Two Cents Blog
Hill Times April 25, 2022
In 2019, British Columbia legislated to review provincial laws to ensure they are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the …
Hill Times April 11, 2022
What makes a good apology? The senior leader needs to make the apology to show responsibility. The apology needs to be …
Hill Times March 28, 2022
A few years ago, I attended a memorial for a First Nations youth who died in Thunder Bay. Like many other …
Hill Times March 14, 2022
Evidence is growing that Russia is perpetrating war crimes against the people of Ukraine. Russia is targeting civilians, hospitals, and nuclear …
Hill Times February 28, 2022
Are elected officials who cheered on the occupation a threat to minorities?
Almost 200 people arrested, almost 400 charges, about 1,500 tickets …
Hill Times February 14, 2022
Nazi military names and colours worn openly on the street. Yellow stars worn as a symbol and perversion. Women being harassed for …
Hill Times January 31, 2022
Aggressive convoys, conflicts, and wars all share a similar foundation—a decision to speak and act over others regardless of their rights …
Hill Times January 17, 2022
Quebec Premier François Legault is forging a unique approach again: fine the unvaccinated. And immediately voices rise up in horror across …
Hill Times December 20, 2021
Elementary school teacher Fatemeh Anvari was forced out of her classroom in Chelsea because she wears a hijab, thanks to Bill …
Hill Times, December 6, 2021
It must be nice to not to fear the national police. It must be reassuring to have a level of trust …
Hill Times November 8, 2021
Pretendian: Canadian of settler descent and values who claims to be Indigenous in order to gain monetary benefit. And so deeply …
Hill Times October 25, 2021
When Germany was defeated in World War II, infrastructure was ruined, the economy destroyed, separated east from west, and some wondered …
Hill Times October 11, 2021
On Sept. 29, the prime minister gave a particularly good speech on Parliament Hill in a special ceremony to honour the …
Hill Times, September 29 2021
Six years after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and here we are—struggling to get consensus …
Hill Times September 20, 2021
It’s been four months since the news broke of 215 unmarked graves from Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc at the former site of …
Hill Times, September 6, 2021
Let’s have an election! Why, asked the people? No good reason, he said, just because I want a majority!
The void of …
Hill Times, August 23 2021
If we have to do an election, then let’s talk about things that matter.
What is the role of governments in the …
Hill Times August 9, 2021
I had the misfortune of touring a long-term care facility in Ottawa this past month, and I was and continue to …
Hill Times July 26, 2021
What does accountability look like in the face of mass graves of Indigenous children?
A mass grave was just found in Bosnia …
Hill Times July 12, 2021
Mary Simon’s appointment represents the type of change required for reconciliation. Known as simply Mary to many Inuit, the position of …
Hill Times June 28, 2021
Kamloops. Brandon. St. Anne’s. Marieval. And the list grows.
The numbers are devastating, but they should not be news. The Truth and …
Hill Times, June 14 2021
June 21 is National Indigenous Day, the summer solstice. Many Indigenous organizations and businesses will close. Some Indigenous people will pay …
Hill Times June 7, 2021
OTTAWA—Warning: this story contains distressing details.
Following the announcement of the mass grave of 215 Indigenous children unearthed at the site of …
Hill Times May 31, 2021
Quebec Premier Legault wants to increase the use of French in Quebec through Bill 96, come hell or high water. As …
Hill Times May 17, 2021
Once upon a time, not so long ago, First Nations and many Indigenous societies governed with balance—men and women, including Two …
May 3, 2021
Are apologies enough when a political leader refuses to represent some Canadians? Just what is “lesbian activity”? I’m asking for a friend.
Getting a …
Hill Times April 19, 2021
Did you know that about 140 countries had zero new COVID cases last week? Canada has suffered about 67 deaths per …
Hill Times April 5, 2021
Don’t talk about racism. It’s a sign that there may be an election close. Many racist acts have occurred in Quebec …
Hill Times March 22, 2021
I am status, card-carrying First Nations—the federal government calls me a real one. The status card is a race-based ethnic identity …
Hill Times March 8, 2021
“When it comes to the safety of drinking water, residents of First Nations communities do not benefit from a level of protection …
Hill Times February 22, 2021
Quebec Premier François Legault used social media on Facebook last week to share his belief that “a handful of radical activists …
Hill Times February 8, 2021
Institutional racism is strong in many sectors, but it’s life threatening health care in Canada. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and Harmony Johnson …
Hill Times January 25, 2021
My family watched the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. We shared with millions of people the awe and relief that …
Hill Times January 11, 2021
The first five days of 2021 seemed promising, until the American insurgency went down on Jan. 6. The world stood wide-eyed …
Hill Times December 14, 2020
The original intent of First Nations reserves was noted by Lt.-Gen. Sir Francis Bond Head in a report to Upper Canada …
Hill Times November 30, 2020
There was a day and age when the federal government hired public health policy experts for the Public Health Agency of …
Hill Times November 16, 2020
Did you know that infrastructure gaps for Inuit are critical?
As a southerner, I have been honoured to travel to Nunavut numerous …
Hill Times November 2, 2020
Canada has a value of finding the middle ground and saying nice things, but it tends to backfire when applied to …
Hill Times October 19, 2020
If 200 First Nations had committed the actions seen on video by white Canadians in Middle West Pubnico, N.S., we can …
Hill Times October 3, 2020
On Monday, Sept. 28, Joyce Echaquan from Atikamekw died in the Joliette Hospital while nurses taunted her with racism. Joyce was …
Hill Times September 23, 2020
The OPP is arresting journalists, and Throne-Speech writers need to understand why.
Journalists in Canada sometimes get flamed on social media, perhaps …
Hill Times September 7, 2020
What about a new political structure to bring about change—the Indigenous Party?
The federal Māori Party in New Zealand started in 2004 …
Hill Times, August 24, 2020
COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the cracks in Canada’s social nets, and the fact that they don’t serve Canadians with …
Hill Times August 10, 2020
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released the 94 Calls to Action, a roadmap for Canada to find closure on …
Hill Times July 27, 2020
It’s been five years into reconciliation and there’s been a lot of talk and not enough action. It’s time to start …
Hill Times July 13, 2020
It’s been 49 days since George Floyd died. It has been forty-nine days of international rally and protest, demands for change, …
Hill Times June 29, 2020
Racism is harmful. Racism simply says there is no room for those who look different.
Anti-racism is a commitment to the value …
Hill Times June 15, 2020
In the second quarter of 2020, racism and police brutality was brought to the forefront of the world’s consciousness. Black Americans, …
Hill Times June 1, 2020
The Canadian Forces Health Services Group has stepped into the gap in long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec, and voiced …
Hill Times May 18, 2020
One really couldn’t say I’m a raging feminist, but I am Tlingit. In my culture women lead. That’s the way it …
Hill Times May 5, 2020
On a snowy day in another life, I had the honour of meeting Rupert Ross. He was a Crown attorney in …
Hill Times April 20 2020
With more than 30,000 Canadians tested or presumed to have COVID-19, we are facing a health crisis like no other. This …
Hill Times April 6 2020
In March of 2020, the world went into lockdown. We stopped going out to see friends, many stopped going to places …
Hill Times March 23 2020
Anybody else waking up each morning, and dreading picking up your phone? What else has changed while we tried to sleep?
COVID-19 …
Hill Times March 9 2020
On Friday, March 6, Canada’s largest celebration of Indigenous leadership occurred in Ottawa, the Indspire Awards. The national organization notes “the …
Hill Times February 24 2020
We are adding to the crisis in the relationship with Indigenous peoples.
It’s a crisis. Many people are scrambling to come up …
Hill Times February 10 2020
There is a pervasive stereotype in the health-care system that Indigenous peoples are all drunks. Every single Indigenous person that I …
Correctional investigator’s scathing report illustrates Canada’s refusal to protect its own citizens
Hill Times January 27 2020
Last week the Office of the Correctional Investigator issued a scathing report on the state of Indigenous people in federal prisons. …
Hill Times, January 13 2020
I teach about cultural competence and the lack of understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. One of the consistent responses from …
Hill Times December 16, 2019
I was going to write about the new federal cabinet. Then I heard Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller spout the same …
Hill Times, December 2 2019
Credit R.LeMay
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see Thunder Bay, Ont., again, and it was winter already. I …
The Province of BC passed UNDRIP on November 26, 2019 – a huge event in history on par with the Royal Proclamation.
Federal Court appeal: The horror is the Liberals’ decision to refuse to change their ways and the Conservatives stating they would
do the same. The fact …
Indigenous peoples want representation. We want a government that not only can deal with different perspectives, we want a government that values diversity.
Hill Times September 23, 2019, Rose LeMay
As most Canadians, I watched the brownface incident and response on September 18 and felt a range of emotions, …
It’s time we all demand that political platforms give attention to these systems in desperate need of change, so that Indigenous peoples need not fear …
As people gathered to mark and celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day this past June 21, you may have noticed a land acknowledgement given in recognition …
On May 5, Canadians will wear red in memory of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
The facts are disturbing.
There are 1,673,800 Indigenous peoples …
By Lisa Zimmerman, Manager of Equity Programs
At a training program last summer, I was part of a cohort of professionals from various sectors, looking to …
The IRG was the platinum sponsor of the 2018 conference of the First Nations Health Managers Association (FNHMA).
This partnership is important to us, for three …
With acknowledgement to Tanya Talaga.
The Indigenous Reconciliation Group was honoured to support Anishnabe author Tanya Talaga who was selected for the 2018 Massey Lectures. The CBC …
Recently in Canada and Scotland, there has been renewed debates about the presence of statues and plaques commemorating figures of history. The statue of Cornwallis …
As January comes to an end we find ourselves in the midst of strange days. The world has marked the anniversary of Trumpism alongside the …
When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission started to communicate and share the truths of the Indian Residential Schools in Canada, many were faced with new …
As the leaves change colour and most people are stuffed with turkey, I am hopeful for coming winter months, the promise that a new year …
When it comes to the world of fashion, there are countless examples of cultural appropriation ranging from those that profit off of tired stereotypes and …
September is here and in cities across Canada many parents are picking up last minute supplies and clothing for the kids to go back to …
Based on a speech given by Rose LeMay, at the public launch of the IRG.
As many political and policy wonks did, I watched Barack Obama’s …
By Destine Lord, IRG director and proud Canadian of Afro-Caribbean descent
There is no doubt that Julie Payette is an impressive woman with even more impressive …
Posted in the Two Cents Blog on April 7, 2017.
It was a long winter for some, the snow and cold seemed to last forever. But …