Why is there never any conversation in our country about the shit that we have put minority groups through? There is such a disposition here to be not like the United States, that you almost think we have something to hide. Why is it that whenever things like slavery and immigration (rights) are talked about most Canadians are content to conclude that those 'things' only happened and are happening South of the border?
There was slavery here. In fact, there was as much slavery here as there was in the US in the 18th century. We often tout this underground railroad through which black slaves were able to escape to freedom in the north. The truth of the matter is, in many instances blacks that escaped to Canada often found themselves being recaptured and used as slaves here. Those that were able to escape and keep their freedom weren't free.
There is a house (I believe its now a museum), in Hamilton Ontario that was used in the 18th century as a safe house. The reality of this safe house though, was that nobody could leave. They couldn't even go outside, how is this freedom? Why are we calling our country a place of refuge for these people when we were no more accepting of them then they were in the South?
Dresden, Ontario (among many other cities across the country- see Africville) was one particular place that even after WWII black people experienced huge levels of racism. In this town essentially all privately owned enterprises refused to serve blacks. This did not change for an exceptionally long time, when Leslie Frost (the then Premier of Ontario) to the demise of most of his party, created a law stating that minorities could not be turned away at private enterprises.
In 1932 Ray Lewis, whom I believe was a track athlete was the first black Canadian male to win a medal in the Olympics. Upon his return to Canada he was unable to find work even as a high school track coach and was forced to return to working as a porter on the railway (a job that was primarily done by only blacks). I highly doubt his other track teammates were unable to find work after their Olympic success. Things like this make me so disappointed in my country and its people. Why is this type of history not shared in school at the elementary and high school level?
Why are people like Louis Riel (native activist) made out to look like a villain when he's actually a hero? I distinctly remember learning in high school about what a terrible person he was and how much 'trouble' he caused for the RCMP. WTF??
The next lil topic I want to briefly touch upon (as I don't know very much about it), is treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII. I have recently begun reading Obasan (which will definitely lead to more research on my part, after I complete the novel). I knew that Japanese Canadians faced varying degrees of racism during WWII, and more specifically after the bombings of Pearl Harbor, but I didn't really know the extent. Japanese Canadians (meaning they were already citizens, sometimes even multigenerational citizens) were rounded up (particularly on the West Coast) and shipped off into internment camps. They are described as being little better than concentration camps.
I guess what really bugs me about all this is that our country prides itself in being multicultural and accepting of all that enter. Time and time again do I hear people exclaiming at how different we are (and historically are) from our Southern counterparts. We really aren't that different at all, and what's even worse is that this information has somehow been written out of our history. This information must be sought out, rather than taught alongside other topics in Canadian history. blurg.
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