Category: The Americas
The contamination of Canada’s water systems is a direct consequence of settler-colonialism; the water crisis unfolding in Native communities would not exist if Indigenous groups had not been forcibly removed from their traditional roles as custodians of the land.
“Government-Sponsored Outing”?: Understanding Quebec’s Bill 2
A bill proposal by the Quebec provincial government has sparked concern from transgender and LGBTQ+ activists. Bill 2, a potential amendment to the Civil Code, promotes change in family law and, according to activists, is a direct infringement … Continue reading
Medical Internationalism: The Cuban Response to the Pandemic
Rather than reaching out to massive pharmaceutical companies, the Cuban biotechnology sector set to work on developing its own vaccine.
COVID-19 Sheds Light on Economic Barriers in Canadian Healthcare
As the pandemic wages on, it has become clear that while we may all be in this together, we are not all in this equally. Emerging statistics on COVID-19 transmission, infection, and death rates have shown that individuals from low-income communities are at a higher risk of both catching the disease and developing fatal complications.
An HIV Epidemic Among Indigenous Peoples in Canada
What is clear is that while the Canadian health care system has been successful on some fronts such as vaccinating citizens, it is far from a model – it fails to protect those most socially vulnerable.
‘Canada’s’ Ongoing Colonial Violence Brings Death to Indigenous Peoples
These discoveries stand as a stark reminder to non-Indigenous people that the country known as ‘Canada’ is not only built upon the genocide of Indigenous peoples, but that this extends to Indigenous children in these residential schools.
Haiti’s Political Crisis: How Constitutional Dispute is Fueling Conflict and Instability
President Moïse’s declaration of a state of emergency on March 16th marked the first official recognition of the political crisis which swept over Haiti at the start of the year. Escalation of the crisis over recent months has led to widespread civilian protests, increasingly violent repression by the Haitian National Police (PNH), a surge in crime rates across the country, and a destabilisation of authority.
Tackling Period Poverty in Canada
In Canada, 1/3 of menstruators under 25 have struggled to pay for period products. Along with many other countries, the Canadian government has not recognized these fundamental necessities as such. This is evident through the federal government's luxury of 1991, also known as the “pink tax” which treated sanitary products as luxury items rather than necessities. This tax points to the gender inequality at play; through this tax, not only were period products made inaccessible, but Canada racked in $37 million from menstruators. It was not until 2015, which is when the #notaxontampons campaigns occured, that it was removed.
Indigenous Women, The Fastest Growing Prison Population in Canada
Canada’s justice system has a standing crisis that is the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples that are incarcerated. However, for Indigenous women, this problem is a unique one. Indigenous women are the fastest-growing prison demographic in Canada, surpassing rates of Indigenous … Continue reading
Vaccine Passports
Vaccine passports will exacerbate existing inequalities caused by globalization: allowing the rich to accelerate a return to their accustomed freedom of movement while the poor are physically and economically restricted, with limited access to the COVID-19 vaccine