Deborah Mebude

Black refugees from Africa still face barriers to integration and long processing times. (Photo: Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

In 2016, Saganash tabled a private member’s bill in Parliament to endorse the UN declaration. It died in the Senate. Last December, building on Saganash’s efforts, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-15. In mid-June, it became law, mandating the government “to take all measures necessary to ensure the laws of Canada are consistent with” UNDRIP….

Finding Refuge in Canada: Narratives of Dislocation is a collection of stories that provide insightful perspectives from refugees, settlement workers, and refugee advocates. This book provides technical language and historical and political underpinnings that contextualize Canada’s evolving immigration policies. In so doing, these narratives emphasize the human toll that refugees endure, covering topics about arriving…

The pandemic has revealed significant issues related to the ways that many seniors are cared for in our society. Much has been exposed regarding overworked and underpaid staff and the undignified conditions that are experienced in many institutionalized care settings across our country. André Picard in his book Neglected No More provides in-depth research on…

One of the surest paths to success on a complex issue is to find common ground with allies in adjacent areas. That makes Evelyn Forget’s Basic Income for Canadians a fantastic reference for anyone concerned with the economic shifts resulting from an effective response to the climate emergency. Rapid decarbonization done right is about opportunity…

The Interfaith Social Assistance Reform Coalition (ISARC) recently engaged in a project of community hearings on poverty, meant to produce a report on the state of poverty in Ontario and a tool to help the public understand the multi-faceted complexity of the problem—and potential solutions. I spent around a decade of my life living with…

The Response of Weeds is both striking and evocative. While a brief read, Bertrand Bickersteth paints a concise and poetic picture of the experience of being Black on the Prairies. Raised in Alberta, Bickersteth effortlessly relays the experience of feeling like a foreigner even in a place that one is intimately acquainted with; the sideways…

“Nothing to see here, folks!” wrote Karri Munn-Venn, senior policy analyst at Citizens for Public Justice. “In a highly anticipated announcement about Canada’s new emissions reduction target, Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said, well, nothing.”

Let’s take advantage of the unprecedented heat wave we have all been experiencing. Email your MP now to demand decisive action. The House of Commons website enables you to find the name and contact information for your MP just by entering your postal code. The Citizens for Public Justice website provides tips on what to write and other…

Tomorrow is Canada Day.  For many across the country, feelings of grief and lament are eclipsing those of celebration and national pride.  The remains of over one thousand bodies have been uncovered in unmarked graves at former Indian Residential Schools in Kamloops,  Marieval, Brandon, and other locations—and the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission…