference Organizer development? MANAGING EDITOR A LEGACY OF STATE OPPRESSION By Candies Kotchapaw...... 15 Laura Taman, Coordinator MMIW: Relationship and OVERSEEING OUTSIDERS: Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, reconciliation THE CANADIAN STATE AND York University By Sharla Peltier...... 3 “FOREIGNERS” COLUMNISTS IN THIS ISSUE The killing silence How human capital theory justifies Emma Callon Nicolette Little By James FitzGerald...... 5 changes in literacy proficiency James FitzGerald Chantelle Morais requirements for entry and Ryan Gibbs Jennifer Mussell Literary Canadian internment narratives and redress politics Ann Catherine Sharla Peltier By Farra Yasin...... 17 By Ryan Gibbs...... 7 Henley Matthew Poggi The crisis facing internationally Salmaan Khan Farra Yasin Determining responsibility: A media trained women engineers in Canada analysis of the death of Ashley Smith Candies Kotchapaw Erin Yunes By Ann Catherine Henley...... 19 By Chantell Morais...... 9 PRODUCTION The second generation: Italian- WordsWorth Communications (CRITICAL) PERSPECTIVES ON Canadian students and CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM By Matthew Poggi...... 21 CONTACT FOR INFORMATION Canada Watch Official multiculturalism and Gender’s journey in Canadian the promise of equality 7th Floor, Kaneff Tower foreign policy, 1970-2015 4700 Keele St., , M3J 1P3 By Salmaan Khan...... 11 By Emma Callon...... 23 Phone 416-736-5499, Fax 416-650-8069 http://robarts.info.yorku.ca

For information regarding future issues, The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and contact Laura Taman, Coordinator, Robarts Centre.

Please address comments to Anna Hudson, Acting Director,

PRACTICAL AND AUTHORITATIVE ANALYSIS OF KEY NATIONAL ISSUES Robarts Centre. LEARN MORE AT: Canada Watch is produced by the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies http://robarts.info.yorku.ca of York University. Copyright © 2017 The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies

Printed in Canada ISSN 1191-7733

2 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 A LEGACY OF STATE OPPRESSION MMIW: Relationship and reconciliation

tions and Indigenous communities have COLONIAL LEGACIES BY SHARLA PELTIER he missing and murdered Indigen- responded with a range of activities and Sharla Peltier is a member of the Loon that a number of cross-jurisdictional Tous women (MMIW) phenomenon Clan, Rama (Mnjikaning First Nation). is a legacy of colonialism and repre- She holds a PhD in human studies and efforts are under way to address the vio- sents the dark reality of racism that has is currently a sessional instructor in lence. NWAC launched the Faceless banished Aboriginal1 people to the mar- the School of Education at Dolls Project in 2012 and the Traveling gins of Canadian society. Although Can- Laurentian University. Exhibit in 2013, which carries forward ada’s Indigenous2 people are the fastest the visual representation of strong and growing and youngest population in the and marginalization, as evidenced by beautiful Aboriginal women who have nation, there is a lack of respectful rela- poverty and education inequities and become “faceless” victims of crime. tionships with settlers and government. family system and health disparities. Every time a statistic is used to explain Aboriginal people have been aware of Media reports (television, news web- the marginalization of Aboriginal the violence against Indigenous women sites, and social media such as Face- women and girls in Canada, NWAC for over a century and the issue has book and Twitter) abound with unsolved wishes to remind all that: only recently been brought to light in cases of MMIW. The stories of the “We remember that a beautiful Aborig- the Canadian consciousness. Media women, their families, and communities inal woman is represented by every coverage of MMIW and government are touching and shed light on the insur- number shared, that each statistic tells a responses to calls for action are the mountable pain of loss and unresolved story” (NWAC website). impetus for public education and recon- grief that Aboriginal peoples are con- The Walking With Our Sisters ciliation through new relationships with tinuing to experience. (WWOS) memorial and art exhibit was Indigenous peoples. Indigenous cultural launched in 2012. Over 1,700 pairs of practices and values include the story- THE CANADIAN RESPONSE AND moccasin vamps (the tops of mocca- telling tradition, and as Indigenous ACTION sins) are included in a pathway within people tell their stories and are listened As national and international bodies, the exhibit to represent the unfinished to, respectful relationships are possible. and Aboriginal communities and organ- lives of missing or murdered Indigenous However, it will be years before we can izations, continue to voice concerns for women. One hundred and eight pairs of come to terms with and heal from our the safety of Aboriginal women in Can- children’s moccasin vamps are dedi- shared history; this is a necessary part of ada, federal and provincial government cated to children who never returned the change process for creating positive actions have been stimulated. Forums home from residential schools. The future outcomes in Canadian society. and inquiries have brought attention to WWOS memorial is being hosted at var- The statistics about MMIW are stark this issue, including the seminal Royal ious North American locations and is and staggering. The Royal Canadian Commission on Aboriginal Peoples currently booked through 2018 in more Mounted Police report on MMIW in Can- (RCAP) (1996), Amnesty International than 30 locations (WWOS website). ada (RCMP, 2014) examined 1,181 cases Canada’s Stolen Sisters report (2004), Government initiatives at the federal, of missing or murdered Aboriginal and the report of the Inter-American provincial, and municipal levels demon- women between 1980 and 2012 and Commission on Human Rights, Missing strate interest in forging a relationship showed that Aboriginal women were at and Murdered Indigenous Women in with Aboriginal people (United Nations, a higher risk of being victims of violence , Canada (2014). 2007; RCAP, 1996; Truth and Reconcilia- than non-Aboriginal women. The report The Native Women’s Association of tion Commission of Canada [TRC], stated that Aboriginal women make up Canada (NWAC) released a report 2015a, 2015b; , 4.3 percent of the Canadian population called What Their Stories Tell Us, pre- 2008). In 2013, the Canadian Parliament but account for 16 percent of female senting five years of research by the Sis- established the Special Committee of homicides and 11.3 percent of missing ters In Spirit initiative (NWAC, 2010). In the House of Commons on Violence women (RCMP, 2014, p. 3). Statistics 2015, NWAC released a framework, Against Indigenous Women, which Canada (2016) reveals population data developed from a national round table, heard testimony from numerous wit- demonstrating that Aboriginal people, to prevent and address violence against nesses, including representatives of and Aboriginal women in particular, are Indigenous women and girls. The NWAC national and regional Aboriginal organ- suffering from intergenerational trauma report (2015) notes that various jurisdic- MMIW: Relationship and reconciliation, page 4

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 3 MMIW: Relationship and reconciliation continued from page 3 izations, government officials, front-line relationships among peoples and with .ca/sites/amnesty/files/ service providers, and the family members the land and all living things. Learning how amr200032004enstolensisters.pdf of missing or murdered Aboriginal women. to live together in a good way happens CBC News. (2014, August 12). Winnipeg In 2014, the city of Winnipeg erected through sharing stories. . . . [R]econcili- monument honours missing, murdered a monument to honour MMIW (CBC News, ation will never occur unless we are also aboriginal women. Retrieved from 2014). The site is the first of its kind in reconciled with the earth” (TRC, 2015a, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ Canada to provide a place for families to pp. 17-18). /winnipeg-monument mourn their loss. The monument also stim- Healthy and balanced individuals are -honours-missing-murdered-aboriginal ulates self-reflection and critical aware- capable of establishing and maintaining -women-1.2734302 ness of the issue among all Canadians. good relationships. The Canadian pub- CBC News. (2016, April 18). Winnipeg Recently, the city of Winnipeg also launched lic is becoming aware of the historical Downtown BIZ welcomes indigenous a business signage campaign in the contributions that Aboriginal people people downtown with decals. downtown area to welcome Aboriginal have made to society. As a result, heal- Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/ peoples. The signs are in Ojibwe, Cree, ing from our shared history progresses news/canada/manitoba/downtown Dene, Michif, Dakota, and Inuktitut, as and new relationships are forged. The -winnipeg-initiative-aboriginal well as French and English (CBC News, MMIW phenomenon is being inter- -welcome-1.3540620 2016). Another related project is cur- rupted by education and societal dis- Government of Canada. (2008). rently under way in the city of Toronto. course based on mutual respect and Statement of apology to former A Government of Canada action plan understanding so that negative attitudes students of Indian residential schools. (2016) highlights federal actions for the and violent behaviours can become a , ON: Indian and Northern next five years to address violence, sup- thing of the past. The shared actions of Affairs Canada. Retrieved from port victims, and protect Aboriginal Indigenous people and Canadians to https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/ women and girls from family violence create respectful relationships in Canad- eng/1100100015644/1100100015649 and violent crimes. Communities are ian society will bring reconciliation to Government of Canada. (2016). Action acknowledged as being in the best pos- the next seven generations. plan to address family violence and ition to lead in developing solutions to violent crimes against Aboriginal violent crime, by taking measures to NOTES women and girls. Ottawa, ON: Status ensure the safety of women and girls, 1. The term “Aboriginal” is commonly of Women Canada. Retrieved from providing access to services for victims, used in Canada and is used in this http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/violence/ and raising awareness within commun- context to refer specifically to the efforts/action-eng.html ities that violence is unacceptable. Prov- Indigenous people in Canada (Helin, inces and territories play a key role in 2006). “Aboriginal” is the word used in Helin, Calvin. (2006). Dances with collective efforts for change. Canada’s Constitution and includes dependency: Out of poverty through “Indians, Inuit and Métis peoples of self-reliance. , BC: Orca Canada.” RECONCILIATION WITHIN Spirit Publishing and Communications. RELATIONSHIP 2. “Indigenous” is used within the context Inter-American Commission on Human of global terms to refer to Aboriginal A movement toward cultural resur- Rights. (2014, December 21). Missing people, or native people. Indigenous and murdered Indigenous women in gence, healing, and wellness is under people are groups protected in British Columbia, Canada. OEA/ way in Canada and there is talk of “rec- international or national legislation as Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 30/14. Retrieved from onciliation.” Aboriginal languages, val- having a set of specific rights based on ues, and world views are supportive their linguistic and historical ties to a http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/ factors recognized in the healing and particular territory and their cultural and pdfs/indigenous-women-bc-canada reconciliation movement. Traditional historical distinctiveness from other -en.pdf elders play an important role in the pro- populations. Native Women’s Association of Canada. cess because they possess the cultural (2010). What their stories tell us: wisdom to guide bimaadiziwin (“a REFERENCES Research findings from the Sisters In good life” in Anishinaabemowin). Elder Amnesty International Canada. (2004). Spirit initiative. Osweken, ON: Author. Reg Crowshoe told the Truth and Recon- Stolen sisters: A human rights Retrieved from https://nwac.ca/ ciliation Commission that “Indigenous response to discrimination and wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2010 peoples’ world views, oral history trad- violence against Indigenous women -What-Their-Stories-Tell-Us-Research itions, and practices have much to teach in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Author. -Findings-SIS-Initiative.pdf us about how to establish respectful Retrieved from https://www.amnesty MMIW: Relationship and reconciliation, page 27

4 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 The killing silence

he Royal Canadian Mounted Police a striking similarity to concerns outlined BY JAMES FITZGERALD T(RCMP) identified 1,181 cases of by Human Rights Watch around the missing and murdered Indigenous James FitzGerald is a PhD candidate RCMP. Sarah Carter explains that mem- in the Department of Political Science women between 1980 and 2012 (2014, at York University. bers of Parliament accused the NWMP p. 3). The Women’s Legal Education of licentiousness and misconduct in and Action Fund (LEAF) identified 58 committing sexual violence against separate reports, from various levels of National discourses of Indigenous women in western Canada government as well as non-governmen- (2006, p. 151). The scandal produced tal, internal humanitarian, and Indigen- reconciliation produce several internal investigations and indi- ous organizations, concerning violence vidual punishments. against Indigenous women, with over Indigenous pain as a Similarly, the Human Rights Watch 700 recommendations from 1996 to 2015 report entitled Those Who Take Us (2015, p. 1). The persistent ability of var- public commodity Away examines reports of police vio- ious governments to obscure these through reports. lence against Indigenous women in reports through the supposed need for northern British Columbia. The report more investigation furthers colonial documents a disturbing trend of exces- ends by silencing calls for action and national investigations can resolve struc- sive force used by police and its direct the violence of ongoing colonialism. tural problems. Senator Murray Sinclair, relationship to police misconduct Karen Bridget Murray notes that, for formerly the chair of the TRC, has regarding the investigation of crimes Foucault, “silence is not the end of dis- expressed concern about the future of such as domestic abuse (Human Rights course but rather the beginning of . . . a the TRC because the preliminary rec- Watch, 2013, p. 8). These different new regime of discourses” (2011, p. 54). ommendations have seen limited moments of physical and sexual police Thus, I argue that the institutional and engagement (TRC, 2015, p. 6). What is violence reveal an institutional pattern policy discourses operating around vio- most interesting about national inquiries that connects back to the earliest hist- lence against Indigenous women work is how they figure pain as a moment of ory of the Canadian state. While the to both erase historical violence and breaking the silence. Neo-liberal social scandal of the NWMP was figured as a establish conceptual limits for what can relations have produced public under- failure of morality, the failure of individ- be understood as colonialism. This standings of historical pain and trauma ual members of the RCMP is under- operates in two ways. National dis- as a public good for consumption, but stood as “a few bad apples.” This logic courses of reconciliation produce these collective cultural goods are of personal failure maintains the collec- Indigenous pain as a public commodity understood through the framework of tive silence. Hence, the ability of various through reports. Conversely, the Native neo-liberal subjectivity. This framework state institutions to obscure historical Women’s Association of Canada individualizes responsibility by locating patterns of violence is furthered by the (NWAC) and their allies work to contest it in those who break the law and tra- lack of independent public scrutiny of these institutional silences. verse social norms. The federal govern- complaints and investigations. ment and the Canadian public can NEO-LIBERAL PAIN exorcise guilt through inquiries and BREAKING THE SILENCE Canada will have gone through three commissions, but the logics of individ- Indigenous women’s organizations have federal investigations into Indigenous ual responsibility, historical demarca- been using the international arena as a issues in less than three decades. The tions, and understandings of fiscal vehicle to force Canada’s compliance final report of the Truth and Reconcilia- responsibility work to silence larger with human rights legislation. In Decem- tion Commission of Canada (TRC) questions of ongoing complicity. Collec- ber 2002, Beverley Jacobs, of NWAC, notes: “Much of what the Royal Com- tive and individual accountability as presented her concerns about human mission had to say has been ignored by national discourses work to produce rights violations to the United Nations government; a majority of its recom- colonial violence as a relationship from Special Rapporteur Investigating the mendations were never implemented” the past. Violations of Indigenous Human Rights (2015, p. 6). The incomplete implemen- (Jacobs, 2002; Amnesty International, tation of recommendations from the INSTITUTIONAL SILENCE 2004, p. 8). NWAC received funds from reports of the Royal Commission on The 1886 scandal of the North-West the Liberal government to investigate Aboriginal Peoples and the TRC should Mounted Police (NWMP), the precursor these violations and found approxi- prompt caution when assuming that to the current federal police force, bears The killing silence, page 6

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 5 The killing silence continued from page 5 mately 680 cases by 2010. The Conserv- ative government cut funding for Indigenous women’s organizations have been NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit program, citing the need to focus on a forensics labora- using the international arena as a vehicle tory. By 2015, the Coalition for the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples to force Canada’s compliance with presented a coherent set of findings to the UN Human Rights Committee to human rights legislation. draw attention to the level of violence facing Indigenous women. This marked response to discrimination and , QC and Kingston, ON: a massive undertaking and profound violence against Indigenous women McGill-Queen’s University Press. grassroots activism, with at least 26 in Canada. Retrieved from http:// Native Women’s Association of Canada. human rights organizations submitting www.amnesty.ca/research/reports/ (2016, October 28). Press release: their own separate reports to the stolen-sisters-a-human-rights Canada held to account for its 18-member independent committee -response-to-discrimination-and disappointing women’s rights record (CBC News, 2015). The subsequent -violence-against-indig by the United Nations Committee on report by the UN committee represented CBC News. (2015, July 23). UN human the Elimination of Discrimination a fundamental challenge to the silence rights committee slams Canada’s Against Women. Retrieved from around violence faced by Indigenous record on women. Retrieved from https://nwac.ca/2016/10/press women. However, the reappearance of http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ -release-canada-held-to-account-for-its this coalition of organizations at the un-human-rights-committee-slams -disappointing-womens-rights-record sixth meeting of the Committee on the -canada-s-record-on-women-1.3164650 -by-the-united-nations-committee-on Elimination of Discrimination Against -the-elimination-of-discrimination Women on October 24, 2016 reveals the Carter, Sarah. (2006). Categories and -against-women/ lack of action on the part of Justin terrains of exclusion: Constructing the Trudeau’s Liberal government around “Indian woman” in the early Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2014). gender-based violence and gender settlement era in western Canada. In Missing and murdered Aboriginal inequality faced by Indigenous women. Mary-Ellen Kelm & Lorna Townsend women: A national operational I would argue that these challenges put (Eds.), In the days of our overview. Ottawa, ON: Author. forward at the international level have to grandmothers: A reader in Aboriginal Retrieved from http://www.rcmp-grc work to reveal the human rights viola- women’s history in Canada. Toronto, .gc.ca/en/missing-and-murdered tions of the Canadian state and place ON: University of Toronto Press. -aboriginal-women-national pressure on the Canadian state. While Human Rights Watch. (2013). Those who -operational-overview the UN recommendations are not bind- take us away: Abusive policing and Truth and Reconciliation Commission of ing, they point to a clear gap in Canada’s failures in protection of Indigenous Canada. (2015). Honouring the truth, public policy and the persistent failure women and girls in northern British reconciling for the future: Summary of to protect Indigenous women. Overall, a Columbia, Canada. Retrieved from the final report of the Truth and national inquiry represents a powerful http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/02/ Reconciliation Commission of moment for the state to cast off prior 13/those-who-take-us-away-0 Canada. Winnipeg, MB: Author. recommendations and reforms. The Jacobs, Beverley. (2002, December). Retrieved from http://www.trc.ca/ current inquiry should be part of a larger Native Women’s Association of websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/ process and not a single solution to a Canada’s submission to the United Findings/Exec_Summary_2015_05 set of complex colonial relations. The Nations Special Rapporteur _31_web_o.pdf silences that work to erase the violence investigating the violations of Women’s Legal Education and Action experienced by Indigenous women Indigenous human rights. Ottawa, ON: Fund. (2015, February 26). Violence require social, legal, and institutional Native Women’s Association of against Indigenous women and girls transformations, which are more than Canada. in Canada: Review of reports and a single inquiry can produce. Murray, Karen Bridget. (2011). The silence recommendations—Executive of urban Aboriginal policy in New summary. Toronto, ON: Author. REFERENCES Brunswick. In Evelyn J. Peters (Ed.), Retrieved from http://www.leaf.ca/ Amnesty International. (2004, October 4). Urban Aboriginal policy making in wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ Stolen Sisters: A human rights Canadian municipalities (pp. 53-86). Executive-Summary.pdf

6 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 Literary Canadian internment narratives and redress politics

from white Canadians uncomfortable THE ABSENT VOICE BY RYAN GIBBS n Redress: Inside the Japanese Can- with the growing economic prosperity Ryan Gibbs (MA) is an English professor at of in the commun­ Iadian Call for Justice, writer and activ- Lambton College in Sarnia, Ontario, ist Roy Miki recounts the date September currently pursuing a PhD at the University ity—a violence neutralized by the term 22, 1988, when Prime Minister Brian of Western Ontario. His dissertation (Miki, 2004, pp. 50-51). Through this Mulroney apologized in Parliament for focuses on the intersection between mobilization of an official language that wartime measures under which the gov- Canadian internment fiction and redress reconfigured Japanese Canadians as politics. His review of Behind Barbed Wire: ernment of Canada, during the Second non-citizens, violations of their citizen- Creative Works on the Internment of ship rights were both underscored and World War, “wrongfully incarcerated, has been accepted to seized the property, and disenfran- Italian Canadiana, and his own creative legitimated. chised thousands of citizens of Japan- work has appeared in Tower Poetry As language was once a site of war- ese ancestry” (quoted in Miki, 2004, and The Windsor Review. time violations against Canadian cit- p. 4). Miki, who had negotiated the Jap- izens of Japanese descent, the question anese Canadian Redress Agreement, then arises whether language could be observed as a silent “guest” in the [L]iterature … serves … considered a site of redress for past House of Commons gallery as the prime as a site of redress for injustices today. For Miki, even after the minister announced the agreement. 1988 government apology and repara- Miki also acknowledged that New Dem- wartime internments. tions to Japanese Canadians, the mean- ocrat opposition leader Ed Broadbent ing of redress remains elusive. As he responded by reading a passage from remarks, “the ‘Japanese Canadian’ sub- Joy Kogawa’s landmark novel Obasan policy to demonstrate how literature ject is redressed—in metaphoric terms, (1981), a literary text that had gained functions as a site of redress for wartime dressed anew—in the garment of recon- much public attention for its emotional internments. ciliation and resolution—in the garment portrayal of Japanese-Canadian of citizenship” (Miki, 1998, p. 197). Redress upheaval during the war. Broadbent THE in this instance can be coercive because himself was tearful as he read, “There To begin with, language itself was an it attempts to stabilize a Japanese-Can­ are some nightmares from which there important means of wartime intern- adian identity still fraught with unresolved is no waking, only deeper and deeper ment. As Miki explains, a nation cannot tensions between racialized subjects sleep” (quoted in Miki, 2004, p. 7). intern its own citizens because such an and the nation-state. Instead, Miki advo- Miki remarks that in this moment of act would violate the Geneva Conven- cates for a “poetics that takes on the bur- formal redress, Obasan stood in for an tion. But when the government reclassi- den of social struggle and still attends to otherwise absent “Japanese-Canadian” fied Japanese-Canadian citizens as creative acts which begin (not merely voice that “reflected the inner turbu- enemy aliens, internment came to legit- end) at the boundary lines” (Miki, 1998, lence of the redress movement and its imate the numerous violations of cit- p. 199). Here lies an argument for the connections to a lengthy history of izenship rights experienced by Japanese power of literary works to redress past estrangement from the Canadian Canadians when they were detained wrongs beyond the limits of litigation nation” (Miki, 2004, p. 8). In the scene and relocated from the BC coastline to and identity politics, through the imagi- that Miki describes, literature further camps in the Canadian interior (Miki, native use of figurative language to serves as what political scientist Matt 2004, p. 58). Likewise, Miki notes that destabilize national and racial identities James defines as a “system of interest the government use of the term “evacu- that appear deceptively harmonious intermediation” (2013, pp. 31-32), a ation” to describe this mass uprooting through acts of political reconciliation. means through which social groups can was a euphemism, in that one is more raise their issues to government offi- commonly evacuated only temporarily EXAMINING TROPES cials, and by which governments can, in from a threat of danger. But the wartime But since such political acts themselves turn, reshape these issues. This brief “evacuation” of Japanese Canadians often employ figurative language to essay examines the intermediary role of from the west coast was intended to be imagine reconciliation between the literature in the space between social permanent, with property confiscated state and injured groups, it is important movement activism and government and the real threat being racial violence Internment narratives and redress politics, page 8

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 7 Internment narratives and redress politics continued from page 7 to consider whether such language is used flated the claims between the movements inclusively or exclusively, though the have become in order to achieve currency Reconciling Canada: Critical two uses are not easily distinguishable. in the dominant neo-liberal discourse of perspectives on the culture of redress Literary and cultural theorist Jennifer reparations. It is thus important to exam- (pp. 63-83). Toronto, ON: University of Henderson points out that neo-liberalism ine particular tropes in specific redress Toronto Press. itself frames how historical wrongs are contexts in order to determine whether Kogawa, Joy. (1981). Obasan. Toronto, articulated, restricting the language of figurative language reinforces con- ON: Lester & Orpen Dennys. redress to “discursive exchanges” because straints on articulations of injury and James, Matt. (2013). Neoliberal heritage “it is only through this trading of tropes reparation captured by neo-liberalism, redress. In Jennifer Hudson & Pauline that redress movements can speak to as described by Henderson, or whether it Wakeham (Eds.), Reconciling each other and to the dominant political can signify a “poetics” of redress whereby Canada: Critical perspectives on the sayable, which they also, unwittingly, racial and national identities are desta- culture of redress (pp. 31-46). sustain” (2013, p. 64). As examples, bilized, as promoted by Miki. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Henderson compares the use of the car- Press. ceral trope and the deserving-child Miki, Roy. (1998). Broken entries: Race, trope, both symbolic infringements of REFERENCES subjectivity, writing. Toronto, ON: liberal notions of freedom, in redress Henderson, Jennifer. (2013). The camp, Mercury Press. movements around residential schools the school, and the child: Discursive for Indigenous people and around First exchanges and (neo)liberal axioms in Miki, Roy. (2004). Redress: Inside the World War internments of Ukrainian the culture of redress. In Jennifer Japanese Canadian call for justice. Canadians. She demonstrates how con- Hudson & Pauline Wakeham (Eds.), Vancouver, BC: Raincoast Books.

Canada: Homeland or hostile land? continued from page 1 about the internment of Japanese Can- relationship with individuals considered adians during the Second World War, [F]or many, the to be, in some way, non-members of another example of state oppression Canadian homeland Canadian society. The essays by Yasin from Canadian history. This is followed and Henley discuss the high barriers to by Morais’s essay on the death of Ashley can only be a myth. immigrating to and working in Canada Smith while incarcerated in a Canadian that are faced by non-Canadians. Poggi’s institution. Each of these essays high- essay examines the competing relation- lights the sometimes invisible role of the ban put forth by the Conservative gov- ships that second-generation immigrants state in perpetuating existing inequalities. ernment in 2011; and Kotchapaw’s study have with the Canadian state and their The second section, “(Critical) Per- focuses on racialized social workers in parents’ countries of birth, specifically spectives on Canadian Multicultural- the predominantly white space of Can- Italian Canadians during the Second ism,” analyzes the implications of adian public policy. Along with Khan’s World War. The final essay, by Callon, Canada’s perceived multiculturalism. essay, both case studies highlight the critically examines Canadian foreign pol- Khan’s essay looks critically at the offi- tensions between the rhetoric and offi- icy through a gendered lens. Together, cial policy of multiculturalism, first cial policy of multiculturalism and the these essays conclude that Canada’s implemented by the federal government lived experiences of minority groups interactions with outsiders are character- in the 1970s. This is followed by two within Canadian society. ized by hostility rather than hospitality, case studies of multiculturalism: Little’s The final section, “Overseeing Out- suggesting, for many, the Canadian essay examines Muslim-Canadian wom- siders: The Canadian State and ‘Foreign- homeland can only be a myth. en’s response to the proposed niqab ers,’” examines the Canadian state’s

Learn more about PRACTICAL AND AUTHORITATIVE ANALYSIS OF KEY NATIONAL ISSUES and The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at http://robarts.info.yorku.ca

8 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 Determining responsibility: A media analysis of the death of Ashley Smith

treatment or punishment, there is a lack “PROBLEMATIC BEHAVIOURS” BY CHANTELL MORAIS he death of Ashley Smith in 2007 of accountability for the policies that Chantell Morais is a PhD candidate in contributed to Smith’s death. Twhile she was incarcerated in the socio-legal studies at York University. Grand Valley Institution for Women has Representation of Smith’s presumed raised concerns over the use of segrega- mental health status in newspaper arti- tion policies and the treatment of (Perkel, 2013b), which was published in cles covering her death was largely inmates with mental health concerns. the Telegraph-Journal, the reporter problematic. By reducing Smith to a Smith’s experiences with the criminal quotes a prison psychiatrist’s testimony label, or to actions and behaviours asso- justice system, which saw her trans- during the coroner’s inquest. The use of ciated with a label, the newspaper cov- ferred 17 times across eight facilities in testimony by a prison psychiatrist sug- erage worked to dehumanize Smith. an 11-month timeframe, resulted in gests that Smith had a formal diagnosis. This is seen through the use of state- instability and behaviours that Correc- At no time does the article recognize the ments such as “she would be making tional Service Canada (CSC) classified lack of a formal assessment of Smith; progress and then she would have to as problematic or acting out. These instead, it allows the reader to assume self-destruct” (Perkel, 2013a) and she behaviours caused prison staff and offi- that Smith was assessed as having was “a large, tyrannical child who can’t cials to engage in segregation and psy- borderline personality disorder. Given tolerate limits” (Jones, 2013). As Butler chiatric intervention as punitive the lack of a formal diagnosis and treat- notes, “violence against those who are measures when dealing with Smith. The ment plan, the use of sedatives in already not quite living, that is, living in use of psychiatric measures as punish- Smith’s case suggests a reliance on a state of suspension between life and ment or a form of control plays into a medicalization as a form of control in death, leaves a mark that is no mark” larger “psy-carceral complex” in which the prison system. “For Smith, psycho- (2004, p. 36). The use of treatment in the CSC uses medicalization and pun- tropic medication became an instru- Smith’s case continued to mark her as a ishment in the form of isolation and ment of punishment that diminished her body that was not quite living. In separ- sedation (Kilty, 2014). In the case of Ash- ability to resist carceral control” (Kilty, ate articles, Perkel and Jones both note ley Smith’s homicide, these narratives 2014, p. 244). that treatment plans for Smith were cre- maintain underlying tones of account- ated that included withdrawing heat and ability that shifts blame from the CSC to CONTROL AND PUNISH giving her the silent treatment as a form of punishment if she misbehaved. This Smith’s behaviours and her mental The use of segregation is another ele- degrading method of treatment does health status. ment of the psy-carceral discourses that not seek to encourage positive The use of psy-carceral discourses in sought to control and punish Smith. In responses to successes but rather the media representation of Ashley the Grand Valley Institution, segregation focuses on punitive measures. These Smith seemed to construct Smith as included 23 hours a day in solitary con- methods suggest a willingness to inflict both “mad” and “bad.” Newspaper cov- finement. The labelling of Smith as “act- punishment on a body that is marked erage in both the Tele- ing out,” having “behavioural problems,” for violence because the mark will not graph-Journal and The Globe and Mail or being “abusive” justified the use of be seen. Smith’s involvement with the used mental health diagnoses when segregation as a method of punishment. CSC resulted in her body being marked describing Smith’s behaviour during her The prison staff’s use of segregation for for acts of violence that would not be incarceration. Most commonly, the Smith further impaired her health and taken up, because she was not thought newspaper reports used a diagnosis of well-being. In her call for an end to seg- of as fully living by the prison staff. borderline personality disorder. How- regation policies, Joane Martel states ever, Smith did not receive a complete that “segregation is most often lived in psychological assessment and did not overwhelming solitude, which is gener- A BODY NOT QUITE LIVING receive a mental health diagnosis, even ally experienced as rejection or aban- This essay has sought to draw connec- though she was prescribed psycho­ donment, as a form of dehumanization, tions between the media’s representa- tropic medications in order to sedate as a total invisibility or a general lack of tion of Ashley Smith’s death and forms and control her (Kilty, 2014). In the article acknowledgement of their existence” of accountability, along with the marking “Ashley Smith a ‘Large Tyrannical (2000, p. 130). By not addressing the of Smith’s body as not deserving of pub- Child,’ Psychiatrist Tells Inquest” CSC’s use of segregation as a method of The death of Ashley Smith, page 10

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 9 The death of Ashley Smith continued from page 9 lic grief. While many of the articles writ- ten attempt to uncover the issues in By reducing Smith to a label, or to actions and Smith’s incarceration and death, the behaviours associated with a label, the newspaper reporters fail to address Correctional Service Canada’s responsibility in coverage worked to dehumanize Smith. Smith’s death as they exercised psy-­ carceral discourses as methods of pun- ishment and control. The problems coroner’s inquest touching the death Linke, R. (2007b, November 21). Teen associated with some of the word of Ashley Smith. Retrieved from alleged she was assaulted by jail staff; choices in recounting Smith’s behaviour http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/ revelations, new details emerge in and her presumed mental health further publications/005007-9011-eng.shtml Ashley Smith’s death. Telegraph- contribute to the “mad” or “bad” dia- Jones, Allison. (2013, March 5). Ashley Journal. logue of criminalized women. Histori- Smith could have been treated. Linke, R. (2007c, November 24). Chained cally, “the idea that women could be Telegraph-Journal. and bound; prison: Ashley Smith was both mad and bad was almost incom- kept shackled in segregation, new in- prehensible. The tiny percentage of Kendall, Kathleen. (2000). Psy-ence formation reveals. Telegraph-Journal. women who came to be labelled as fiction: Governing female prisons insane criminals therefore provoked a through the psychological sciences. In Makin, Kirk. (2010, October 30). Ashley great deal of curiosity, bewilderment Kelly Hannah-Moffat & Margaret Shaw Smith’s death an accident, not suicide, and scorn” (Kendall, 2000, p. 85). (Eds.), An ideal prison? Critical essays report says. The Globe and Mail. Whether intentional or not, the media’s on women’s imprisonment in Canada Martel, Joane. (2000). Women in the representation of Smith constructed her (pp. 82-93). Halifax, NS: Fernwood. “hole”: The unquestioned practice of as both “mad” and “bad.” This has Kilty, Jennifer M. (2014). Examining the segregation. In Kelly Hannah-Moffat & resulted in a misrepresentation of “psy-carceral complex” in the death Margaret Shaw (Eds.), An ideal accountability for Smith’s death, with of Ashley Smith. In Gillian Balfour & prison? Critical essays on women’s responsibility being placed on Smith Elizabeth Comack (Eds.), Criminalizing imprisonment in Canada (pp. 128- herself instead of on the CSC’s policies women: Gender and (in)justice in 135). Halifax, NS: Fernwood. and mandates that were directly related neoliberal times (2nd ed., pp. 236- Perkel, Colin. (2013a, February 26). to her death. The use of segregation, 254). Halifax, NS: Fernwood. Ashley Smith worsened after prison medication, and mental health treat- Linke, R. (2007a, November 8). Moncton hostage taking. The Globe and Mail. ment plans as methods of control fur- teen jailed for apple throwing; crime Perkel, Colin. (2013b, March 26). Ashley ther displaced Smith in a system that case of Ashley Smith to be used as Smith a “large tyrannical child,” was supposed to focus on rehabilitation example of human rights abuses in psychiatrist tells inquest. Telegraph- instead of retribution. prison system. Telegraph-Journal. Journal.

REFERENCES Ashley Smith deserved better [Editorial]. (2014, December 13). Telegraph-Journal. Butler, Judith. (2004). Precarious life: Canadian Studies Network The powers of mourning and violence. London, UK: Verso Books. Réseau d’études canadiennes Clayton-Thomas, David. (2013, January 23). Ashley Smith could have been he CSN-REC facilitates communication me. The Globe and Mail. among Canadianists and holds an Comack, Elizabeth, & Brickey, Salena. T (2007). Constituting the violence of annual meeting to discuss issues of criminalized women. Canadian mutual concern and new developments Journal of Criminology and Criminal in Canadian Studies. Justice, 49(1): 1-36. Correctional Service Canada. (2014, http://www.csn-rec.ca December). Response to the

10 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 (CRITICAL) PERSPECTIVES ON CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM Official multiculturalism and the promise of equality

n 1971, the government of Pierre racism, both systemic and personal, BY SALMAAN KHAN ITrudeau implemented Canada’s first which barred the full participation of policy on multiculturalism. With its elim- Salmaan Khan is a PhD (3) student people of colour within society. Inci- in the Social and Political Thought ination of overt racial classifications in program at York University. dences of racism in society no longer immigration policy during the 1960s and included a discussion of power but were 1970s, the Canadian nation-state seemed seen as anomalous individual acts that as if it were at the cutting edge of pro- ism (Gupta, 1999), greater demands for ran counter to the tolerance of the Can- moting racial and ethnic tolerance. For Aboriginal sovereignty, and a changing adian state and its nationals. Inequalities over 45 years, the policy of multicultural- post-war world in which discredited experienced by people of colour were ism has remained a defining character- notions of biological racism and a global­ then explained in terms of cultural inad- istic of Canadian national identity and a ized capitalism forced Western nations equacies and a lack of social and lin- source of national pride for many cit- into novel relations with newly guistic skills (Thobani, 2007). With its izens. Yet, given the ongoing material independent states. tendency to culturally compartmentalize inequalities between racialized com- In an era when the justification for people of colour, the policy of multicul- munities and their white counterparts, it white supremacy was being profoundly turalism also worked to split cross-racial is important to re-examine the effects, as eroded, multiculturalism effectively alliances into individualized and distinct well as the intentions, of multicultural- masked the continuity of white privilege cultural communities—what Neil Bis- ism, which came with the promise of by recasting whiteness in its distinct and soondath (1994) has termed the “ghetto­ greater inclusion and equality (Trudeau, new version as “culturally tolerant,” ization” of racialized communities. 1971). respectful of difference, and open to diversity (Thobani, 2007). In opposition SUCCESS OR FAILURE MULTICULTURALISM TO THE to this, non-white people were instead One could argue that multiculturalism RESCUE constructed as monocultural (if not has been successful as a system of con- The policy of multiculturalism was overly cultural), exotic, tied to archaic trol, a means of “rescuing whiteness,” meant to underscore the rights of all traditions, and in need of being taught as well as a way of legitimating racial Canadians to develop culturally, to over- the virtues of tolerance and cosmopoli- domination. But has it been successful come cultural barriers to full participa- tanism under white supervision. Seen in its commonsense guise—that is, as a tion in society, and to promote unity as void of the respect for diversity that means creating a space of greater equal- among the population (Gupta, 1999). characterized the state and its white ity and affirming the value and dignity of Instead, the policy not only has failed to nationals, people of colour were further all people, regardless of their race or address issues of racism and racial excluded from the nation as “cultural ethnicity? Further difficulties arise in inequality in Canadian society, but has outsiders.” The everyday workings of critically deconstructing multicultural- operated as an instrument of racial their lives were defined by their cultural ism in the face of an increasing right- oppression through its evasion of the backgrounds, which were and are con- wing xenophobia that characterizes issues of racism, gender exploitation, structed by the state as neatly bounded multiculturalism as the source of all colonialism, and class. It is important to and separate, as if existing within a vac- evils; a policy that gives too much away move past the mirage and appreciate uum. All other aspects of the lives of and threatens an “authentic” Canadian the ways in which, as an official state people of colour, such as gender, class, way of life. Underlying these difficulties policy, multiculturalism was never and sexuality, were seen as secondary if is something that was at the core of mul- intended as a progressive development not irrelevant to the supreme cultural ticulturalism all along. Multiculturalism in terms of race relations, but was makeup that defined their lives (Ban- has always been premised on the rela- instead premised on a “rescue of white- nerji, 2000). tive inclusion of “strangers” within the ness” (Thobani, 2007). The policy of nation (Ahmed, 2000). The stranger multiculturalism furthered the legitim- DERAILING ANTI-RACISM who appears different adds cachet to acy of this racist-settler colonial state in In its emphasis on culture, multicultural- a period of rising Québécois national- ism suppressed public discussion of The promise of equality, page 12

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 11 The promise of equality continued from page 11 the celebrated diversity of the nation, ther the agendas of racialized groups. Bissoondath, Neil. (1994). Selling but is expected to conform. Multicul- What are the limits of organizing illusions: The cult of multiculturalism tural and exotic “others” are accepted through the language of culture? Can in Canada. Toronto, ON: Penguin. so long as they maintain a strict adher- spaces be created within such a cultural ence to an overarching Europeanness/ discourse for other dimensions of our Gupta, Tanya Das. (1999). The politics of whiteness that remains at the core of lives, imbricated with class, gender, and multiculturalism: Immigrant women (Bannerji, 2000, sexuality? These are some of the ques- and the Canadian state. In Enakshi p. 110). This Europeanness/whiteness tions that will require a rekindling of the Dua & Angela Robertson (Eds.), remains central to the project of multi- imagination and a creative engagement Scratching the surface: Canadian anti- culturalism and provides the criteria for in order to reclaim the struggle of racial- racist feminist thought (pp. 187-205). defining “Canadian culture”—a core and ized groups and to make concrete the Toronto, ON: Canadian Scholars’ point of departure from which the “mul- demands of equality. Press. ticultures” are defined. Thobani, Sunera. (2007). Exalted REFERENCES subjects: Studies in the making of race STRATEGIES FROM HERE Ahmed, Sara. (2000). Strange and nation in Canada. Toronto, ON: At a time when multiculturalism is under encounters: Embodied others in post- University of Toronto Press. increasing attack in the face of blatant coloniality. New York, NY: Routledge. Trudeau, Pierre Elliott. (1971). racism and xenophobia, anti-racist Bannerji, Himani. (2000). Dark side of Multiculturalism. Retrieved from organ­izers and activists are forced to the nation: Essays on http://www.canadahistory.com/ grapple with the question of where to go multiculturalism, nationalism and sections/documents/Primeministers/ from here, and of how to engage with gender. Toronto, ON: Canadian trudeau/docs-onmulticulturalism.htm the discourse of multiculturalism to fur- Scholars’ Press.

A WIDE ARRAY OF FASCINATING PERSPECTIVES

YORK UNIVERSITY, in conjunction with its partners and co-sponsors the Archives of Ontario, Osgoode Hall Law School, and Seneca College, presents seven distinct but interconnected projects to be held in connection with the upcoming sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederation of 1867 in 2017. These programs will illuminate a wide array of fascinating perspectives about the events of the 1860s in what is now called Canada, and the implications of the events that have since arisen.

http://150canada.info.yorku.ca

12 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 Muslim-Canadian women speak out! The Harper government, the “niqab ban,” and Muslim-Canadian women’s voices in communications media

face” for “security, communication or VOICELESS? BY NICOLETTE LITTLE n December 12, 2011, Minister of identification” (National Assembly, 2010, Nicolette Little is a PhD student p. 2; National Assembly, 2013, p. 2). OCitizenship, Immigration and Multi- in the Communication and Culture culturalism Jason Kenney posted Oper- program at York University. According to a February 2015 Angus ational Bulletin OB 359 to the Citizenship Reid survey, Bill 94 was supported by and Immigration Canada website. The 95 percent of Québécois and 75 percent bulletin stated that the niqab, or face [S]ocial media of other Canadians (Patriquin & Gillis, veil, would be banned during citizenship 2010). As Fathima Cader notes, “policy ceremonies. This policy, Kenney allowed Muslim battles over the rights and obligations of announced, was a “matter of principle” veil-wearing Muslim women . . . have and would ensure that “individuals women to speak at a proven especially relentless” as policy- whose faces are covered are actually makers in Canada have attempted to reciting the oath” (Clarke, 2013, p. 16). moment when they control acceptable dress and behaviour Prime Minister Stephen Harper similarly felt that their voices— for women (2013, pp. 69, 71). maintained that the niqab was a mis­ ogynistic symbol “rooted in a culture that and their rights— SOCIAL MEDIA AND MUSLIM is anti-women” (as cited in Bryden, 2015). WOMEN’S VOICES During this period, many Muslim- were being curtailed Social media contributed to the partici- Canadian women felt ignored and/or pants’ sense of having a voice. For misrepresented by Canada’s highest many, it provided an important means federal powers.1 These women were of “getting one’s opinion across to not, however, voiceless. My study exam- voices—and their rights—were being cur- friends and relatives, and to the public ines the ways Muslim-Canadian women tailed.2 too,” once their posts were shared (Par- used social media to weigh in on the ticipant B, personal communication, niqab ban debate. How did social media ATTEMPTS TO “LIFT THE VEIL” November 16, 2015). Some participants enable them to voice their concerns, or IN CANADA noted that social media allowed them to feel “heard” by Canadians? Did using OB 359 was not the first attempt to ban be politically active in a way they had these media impact these women’s feel- the niqab in Canada. Nor was it the first not previously been: as Participant F, a ings about the ban, or their sense of time that Muslim-Canadian women have hijab wearer, explained, “Canadian well-being during the two months lead- felt more talked about than heard in gov- Muslims” were involved in “a lot of ing up to the 2015 federal election? ernmental debates. During ’s online political engagement encourag- Through interviews with nine niqab- or 2007 provincial elections, the province’s ing people to go out and vote” against hijab-wearing Muslim-Canadian women chief electoral officer attempted to mod- the Conservative party (personal com- (referred to here as “participants”)— ify the Elections Act, ordering that veils munication, December 8, 2015). Social including Zunera Ishaq, the woman be lifted in order to prevent “unwanted media allowed participants to stay up to who challenged the Harper government acts” or “improper behaviour” by crowds date on niqab debate developments and over its proposed ban, and her lawyer, at voting stations (Directeur général des empowered them to react publicly and Naseem Mithoowani—and through an élections du Québec, quoted in Clarke, in politicized fashion. examination of these women’s ban- 2013, p. 13). Furthermore, Bill 94 and Bill Interestingly, the interface of many related communications, I proffer a 60 were introduced in Quebec, in 2010 social media platforms also fostered “snapshot” of the ways social media and 2013, respectively, requiring that engagement from shyer participants in allowed Muslim women to speak at a those obtaining or providing govern- the niqab debate. The “liking” and moment when they felt that their ment or public services “show their Muslim-Canadian women speak out!, page 14

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 13 Muslim-Canadian women speak out! continued from page 13 “sharing” capacities of Facebook, Twit- where she “couldn’t not speak out POLITICAL RE-ENGAGEMENT ter, and Instagram allowed participants about the way the niqab was being used In addition to allowing participants to who described themselves as “reserved” as a political ploy.” She posted a poem feel heard and supported, social media to “find a voice in what others were say- that critiqued Canada’s focus on a use also improved their health. Partici- ing,” lowering the barrier to speech wedge issue while graver ills threatened pants indicated that access to social sometimes presented by introversion national well-being, and was “very pleas- media during the pre-election period (Participant A, personal communica- antly surprised” at the encouragement increased their sense of well-being and tion, November 17, 2015). Participants she received from non-Muslims (per- hope. Accessing others’ thoughts and who engaged heavily with social media sonal communication, December 5, tracking the debate through Facebook, felt supported in the pre-election period. 2015). Participant D, a niqabi, noted that Twitter, and Instagram feeds “re-engaged” Interviewees note that, as their Muslim non-Muslims in her Facebook and Insta- several participants in Canadian politics acquaintances shared and liked their gram feeds agreed that “banning the (Participant A, personal communica- anti-ban videos, posts, and other con- niqab is just as bad as forcing someone tion, November 17, 2015). In a pre-election tent, they felt they were a part of a larger, to wear it” (personal communication, period characterized by rampant rhetoric closely knit community of Canadian November 27, 2015). Social media use about Muslims, participants found it Muslims. This sense of support also fostered a widespread sense of encour- “healthful to see all the outrage crossed international borders. Several agement from non-Muslims among par- expressed” and felt that this period participants recall imams and religious ticipants. This is interesting, given that a would have been “more isolating, more leaders from the United States and Privy Council Office poll, shared widely difficult to go through, with less support United Kingdom “liking” and comment- in fall 2015, indicated that 82 percent of or access to voices offering support”— ing encouragingly on their posts, as Canadians actually supported a citizen- that is, without social media (Partici- Canada’s niqab ban debate drew ship ceremony face veil ban (Levitz, pant A, personal communication, broader attention (Participant A, per- 2015). Although social media use led November 17, 2015). A core theory of sonal communication, November 17, participants to feel largely encouraged, psychology is that expressing our feel- 2015; Participant E, personal communi- this sense of support may have been ings, notably anger, promotes health cation, November 26, 2015). skewed. The fact that we tend to be and mental well-being (Sood, 2013, Participants felt supported by non- friends on social media with people p. 253). Social media, which served as Muslims as well. For example, Partici- who agree with—rather than contradict— an outlet for anger, frustration, fear, and pant C, who typically avoids commenting our world views may explain this seem- mistrust of the government, became a politically on Facebook, reached a point ing disconnect. Muslim-Canadian women speak out!, page 26

TRANSGRESSING THE NATION-STATE: CONSTRUCTS OF CANADIAN IDENTITY ROBARTS CENTRE GRADUATE CONFERENCE

April 20th and 21st, 2017 at York University http://yorkrobartsgraduateconference.org

14 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 The politics of social work: Do racialized social workers belong in the practice space of public policy development?

sive hiring practices that contribute to THE HELPING PROFESSION BY CANDIES KOTCHAPAW any institutions in our society have professional marginalization. A Toronto Candies Kotchapaw has an MA in Star report calls for more diverse selec- Mdetermined through credentialing social work from York University. that only certain types of professions tion criteria to Canada’s top court. “Pro- deserve the power to make decisions fessor Rosemary Cairns Way of the that affect citizens. These professions HISTORICAL ROOTS University of Ottawa reports that Aborig- include economists, medical profes- Themes of colonialism, patriarchy, and inal and visible minority members sionals, lawyers, political scientists, and classism are rooted in Canada’s histor- account for roughly 23 per cent of the those seen as valuable to the productiv- ical treatment of minority peoples. Can- population, and yet from 2009 to 2014, ity of society, such as professionals in ada’s Aboriginal peoples continue to only 1.04 per cent of appointees to the the private sector. Historically, social provide a narrative of the impact of provincial superior courts were Aborig- workers have occupied a devalued pos- colonialism. The systematic dismantling inal, and only 0.5 per cent were mem- ition as the “helping” profession. of family structure and the loss of cul- bers of a visible minority group” (Hasan Social work has been absent from tural identity caused by residential & Siddiqui, 2016). The statistics offered significant areas of advocacy and inclu- schooling continue to have negative by Cairns Way again highlight the implicit sion such as policy practice and social socio-intersectional reverberations for and explicit barriers to productive soci- policy development. Westhues defines this minority group. Similarly, classism etal engagement for racialized people. social policy as “a course of action or was expressly active in the exclusive inaction chosen by public authorities to practice of the application of a head tax BEYOND INTENT address a given problem or interrelated on Chinese people. Black people have Prime Minister attempted set of problems” (2003, p. 8). Policy also experienced this inherent classist to change this reality in Parliament in practice can be defined as “efforts to narrative where immigration and the 2015. Yet exclusion for racialized people change policies in legislative, agency ability to access the labour market and is still pervasive. Tamara Johnson in her and community settings whether by to be settled in Canadian society are discussion paper on the visible minority establishing new policies, improving concerned. experience noted that, “in 1999, only existing ones or defeating the policy Professionals such as doctors, law- one in 17 employees of the federal pub- initiatives of other people” (Weiss-Gal & yers, and economists, who are typically lic service was visible minority.” John- Peled, 2009, p. 369). Social workers pos- white males, also typically inform public son further quoted the Treasury Board sess first-hand knowledge and experi- policy development. According to Block Secretariat data that “the representation ence of implementing public and social and Galabuzi, in the area of public of visible minorities in the managerial or policies that directly impact marginal- administration, only “4.0% of racialized executive capacities is even more stag- ized groups. For social work to be a rep- men and 4.1% of racialized women were gering . . . 1 in 33 . . . held by a member of resentative profession, both public and employed in this sector” (2011, p. 10). In a visible minority group” (Johnson, social policy must be active areas of light of these abysmal race representa- 2006, p. 13). In addition, “neither Elec- practice. Cynthia Bisman states that tion statistics, it is clear that policy writ- tions Canada nor the clerk’s office . . . “social workers have a duty to . . . bring ers who do not experience the same keeps data on the ethnic breakdown of to the attention of those in power . . . and social determinants of health concerns members, with the exception of those where appropriate challenge ways in will not prioritize these issues affecting from backgrounds” (Woolf, which the policies or activities of gov- minority populations. Greater represen- 2015). Employment practices of screen- ernment . . . create or contribute to struc- tation of racialized people among policy ing names and addresses, streamlining tural disadvantage” (2004, p. 110). In the writers will assist in highlighting where through career-path forecasting, and following sections, I assess the need for discriminatory practices exist for racial selecting candidates on the basis of an intervention in this practice space and minorities and will open the conversa- organization’s “culture” are multiple bar- suggest how social work can formulate tion as to how these discriminatory prac- riers to diversity and representative public policy as a legitimate advocacy tices can best be addressed. Many bureaucracy. Yee and Dumbrill counter area for marginalized people. institutional structures establish exclu- The politics of social work, page 16

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 15 The politics of social work continued from page 15 inadvertent exclusion by declaring that public policy development. This mech- Block, Sheila, & Galabuzi, Grace-Edward. “discriminatory practices are not always anism could be more reflective of the (2011). Canada’s colour coded labour about intent; they are often about how plight of all Canadians. market. Toronto, ON: Canadian people are socially constructed into pos- Centre for Policy Alternatives. itions” (2015, p. 115). Often, disadvantage GOVERNMENT FAILURE Canadian Association of Social Workers. is constructed by tokenism implemented The 2016 suicide crisis experienced in the (2005). Code of ethics, 2005. Ottawa, as a Band-Aid solution to the diversity Attawapiskat community speaks to the ON: Author. Retrieved from http:// problem. The result is that those in failure of the government to address casw-acts.ca/sites/default/files/ power forfeit their responsibility to fur- social issues effectively. Social work inclu- attachements/casw_code_of ther interrogate the power structures sion would open avenues for groups _ethics.pdf impacting marginalized people. affected by adverse social and broader Hasan, Nader R., & Siddiqui, Fahad. In my research, a participant in a public policy conditions to shape these (2016, March 28). Time to name an member of Parliament’s constituency policies by providing a critical eye to the Aboriginal justice to the Supreme office highlighted the discourse of the language, funding, and the institutional Court. Toronto Star. Retrieved from “capable worker” as she talked about structures of legislated policies. This col- https://www.thestar.com/opinion/ how race played a role in empowering laborative professional approach between commentary/2016/03/28/time-to or negating power for the worker (A.S., structural social workers, service users, -name-an-aboriginal-justice-to-the personal interview, April 19, 2016). The and legislators can positively shape how -supreme-court.html participant stated that “racialization was funding is distributed, how discrimination Hick, Steven. (2014). Social welfare in a huge part of our office politics . . . race and tokenism are challenged, and how Canada: Understanding income was at the centre of everything . . . when agencies are interpreting and mandating security (3rd ed.). Toronto, ON: white workers who were not social work- their front-line work. The role of social Thompson Educational. ers were inserted into the [problem-solv- workers, through policy evaluation, will Johnson, Tamara. (2006). The visible ing] equation, the constituents chose be to determine whether and how the minority experience of marginalization those workers because they trusted the legislative and implementation process in the Canadian labour force: A proposal authority of the white workers.” While affects marginalization. to the Ontario government to reintroduce racialized social workers are uniquely Steven Hick suggests that social prob- employment equity legislation in positioned to offer expertise on how lems and inequalities are a built-in “fea- Ontario. Discussion Paper No. 2006- social policies impact marginalized ture of society” and he “calls for society 06. Kingston, ON: Industrial Relations people, they themselves are also likely to itself, including major institutions to Centre, Queen’s University. have experienced navigating these bar- change radically” (2014, p. 94). With Weiss-Gal, Idit, & Peled, Einat. (2009). riers professionally and personally. public policy legislation and regulation Publishing voice: Training social workers Given the adverse impacts that social now being viewed by universities and in policy practice. British Journal of policies developed without social work colleges as a legitimate practice space Social Work, 39(2), 368-382. input have had on marginalized people, for social work students, social work as policies developed with social work par- a profession is increasingly interdisci- Westhues, Anne. (2003). Canadian ticipation can translate into meaningful plinary. This translates into engagement social policy issues and perspectives change. Westhues states that “social with other discussions of social work (3rd ed.). Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid workers have come to accept social pol- inclusion in law and society, and health Laurier University Press. icy development as an essential com- and well-being. This interdisciplinary Woolf, Nicky. (2015, October 22). ponent of our work as professionals . . . approach to policy development activ- Canada’s new parliament is most the values we stand for, infused in social ities enables all people in our society to diverse ever. The Guardian. Retrieved policy will shape and give definition to gain access to the resources available, from https://www.theguardian.com/ the vital, ever changing culture we know not just to what is portioned out for the world/2015/oct/22/canada-new as Canadian” (2003, pp. 19-20). Because marginalized through social policy. -parliament-most-diverse-ever the bulk of the practice of social work is Yee, June Ying, & Dumbrill, Gary. (2015). to engage with and analyze how sys- Whiteout: Looking for race in Canadian tems of dominance impact vulnerable REFERENCES social work practice. In H. Badwall, M. and marginalized populations, this Bisman, Cynthia. (2004). Social work Poon, M. Gibson, & B. Heron (Eds.), same method of assessment, employed values: The moral core of the Critical perspectives in social work by racialized social workers, could be profession. British Journal of Social (pp. 107-115). Toronto, ON: CSPI effectively applied to the practice area of Work, 34(1), 109-123. Custom Publishing.

16 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 OVERSEEING OUTSIDERS: THE CANADIAN STATE AND “FOREIGNERS” How human capital theory justifies changes in literacy proficiency requirements for entry and naturalization

score was 273—three points shy of a HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS OR BY FARRA YASIN ECONOMIC PRIORITIES level 3. The lowest scores came from Farra Yasin has an MA from the immigrants, Aboriginal people, and he media depiction of Prime Minis- Faculty of Education, York University. Tter Justin Trudeau welcoming Syrian older adults (ages 35 to 65). From their refugees entering Canada portrays our findings, the OECD made two policy nation as a country that prioritizes our 2013). This essay explores the criticism recommendations: first, countries like humanitarian concerns for human wel- of how HCT is used to shape immigra- Canada should increase support of fare above economic priorities. How- tion policy. adult literacy education programs; and ever, when it comes to policy reform, second, countries like Canada should economic priorities seem to take preced­ RAISING SKILL SETS continue to develop selective immigra- ence, particularly with regard to the HCT is based on the assumption that tion policies that increase the demand changes in literacy proficiency require- the skill sets of every individual, such as for immigrants with literacy proficiency ments for entry and citizenship. Indeed, literacy, are forms of human capital. in the country’s official language before leaving office, the previous gov- High proficiency in capital such as liter- (OECD, 2013; , 2013). ernment, led by Prime Minister Stephen acy enables individuals to be economic- Harper, introduced stricter language ally productive and socially mobile CRITICIZING HUMAN CAPITAL proficiency requirements to enter and (OECD, 2013, p. 118; OECD, 1996). Low THEORY become a citizen of Canada. The points proficiency leads individuals to be There are three main criticisms associ- system was transformed into an express dependent on social services and ated with the use of an HCT framework entry system in which language profi- unable to meet the needs of a changing in policy. The first is that literacy may ciency became the most significant economy (Grubel, 2013). Consequently, not be as significant an indicator of eco- point category (Citizenship and Immi- it is to every country’s advantage to nomic success as the OECD suggests. gration Canada, 2017; Government of raise the skill sets of their citizens to Even though there is a correlation Canada, 2016). The Conservative gov- maximize economic prosperity and between those who scored high on the ernment made proof of language profi- reduce reliance on social services. literacy tests and income, overall, coun- ciency a requirement for citizenship, in To illustrate the correlation between tries with high immigrant populations addition to the interview and written test human capital and social mobility, the and high GDPs such as Canada, the (Government of Canada, 2014; Govern- OECD and Statistics Canada imple- United States, and Britain had average to ment of Canada, 2015; Ibbitson, 2014). mented a survey to measure literacy low literacy scores (World Bank, 2015; The rationale for stricter language proficiency and other skills connected OECD, 2013). This suggests that other proficiency policies stems from an to economic success. The literacy sec- factors may be significant to determin- assumption of human capital theory tion is known as the IALS and has been ing economic success aside from liter- (HCT) that high literacy proficiency in administered in OECD member coun- acy proficiency. the official language of the country is a tries three times over the last three dec- A second criticism of HCT is that it key indicator of economic success. ades (Walker & Rubenson, 2014). The upholds the myth of meritocracy: that These assumptions are justified using lit- survey involves completing a variety of we all have equal access to social mobil- eracy surveys, specifically the Inter- literacy tasks that are ranked into five it y. Using a critical discourse lens and national Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). levels based on proficiency. Level 3 rep- Bourdieu’s concept of reproduction, This survey establishes a key correla- resents the literacy skills the OECD these critics demonstrate that this is not tion between literacy and social mobil- believes are necessary to compete in a the case (Heller, 2008). Instead, policies ity (Statistics Canada, 2011; Gibb & knowledge-based economy (Statistics based on HCT arbitrarily privilege nor- Walker, 2011; Organisation for Economic Canada, 2011; Grenier et al., 2008). In mative discourses of what it means to be Co-operation and Development [OECD], the most recent IALS survey, Canada’s Literacy proficiency requirements, page 18

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 17 Literacy proficiency requirements continued from page 17 Canadian. Such policies also make it cultural theories of literacy learning, System (CRS) criteria—Express Entry. more challenging for ethnic minorities which conceptualize literacy as context- Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/ to gain entry and citizenship (Black & based and socially situated practices english/express-entry/grid-crs.asp Yasukawa, 2014; Burkholder & Filion, (St. Clair, 2012). Fleming, Douglas. (2015). Citizen and 2014; Fleming, 2015). The selectivity of To conclude, education policies must race in second-language education. the express entry system also allows the recognize the limitations of HCT to bet- Journal of Multilingual Development, government in power to shape its deci- ter support our humanitarian priorities. 36(1), 42-52. http://dx.doi.org/ sions of who will receive entry into the Stricter literacy proficiency require- 10.1080/01434632.2014.892500 country based on their political ideology ments impact whether immigrants will Gibb, Tara, & Walker, Judith. (2011). and economic values (Ibbitson, 2014). be able to make Canada their home- Educating for a high skills society? The final criticism of HCT is that it land, be barred from entry, or remain The landscape of federal supports a deficit perspective of literacy. foreign nationals. From the perspective employment, training and lifelong Although surveys such as the IALS were of an adult educator, providing oppor- learning policy in Canada. Journal of constructed with the intention of avoid- tunities to receive instruction in the offi- Education Policy, 26(3), 381-398. ing the deficit perspective of seeing indi- cial language of the country is the best http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680939 viduals as literate or illiterate, by way to balance our economic and .2010.520744 insisting that level 3 is necessary for humanitarian priorities. In addition, economic success, they have unwit- these programs need to be spaces to Goar, Carol. (2014, July 3). Mainstay of tingly reinforced a deficit perspective. address the criticisms of HCT and Canada’s literacy movement topples. Insisting that a level 3 represents the reflect the most innovative understand- Toronto Star. Retrieved from http:// level needed to succeed in an advanced ings of literacy and second-language www.thestar.com/opinion/ economic society sets a high standard acquisition. This involves continuing to commentary/2014/07/03/mainstay for countries to aspire to—one that is not develop and support adult literacy pro- _of_canadas_literacy_movement easily achieved and that requires signifi- gramming that is sensitive and respon- _topples_goar.html cant investment, which a nation’s gov- sive to the cultural, historical, and social Government of Canada. (2014). ernment may not be prepared to make. contexts of the individuals it serves Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Indeed, when the Conservative govern- rather than merely reproductive of exist- Act: Reinforcing the value of Canadian ment chose to shut down COPIAN, Can- ing normative discourses. Such an citizenship [Archived]. Retrieved from ada’s leading source of adult education approach can expand the narrative http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do research funding, Alexandra Fortier, beyond characterizing immigrants as ?nid=832219 spokesperson for then Employment and financial burdens or financial opportun- Government of Canada. (2015). Social Development Minister Jason Ken- ities to treating them as individuals who Acceptable language proof to apply ney, referred to poor performance on the contribute to the cultural and social fab- for citizenship wizard. Retrieved from IALS as the main reason (Goar, 2014). ric of our nation. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/ Insisting on level 3 proficiency also citizenship/language.asp raises the bar expected of immigrants, REFERENCES Government of Canada. (2016). who are now required to do more stan- Black, Stephen, & Yasukawa, Keiko. (2014). Comprehensive Ranking System dardized tests to find a pathway to cit- The literacy myth continues: Adapting (CRS) criteria—Express entry. izenship. This creates a narrative that Graff’s thesis to contemporary Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/ portrays immigrants as a threat to the discourses on adult “foundation skills” english/express-entry/grid-crs.asp nation’s wealth and fails to recognize in Australia. Critical Studies in Education, the other forms of capital they bring to Grenier, S., Jones, S., Strucker, J., Murray, 55(2), 213-228. http://dx.doi.org/ the country (Black & Yasukawa, 2014, T.S., Gervais, G., & Brink, S. (2008). 10.1080/17508487.2014.904809 Literacy learning in Canada: Evidence p. 224). Moreover, standardized surveys from the International Survey of provide a narrow understanding of their Burkholder, Casey Megan, & Filion, Reading Skills participants’ literacy abilities. The IALS Marianne. (2014). Educating adults for . Catalogue no. 89-552- survey questions focus on being a con- citizenship: Critiquing adequate language MIE—No. 19. Ottawa, ON: Statistics sumer; they do not take into account practices and Canada’s citizenship test. Canada. Retrieved from http://www dialect and socio-cultural practices that Canadian Journal for the Study of .statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-552-m/89-552 are related to the local practices of the Adult Education, 27(1), 1-13. -m2008019-eng.htm individual taking the test. This perspec- Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Literacy proficiency requirements, page 25 tive does not reflect current socio-­ (2017). Comprehensive Ranking

18 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 The crisis facing internationally trained women engineers in Canada

side, getting credentials assessed and NIGHTMARE REALITY BY ANN CATHERINE HENLEY omen professionals who migrate recognized is the number one concern Ann Catherine Henley is a PhD candidate of immigrants (Foster, 2011). The Foreign Wto Canada enter with dreams of in gender studies. She has an MA in finding a good job in their field (Fur- globalization and an MA in gender Credential Recognition Program can be sova, 2013; Poverty and Employment studies. Her interests include skilled accessed from outside Canada and com- Precarity in Southern Ontario [PEPSO], migration and the labour market, pleted before prospective migrants enter 2012). Unfortunately, for 86 percent of immigrant women and micro businesses the country. This helps women, who in Canada, and aging and disability tend to want to settle the family into the internationally trained engineers (ITEs) in the age of neo-liberalism. who are women, this dream has turned new country before looking for a job for into a nightmare. This means that only themselves, and because completing the 14 percent of women ITEs find a job in RECOGNIZING CREDENTIALS education credential assessment (ECA) their field in Canada (Statistics Canada, Employers in both large and small busi- program can take up to a year, it poten- 2011). Engineers Canada estimates that nesses state that there is a shortage of tially could help them avoid the stigma of over 90,000 jobs will be available people with the right skills to fill their having been “out of the field too long” through retirement, attrition, and com- vacancies (Engineers Canada, 2015; (Fursova, 2013; PEPSO, 2012). pany growth over the next ten years Ontario Society of Professional Engin- Another area of concern for immi- (Engineers Canada, 2015). Canada eers [OSPE], 2015; Expert Roundtable on grant engineers is getting the first job. advertises widely for skilled immigrants Immigration, 2012). Employers want to Engineers Canada states that 80 percent with high personal capital (skills, experi- hire people who can start immediately of ITEs fail to get past the first stage of ence, and education), and, according to with a good knowledge of the demands the hiring process because Canadian prevailing knowledge, this should be of the job and who have high personal degrees, Canadian language skills, and enough to get ITEs into good careers in capital, which is precisely what the Can- Canadian work experience are preferred engineering. So people enter Canada adian state screens for when selecting and foreign experience and education hoping to find a new homeland, but immigrants. However, in the social con- are considered as other and different, instead find a hostile land where their struction of the marketplace in Canada, and employers frequently have problems skills and experience do not help them there are numerous “understood” meth- assessing foreign degrees compared land a good job. ods of assessing credentials, human with Canadian degrees (Expert Roundta- Engineering is a highly gendered potential, and hiring methodologies that ble on Immigration, 2012; PEPSO, 2012). field and women entering engineering new immigrants find very hard to negoti- Organizations such as Prepare for Can- have to deal with sexism, systemic dis- ate without prior knowledge or help. As ada.com assist prospective immigrants crimination, and workplace inequality a result, their high personal capital in and suggest that prospective ITEs look to (Calnan & Valiquette, 2015; Ranson, their originating country does not trans- less popular locations for work, such as 2005). Women’s skill sets are devalued late well into the Canadian workforce or other northern (England, 1992), and their responsibil- (Gottfried, 2013; Salaff & Greve, 2006). locales. In addition, many vacancies are ities within social reproduction are con- Organizations such as Engineers Can- in the middle ranks, right where the sidered by male employers to ada and the provincial organizations that majority of ITEs fit; but Canadian employ- overshadow the job, which affects hir- represent engineers in training and pro- ers hesitate to bring in ITEs at the ing and promotion. Women ITEs have to fessional engineers, federal and provin- middle-­management level, especially deal with the same systemic gendered cial levels of government, NGOs that women, until they are sure they will “fit” discrimination as Canadian-trained support immigrants, immigrant organiza- into the workplace culture and they have women, but they also have to deal with tions, business leaders, and academic the relevant knowledge and skills. the reluctance of Canadian employers institutions are researching this employ- Another major area of concern for to accept their foreign credentials and ment gap from both the demand side women engineers is the lack of support experience; racism; the lack of a peer or and the supply side. Problems on the within companies. Engineers Canada social network; and a lack of under- demand side (racism, credentialism, the and each of the provincial overseeing standing of mores highly gendered atmosphere for women) bodies have recognized this problem (PEPSO, 2012; Expert Roundtable on are still not completely accepted by and have recently formed “working Immigration, 2012). engineering companies. On the supply Internationally trained women engineers, page 20

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 19 Internationally trained women engineers continued from page 19 groups” to support women in engineer- human potential is a personal catastro- from http://www.ryerson.ca/content/ ing, which are focused on both mentor- phe for women ITEs and causes Canada dam/rcis/documents/RCIS_WP_ ing new female engineers and retaining to appear, not as a homeland, but as a Fursova_No_2013_3.pdf experienced female engineers. hostile land. Gottfried, Heidi. (2013). Gender, work Government-supported internships and economy: Unpacking the global have proven to be a successful method REFERENCES economy. Cambridge, UK: Polity of integrating ITEs, who can access paid Press. internships administered through Calnan, Janice, & Valiquette, Leo. (2010, Iredale, Robin. (2013). Gender, immigration recruitment companies such as Career March 31). Paying heed to the policies and accreditation: Valuing the Edge in Ontario, a not-for-profit social canaries in the coal mine: Strategies skills of professional women migrants. enterprise that has managed over 9,200 to attract and retain more women in Geoforum, 36(2), 155-166. paid internships across Canada since the engineering profession through 1996 (www.prepareforcanada.com, Green Light Leadership. Ottawa, ON: Ontario Society of Professional Engineers. 2016; www.careeredge.ca). Eighty per- Engineers Canada. Retrieved from (2015). From the world to the cent of ITEs who are accepted into https://engineerscanada.ca/sites/ workforce: Hiring and recruitment internship programs are hired by the default/files/w_Canaries_in_the perceptions of engineering employers company in which they intern (Engin- _Coal_Mine.pdf and internationally trained engineers. eers Canada, 2015). Career Edge. (2015). Paid government Toronto, ON: Author. Retrieved from internships. Toronto, ON. Retrieved https://www.ospe.on.ca/eerc/page/ WASTED POTENTIAL from https://www.careeredge.ca EERCRES27.html The employment figures for women Engineers Canada. (2015, June). Poverty and Employment Precarity in ITEs in Canada are appalling. Immigra- Engineering labour market in Southern Ontario. (2012). Jobs-skills tion procedures, which screen for immi- Canada: Projections to 2025. Ottawa, mismatch and precarious employment grants with high personal capital, are ON: Author. Retrieved from https:// faced by racialized newcomer women neglecting the social construction of the engineerscanada.ca/sites/default/ in Toronto. Hamilton, ON: Author. marketplace in Canada. Even with an files/Labour-Market-2015-e.pdf Retrieved from https://pepso.ca/case- studies/case-study-6/ ECA, foreign credentials when com- England, Paula. (1992). Comparable pared with Canadian degrees are not worth: Theories and evidence. New Ranson, Gillian. (2005). No longer “one valued by employers; work experience York, NY: Aldine Press. of the boys”: Negotiations with outside Canada is devalued as not being motherhood, as prospect or reality, Expert Roundtable on Immigration. relevant to the Canadian marketplace; among women in engineering. (2012, September). Expanding our and women’s skills and abilities are fur- Canadian Review of Sociology and routes to success: The final report by ther devalued in this highly gendered Anthropology, 42(2), 145-166. Ontario’s Expert Roundtable on sector. Engineers are leaving their home Immigration. Toronto, ON: Ontario Salaff, Janet, & Greve, Arent. (2006). country, hoping to reach the promised Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Why do skilled women and men land. However, as long as Canada http://www.yorku.ca/tiedi/doc/ emigrating from China to Canada get screens for “high personal capital” and RoundtableonImmigration.pdf bad jobs? In Evangelia Tastsoglou & does not accept that high personal cap- Alexandra Dobrowolsky (Eds.), Foster, Lorne. (2011). The foreign ital will not ease the path for immigrants Women, migration and citizenship: credentials gap in Canada: The case to negotiate marketplace institutions Making local, national, and for targeted universalism. Directions, and socio-cultural attitudes, nor deal transnational connections (pp. 85- 6(2), 23-36. Retrieved from http:// with institutional barriers to good jobs, 105). Burlington, VT: Ashgate Press. then ITEs and other professionals will www.crrf-fcrr.ca/images/stories/pdf/ Statistics Canada. (2011). Immigration find it difficult to access those jobs. directions/directionsVol6No2Web.pdf and ethnocultural diversity in The underutilization of professional Fursova, Julia. (2013). A journey of her Canada: National Household Survey women’s skills is of particular import- own: A critical analysis of learning 2 011 [Data tables]. Catalogue no. 99- ance as countries vie for highly skilled experiences among immigrant 010-X2011001. Ottawa, ON: Industry immigrant workers. The most open and women—Assessing transformative Canada. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/ flexible countries will be more attractive learning and women’s resilience in nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-010-x/ destinations for people wanting to work community-based education programs. 99-010-x2011001-eng.cfm in their professions permanently after Toronto, ON: Ryerson Centre for migration (Iredale, 2005). This waste of Immigration and Settlement. Retrieved

20 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 The second generation: Italian-Canadian students and fascism

sons and daughters of Italian immi- TARGETING THE DIASPORA BY MATTHEW POGGI n June 2014, it was revealed that the grants, the Gioventù Italiana Del Littorio Matthew Poggi is a PhD candidate Estero (Italian Youth Organizations IToronto District School Board had in the Department of History at York partnered with the Confucius Institute, University. His research focuses on Abroad). The Italian-language schools an agency funded by the Chinese gov- members of the Italian-Canadian elite in Canada came under the jurisdiction ernment, to teach Mandarin and pro- before the Second World War. of the Gioventù. Their official aim was to mote China’s culture and history in its teach ’s language, culture, and hist- schools. Critics of the initiative claimed ory, not unlike previous efforts during that the Confucius Institute was a mouth- tity that would supersede any lingering the Liberal era. However, students were piece for China’s authoritarian regime; regional loyalties among its citizens, also taught to believe fascism was the its instructors, they argued, were sent including those who had migrated else- best path for Italy, and fascist teachers directly from China and were prohibited where. The absence of a national iden- were sent from Italy to Canada for that from discussing the country’s treatment tity was particularly evident when it exact purpose. The textbooks used were of minority groups or the Tiananmen came to language. Although standard sent by the Italian government and con- Square massacre. In October of that Italian was deemed the national lan- tained numerous glorifications of Mus- same year, under intense public pres- guage of Italy, regional dialects con- solini. Under the auspices of the sure, the TDSB cut ties with the Confu- tinued to be used, especially by Gioventù, a limited number of students cius Institute. Yet this was not the first emigrants. Consequently, throughout from the language schools were also time a foreign government tried to gain the Liberal era (1870-1914), the Italian sent to summer camps in Italy, a trip a foothold in Canadian classrooms. In government funded schools across the paid for mostly by Rome. As with the the 1930s, ’s govern- world that taught standard Italian. First- schools, these camps extolled the vir- ment targeted Italian-Canadian youth, generation Italian immigrants were tar- tues of the fascist regime and immersed through language classes and cultural geted, but so too were their children and the children in a very militarized atmos- programs, with the express purpose of grandchildren, who had the potential, in phere. In Italy, they were to conduct winning their loyalty. An analysis of this the eyes of the government, to become themselves as soldiers in battle. The episode in Canadian history is fruitful, deeply connected to Italy, no matter children regularly took part in parades as it not only establishes a precedent for where they lived. Italy’s efforts in reach- and military drilling, often while wearing the Confucius Institute controversy, but ing out to the descendants of Italian fascist uniforms. also touches on the broader issues of immigrants were formalized in 1912, Throughout the 1930s, the RCMP identity among second-generation when its legislature defined Italian cit- monitored these developments quite immigrants in Canada, and the difficul- izenship to include children born closely and with great concern. They ties repressive governments often abroad to Italian fathers. knew the Italian-language teachers were encounter in maintaining ties with their sent directly from Rome, and they were respective diasporas. THE FUTURE OF FASCISM familiar with certain passages from the Since the beginning of the era of After coming to power in 1922, Musso- textbooks that criticized the British mass migration in the late 19th century, lini and his fascist government con- empire and praised Mussolini. Further- successive Italian governments had tinued to court Italian immigrants and more, the RCMP had received reports of taken a keen interest in their emigrants, their descendants, but on a much wider the speeches that Italian consuls had an attitude very much rooted in Italy’s scale this time. The regime believed the given to Italian-Canadian children status as a young nation. After centuries future of fascism lay with Italian chil- before they left for the summer camps. of regional divisions, the process of uni- dren, including those born outside Italy. In 1937, the consul in Montreal, Paolo de fying the diverse population of the Ital- In 1927, Mussolini created a department Simone, had told one group that no ian peninsula had only begun in the responsible for living abroad, other government did as much for its 1860s. Between 1876 and 1914, when 14 Direzione generale degli Italiani children abroad as Italy, so they needed million people left the country, Italy was all’estero (General Bureau of Italians to be “appreciative and show gratitude still considered a recent creation. A Abroad). It was led by the high-ranking with deeds.” In a particularly damning main priority of the Italian state, there- fascist official Piero Parini, and it assessment, the RCMP argued that Italy’s­ fore, was to form a strong national iden- included a section responsible for the Italian-Canadian students and fascism, page 22

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 21 Italian-Canadian students and fascism continued from page 21 efforts at educating Italian children in to her parents while she was attending a language classes and even went to a fas- Canada could “provide an effective camp in Italy. The youngster called Italy cist camp in Rawdon, Quebec for those instrument which may be put to any pur- a “true paradise” and stated that if it students unable to travel to Italy. The pose required in the event of such hos- weren’t for the love she felt for her par- camp was named after Piero Parini and tilities as a war in which the countries ents, she would never return to Canada. included military drilling; a toy gun concerned were implicated.” In 1938, The RCMP presented this type of made out of wood was used instead of Windsor, Ontario’s Italian school, held material as further proof that the fascist an actual weapon. Despite these pres- on Saturdays, was barred from using the regime was greatly influencing the lives sures, Gerard enlisted in the Canadian classrooms of St. Alphonsus, part of the of Italian-Canadian children. Nonethe- military during the Second World War. separate school board, after reports less, we should be careful with these Further research will be needed to emerged that the textbooks being used sources. Campers were expected to determine what other factors may have espoused fascist propaganda. Shortly speak glowingly of their trips and each influenced the loyalties of Italian-­ after, Ottawa was sent the books in was required to keep a diary of his or Canadian youth in the 1930s, but I sus- question for further review. Rome’s her time in Italy, to be read at fascist pect Canadian schools provided a activities among Italian-Canadian youth events once they returned home. strong counterbalance to the efforts of were also criticized within leftist circles. the Italian government. Italian-language The Daily Clarion, the organ of the Com- A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY? classes were only a few hours a week, munist Party of Canada, reported exten- Examining the life histories of certain which paled in comparison to the pub- sively on the situation in Windsor. And individuals who passed through these lic school education that girls and boys in March 1939, Toronto alderman Stew- schools and camps can provide another received during the day. A parallel could art Smith complained to the city council perspective. The life of Rino Albanese, be drawn between the lukewarm about Italian classes in the city. born to Italian parents in Port Arthur, response of many Italian-Canadian stu- Two questions come to mind: Was Ontario in 1924, demonstrates that the dents to the overtures from Mussolini’s the concern on the part of the Canadian second generation’s allegiances were regime, and the difficulties previous Ital- government and certain sectors of the not always shaped by fascist propaganda. ian governments encountered in shap- public justified? And were these schools Albanese attended Italian-language ing the mindsets of young Italians and summer camps able to channel the classes in the 1930s yet enlisted, along abroad. For instance, Luigi Rava, head allegiances of Italian Canadians to a fas- with his twin brother, in the Canadian of the Dante Alighieri Society, admitted cist state, as one RCMP report stated? military. Both saw action overseas dur- in 1912 that the children of Italian immi- One way to approach these questions is ing the Second World War. Interestingly, grants in Argentina were taught by that by looking at accounts left by the chil- the twins’ father was a self-identified country’s schools to “consider Argen- dren who attended these schools and ­fascist and disapproved of his sons’ tina as their only fatherland.” Similar summer camps in the 1930s. The local decision to join the military. Another dynamics likely occurred in Canada in fascist press in Canada published num- interesting case is that of Gerard Di Bat- the 1930s. Indeed, the failure of Italy’s erous stories on the experiences of the tista. He was born in Lachine, Quebec fascist regime to sway young Italian Can- second generation. Montreal’s L’Italia in 1925 and, like Rino Albanese, was the adians serves as a reminder of the num- newspaper, for instance, printed a letter son of a self-identified fascist, Luigi Di erous obstacles governments face when from an unnamed girl who had written Battista. Gerard attended Italian-­ courting a diaspora.

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22 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 Gender’s journey in Canadian foreign policy, 1970-2015

being promoted at Cairo and Beijing, 1970s-1980s: THE PEAK OF BY EMMA CALLON GENDER AWARENESS IN POLICY Canada has been stuck using a WID pol- Emma Callon holds an MA in international icy framework. Thus, when gender is ttention to gender equality and wom- development studies and sociology applied to Canadian development pol- Aen’s rights in Canadian foreign from the University of , with development policy reached its peak in a specialization in gender and icy, it is still usually only in relation to the early 1980s, but has been declining policy analysis. women (Stienstra, 1994, p. 116). since that time and reached bottom with Stephen Harper’s Conservative govern- governance, increased social conserva- 2000s: SHIFTING AWAY FROM ment. During the 1970s and early 1980s, tism, and a growing backlash against INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS Canada aligned itself with the standards second-wave feminism. At this time, fed- WITH THE CONSERVATIVE set by the international community at the eral funds dedicated to improving the GOVERNMENT, 2006-2015 time and had relatively robust develop- status of women, such as women’s Canada’s internationalism shifted most ment policies aimed at enhancing wom- bureaus and community shelters, were dramatically in the mid-2000s with the en’s rights and equality. For instance, the drastically cut, and by 1995 Status of election of Stephen Harper’s Conserva- Royal Commission on the Status of Women Canada (SWC) was absorbed tive government. Attention to gender Women was established in 1970, and five into the Department of Canadian Herit- equality and women’s rights had already years later Canada and other United age. It was with the dissolution of gender- been declining in the Canadian political Nations member states declared 1975 as based policy units during the mid-1990s sphere, but under the Harper govern- International Women’s Year. Then, in that gender mainstreaming was pro- ment it fully disappeared. Before Harper 1976, the Canadian International Develop- moted as an alternative approach was elected, Canada was relatively pro- ment Agency (CIDA) established its initial (­Brodie, 2007, p. 177). gressive and secular, maintained the policy guidelines on Women in Develop- Gender mainstreaming treats gender separation of church and state, pro- ment (WID) and eight years later, in 1984, as a cross-cutting issue at every level of moted the armed forces for peacekeep- developed the first WID policy. policy, from design to evaluation. Swiss ing, and supported the UN system. The Canadian women’s movement (2012, p. 140) and Tiessen (2015, p. 87) However, with the Harper government, was increasingly politically influential suggest that CIDA’s institutionalized gen- there was a general disregard for the UN throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. der mainstreaming framework of the practices (Martin, 2010, p. 112), and During this period, more women were late 1990s represents a successful and attention to gender equality and wom- elected to office, there were provincial internationally respected effort to en’s rights in Canadian public policy and federal initiatives such as the Minis- include gender analysis in Canadian for- declined severely with the election of try of Women’s Equality advocating for eign policy. However, Brodie argues that the Harper government, which in 2006 gender equality, a sexual equality clause gender mainstreaming put gender cut funding for over 30 women’s organ- was added to the Canadian Charter of “everywhere in rhetoric and nowhere in izations and research bodies. Rights and Freedoms, and women’s substance” (2007, p. 171). What this Swiss (2012, p. 135) argues that gen- bureaus were making policy recommen- means is that women as a category had der equality became instrumentalized in dations. However, attention to gender been added to existing policy but with- Canadian foreign policy under the equality in the policy process began to out an acknowledgment of the social Harper government and was only pres- erode in 1984 with the election of John construction of gender. Acknowledging ent when it served Canada’s national Turner’s “unapologetically neoliberal fed- gender as a social construction requires interests and objectives. For instance, eral government” (Brodie, 2007, p. 171). a gender and development (GAD) rhetoric about “saving” Afghan women approach to policy. A GAD approach from Taliban oppression was used as a 1990s: THE RISE OF understands gender to be relational, tool to legitimize and generate support NEO‑LIBERALISM AND THE includes men as a development cat- for military intervention in Afghanistan DECLINE OF GENDER egory, and realizes that gender inequali- (Swiss, 2012, p. 141). More recently, during Brodie (2007, pp. 167, 171) suggests that ties are the result of patriarchal the 2015 election campaign, the Harper the decline of gender as a critical part of institutions. However, because Can- government pledged to create a RCMP Canadian public policy began in the ada’s attention to gender equality tip line to report suspected “barbaric mid-1980s with the rise of neo-liberal slumped in the 1990s, when GAD was Gender in Canadian foreign policy, page 24

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 23 Gender in Canadian foreign policy continued from page 23 ­cultural practices against women and girls” in the name of protecting victim- The Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, ized women and children. These bar- baric cultural practices included has made steps toward improving polygamy, forced marriage, and honour killings. When pressed on whether or gender equality and ensuring women’s not domestic violence would be consid- rights within Canada, which warrants a ered a barbaric practice, Harper did not affirm that it would be, indicating only a certain level of optimism. feigned interest in women’s well-being, with xenophobic undertones. Here, the broader agenda was to employ wedge oric employed around the Muskoka 2015: THE POST-HARPER politics aimed at creating tensions and Initiative may have been a tool to GOVERNMENT ERA dividing Canadians during election time. achieve broader foreign policy aims or In October 2015, Canadians elected a In 2010, the Muskoka Initiative on to garner positive press and inter- Liberal majority government, which Maternal, Newborn and Child Health national support for the government. allows space for increased attention to (MNCH) was announced with the pur- One clear example of Canada’s gender equality in Canadian policy. The pose of “saving the lives of mothers and movement away from gender-based Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, has children under the age of five” (CBC analysis and toward gender instrumen- made steps toward improving gender News, 2010). The Muskoka Initiative talism in foreign policy was CIDA’s 2007 equality and ensuring women’s rights pledged approximately $7 billion over shift in policy discourse about gender within Canada, which warrants a certain ten years toward three main objectives (Carrier & Tiessen, 2015, p. 189; Swiss, level of optimism. For instance, Trudeau concerning MNCH: strengthening 2012, p. 141; Tiessen, 2015). Before CIDA achieved gender parity in the Cabinet, health systems, reducing the burden of was merged with the Department of For- illustrating the Liberal Party’s dedication disease, and improving health and nutri- eign Affairs and International Trade, it to increasing women’s representation in tion practices. What was missing from was instructed by Ottawa to substitute Canadian politics. Moreover, unlike the the Harper government’s understanding the term “gender equality” with the Harper government, all Liberal Party of these three objectives was an inclusion phrase “equality between men and members are expected to vote against of family planning and abortion-related women” in its official policy discourse. putting limits on abortion. services. The Harper government con- This shift represented a philosophical When it comes to abortion abroad, sidered the Muskoka Initiative to be Can- disengagement from international com- the Liberal Party’s platform on foreign ada’s top development priority and mitments to undertake gender-based development assistance for MNCH has regarded Canada as a global leader on analysis in development policy (Carrier indicated that the initiative will be improving MNCH around the world. & Tiessen, 2015, p. 189; Swiss, 2012, “driven by evidence and outcomes, not The Harper government framed the p. 141; Tiessen, 2015). Furthermore, the ideology” and that “the full range of Muskoka Initiative as a policy created in shift institutionalized the gender essen- reproductive health services” will be the interests of women and children. tialisms that assign specific characteris- included in the Muskoka Initiative (Con- Hence, the Muskoka Initiative may have tics to men and women and likely nolly, 2015). However, when asked spe- reflected a renewal of concern for gen- informed the Muskoka Initiative. Carrier cifically about whether or not abortion der equality globally. However, given and Tiessen (2015, p. 190) suggest that would be included in the Muskoka Initia- that the Harper government had a hist- gender equality had officially disap- tive’s funding, Liberal Party spokesper- ory of instrumentalizing gender and peared from Canadian foreign policy as son Jean-Luc Ferland did not explicitly broader social issues to serve their pol- a way to appeal to the Conservative refer to the Muskoka Initiative, but said itical interests, it is possible that the Mus- party base. Therefore, because of the “the Liberals absolutely support . . . abor- koka Initiative was in part designed to rise of neo-liberalism as both an ideol- tion where it is legal” (Connolly, 2015). achieve something similar. For instance, ogy and a set of policies, gender equal- In spite of these steps taken by the Swiss argues the Muskoka Initiative was ity and women’s rights have been Liberal Party to recognize women’s a way to “put a Canadian stamp on a delegitimized and dismantled and have interests, the government has not dis- worthwhile initiative” in an effort to disappeared from foreign development played a strong commitment to a GAD “generate prestige and positive report- policies, and these changes occurred approach. For example, the Liberal ing around the [G8] Summit” (2012, most significantly under the Harper gov- Party failed to recognize men as a vul- p. 141). Thus, the gender equality rhet­ ernment (Brodie, 2007). nerable category when it refused to

24 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 accept single male refugees from Syria. Carrier, Krystel, & Tiessen, Rebecca. Martin, Lawrence. (2010). Harperland: Although there is room for stronger (2015). The erasure of “gender” in The politics of control. Toronto, ON: ­gender-aware policy, the Liberal Party of Canadian foreign policy under the Penguin Canada. Canada offers reason to believe the Harper Conservatives: The significance Stienstra, Deborah. (1994). Can the Muskoka Initiative will at least include of the discursive shift from “gender silence be broken? Gender and funding for abortion in countries where equality” to “equality between women Canadian foreign policy. International it is legal. However, this is the bare min- and men.” Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 5, 103-127. imum of what should be done by the Journal, 21(2), 95-111. Canadian government to address issues Swiss, Liam. (2012). Gender, security, like maternal mortality and global gen- CBC News. (2010, April 26). No abortion and instrumentalism: Canada’s der inequality. in Canada’s G8 maternal health plan. foreign aid in support of national Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/ interest? In Stephen Brown (Ed.), news/politics/no-abortion-in-canada Struggling for effectiveness: CIDA and REFERENCES -s-g8-maternal-health-plan-1.877257 Canadian foreign aid (pp. 135-158). Brodie, Janine. (2007). Canada’s three Connolly, Amanda. (2015, October 16). Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen’s Ds: The rise and decline of gender- Liberals would fund abortion services University Press. based policy capacity. In Marjorie under maternal health initiative. Tiessen, Rebecca. (2015). Gender Griffin Cohen & Janine Brodie (Eds.), iPolitics. Retrieved from http:// essentialism in Canadian foreign aid Remapping gender in the new global ipolitics.ca/2015/10/16/liberals-would commitments to women, peace, and order (pp. 166-184). New York, NY: -fund-abortion-services-under security. International Journal, 70(1), Routledge. -maternal-health-initiative/ 84-100.

Literacy proficiency requirements continued from page 18 Grubel, Herbert. (2013). Canada’s Organisation for Economic Co-operation Attachments/315/Canadian-PIAAC immigrant selection policies: Recent and Development. (2013). OECD skills -Report.EN.pdf record, marginal changes and needed outlook 2013: First results from the Walker, J., & Rubenson, K. (2014). The reforms. Vancouver, BC: Fraser survey of adult skills. Paris: OECD media construction of an adult Institute. Retrieved from https://www Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/ literacy agenda in Canada. .fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/ 10.1787/9789264204256-en Globalization, Societies and -immigrant-selection-policies St. Clair, Ralf. (2012). The limits of levels: Education, 12(1), 143-163. http:// .pdf Understanding the International Adult dx.doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2013 Heller, Monica. (2008). Bourdieu and Literacy Surveys (IALS). International .859002 “literacy education.” In James Review of Education, 58, 759-776. World Bank. (2015). World development Albright & Allan Luke (Eds.), Pierre http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11159-013 indicators: Gross domestic product Bourdieu and literacy education -9330-z 2015 . Washington, DC: World Bank. (pp. 50-67). New York, NY: Routledge. Statistics Canada. Culture, Tourism, and Retrieved from http://databank Ibbitson, John. (2014). Bootstrap the Centre for Education Statistics. .worldbank.org/data/download/ immigrants: Assessing the (2011). Literacy for life: Further results GDP.pdf conservative transformation of from the adult literacy and life skills Canada’s immigration policy. survey. Ottawa, ON: Author. Retrieved Waterloo, ON: Centre for International from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ Governance Innovation. Retrieved pub/89-604-x/89-604-x2011001-eng.pdf from https://www.cigionline.org/ Statistics Canada. Tourism and the sites/default/files/pb_no52.pdf Centre for Educational Statistics Organisation for Economic Co-operation Division. (2013). Skills in Canada: and Development. (1996). The First results from the program for the Learn more about Canada knowledge-based economy. OCDE/ international assessment of adult Watch and the Robarts Centre GD(96)102. Paris: Author. Retrieved competencies. Ottawa, ON: Author. for Canadian Studies at from http://www.oecd.org/sti/ Retrieved from http://www.cmec.ca/ http://robarts.info.yorku.ca sci-tech/1913021.pdf Publications/Lists/Publications/

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 25 Muslim-Canadian women speak out! continued from page 14 breeding ground for hope, support, Canadian women articulated their http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ civic engagement, and reassurance. concerns about the Harper canada/majority-of-canadians This allowed for healthful release during government’s niqab ban through social -support-conservatives-niqab-ban-poll the niqab debate. media. Similar research methods are -finds used to different ends. While social media was a sustaining National Assembly. (2010). Bill 94: An act force for most participants, there was to establish guidelines governing REFERENCES one interviewee who had an opposite accommodation requests within the experience. Early in her trial against the Bryden, Joan. (2015, March 11). Stephen administration and certain Harper government, Zunera Ishaq Harper doubles down on niqab institutions. Québec City: Québec opted to avoid Facebook and Twitter debate: “Rooted in a culture that is Official Publisher. altogether. This is because she was anti-women.” National Post. Retrieved National Assembly. (2013). Bill 60: trolled, and found it a place where from http://news.nationalpost.com/ Charter affirming the values of state people said “nasty things” (personal news/canada/stephen-harper secularism and religious neutrality communication, November 7, 2015). -doubles-down-on-niqab-debate and of equality between women and Apparently, being at the centre of the -rooted-in-a-culture-that-is-anti-women men, and providing a framework for niqab debate as she was, she became a Cader, Fathima. (2013). Made you look: accommodation requests. Québec visible, sought-after target for online Niqabs, the Muslim Canadian City: Québec Official Publisher. attacks. Those in the limelight, it seems, Congress, and R v NS. Windsor Niqabs: The election’s weapon of mass can be particularly vulnerable to outside Yearbook of Access to Justice, 31(1), distraction. (2015, September 27). attack. Social media use for Zunera, dur- 67-93. http://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/ [Editorial]. The Globe and Mail. ing her trial, became a channel for leddy/index.php/WYAJ/article/ Retrieved from http://www. diminishment and threats rather than view/4311 support. Since the federal election theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/ Canadian Charter of Rights and passed, however, she has enjoyed using editorials/niqabs-the-elections Freedoms. (1982). Part I of the social media again, and speaks excit- -weapon-of-mass-distraction/ Constitution Act, 1982, RSC 1985, edly about receiving a personal friend article26551328/ app. II, no. 44. Retrieved from http:// request from Prime Minister Justin Patriquin, Martin, & Gillis, Charlie. (2010, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/ Trudeau (personal communication, April 7). About face: A bill banning page-15.html November 7, 2015). the niqab—supported by a majority of Clarke, Lynda. (2013). Women in niqab Canadians—How did our multicultural, NOTES speak: A study of the niqab in tolerant nation get here? Maclean’s. Canada. Gananoque, ON: Canadian (April 7, 2010). http://www.macleans 1. Zunera Ishaq, the woman who Council of Muslim Women. challenged the Harper government over .ca/news/canada/about-face/ its niqab ban and became a focal point Ishaq, Zunera. (2015, March 16). Why I Sood, Amit. (2013). The Mayo Clinic for national discussion on the matter, intend to wear a niqab at my guide to stress-free living. Boston, MA: noted in her Toronto Star op-ed (2015), citizenship ceremony. Toronto Star. Da Capo. while “Mr. Harper is so busy speaking Retrieved from http://www.thestar Thomas, Jasmine. (2015). Only if she about me in public, I am looking for him .com/opinion/commentary/2015/ shows her face: Canadian media to include me in the discussion.” 03/16/why-i-intend-to-wear-a-niqab-at portrayals of the niqab ban during 2. Dr. Lynda Clarke similarly interviews -my-citizenship-ceremony.html citizenship ceremonies. Canadian Muslim-Canadian women about the Levitz, Stephanie. (2015, September 24). Ethnic Studies, 47(2), 187-201. niqab’s place in Canada. Her interesting Majority of Canadians agree with work, however, focuses on Canadian Conservatives over niqab ban, poll niqabis’ views of the niqab, while I explore means by which Muslim- finds.National Post. Retrieved from

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26 CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 MMIW: Relationship and reconciliation continued from page 4 Native Women’s Association of Canada. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of someone’s life. It is hoped that this (2015). National roundtable on Canada. (2015a). Honouring the truth, memorial space will balance the missing and murdered Aboriginal reconciling for the future: Summary of death-related details the media focus women and girls: A framework for the final report of the Truth and on by celebrating the life and value of action to prevent and address Reconciliation Commission of each Indigenous woman or girl. violence against Indigenous women Canada. Winnipeg, MB: Author. Available at https://www.facebook and girls. Ottawa, ON: Author. Retrieved from http://www.trc.ca/ .com/pg/mmiwg2s/about/ Retrieved from http://www.nwac websites/trcinstitution/File/2015/ Native Women’s Association of Canada, .ca/2015/02/national-roundtable-on Findings/Exec_Summary_2015_05_ Faceless Dolls Project. This site -missing-and-murdered-aboriginal 31_web_o.pdf provides a toolkit for hosting a doll- -women-and-girls-framework/ Truth and Reconciliation Commission of making event for education and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2014). Canada. (2015b). Truth and commemoration of missing and Missing and murdered Aboriginal Reconciliation Commission of murdered Aboriginal women and women: A national operational Canada: Calls to action. Winnipeg, information on the Traveling Exhibit. overview. Ottawa, ON: Author. MB: Author. Retrieved from http:// Available at https://www.nwac.ca Retrieved from http://www.rcmp-grc www.trc.ca/websites/trcinstitution/ No More Silence. This community-run .gc.ca/en/missing-and-murdered File/2015/Findings/Calls_to_Action database documents the violent -aboriginal-women-national _English2.pdf deaths of Indigenous women and two- -operational-overview United Nations. (2007, September 13). spirit and trans people in Royal Commission on Aboriginal United Nations declaration on the collaboration with Families of Sisters Peoples. (1996). Report of the Royal rights of Indigenous peoples. GA Res In Spirit and the Native Youth Sexual Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: 61/295. Retrieved from http://www Health Network, and with the Vol. 4. Perspectives and realities. .un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/ assistance of Dr. Janet Smylie (Métis) Ottawa, ON: Canada Communications documents/DRIPS_en.pdf and Conrad Prince of the Well Living Group. House at the Keenan Research Statistics Canada. (2016). First Nations, SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Centre. Available at http://www .itstartswithus-mmiw.com Métis and Inuit women. In Women in Facebook, Missing & Murdered Canada: A gender-based statistical Aboriginal Women in Canada. This Walking With Our Sisters. Learn about report. Catalogue no. 89-503-X. Ottawa, page provides a space for family the hosted locations for the memorial ON: Author. Retrieved from http:// members to honour the lives of their and art exhibit installation. Available www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/ loved ones through personal stories, at http://walkingwithoursisters.ca 2015001/article/14313-eng.htm photos, or other important aspects of

CANADA WATCH • SPRING 2017 27 4TH ANNUAL ROBARTS CENTRE GRADUATE STUDENT CONFERENCE Transgressing the Nation-State: Constructs of Canadian Identity

As Canada approaches the 150th anniversary of Confederation, it is important to ask: how are systems of colonialism, racism, sexism, and other social and economic disparities that characterized the founding of this country still embedded in our society? The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies welcomes exploration of these topics from multiple and competing perspectives at its annual conference on April 20th and 21st, 2017 at York University in Toronto. The conference will examine the dialogue surrounding Canadian identity by focusing on the current challenges to established forms of government, welfare policies and modes of participation in a radically changed globalized nation, where history, migration, and transnationalism play an important role. Presentations will offer an interdisciplinary analysis of opportunities provided and challenges faced in Canada’s past, present and future.

Conference topics • Exploitative Labour and Racialized Workers • Meeting Grounds and the Difficult Work of Reconcilliation • Troubled Narratives / Troubling Narratives • Erasure, (In)visibility, and Marginalization • Orders of Regulation and Manifestations of Power • Challenging Canadianness • Sacraments of Space: Marking and Claiming Through Holy Ground • Discourse on Disability in Canada • Always Watching: Surveillance and the Control of Immigrant Bodies • Looking In the Margins of Canadian Healthcare • Contested Territories and Colonial Relationships

Thursday evening keynote address by Bonita Lawrence (Mi’kmaw) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, where she teaches Indigenous Studies. She is a founding member of the undergraduate program in Race, Ethnicity and Indigeneity (now Multicultural and Indigenous Studies in the Department of Equity Studies. Her research and publications have focused primarily on urban, non-status and Metis identities, federally unrecognized Aboriginal communities, and Indigenous justice. She is the author of Fractured Homeland: Federal Recognition and Algonquin Identity in Ontario (UBC Press, 2012) and “Real” Indians and Others: Mixed-Blood Urban Native People and Indigenous Nationhood (University of Nebraska Press and UBC Press, 2004).

Friday film screening Elder in the Making (Hidden Story Productions) Film Screening and Discussion with Director Chris Hsiung