The Persecution Of Visible Minorities

When the term “genocide” is used, the majority of people will immediately call to memory one of a few widely recognized instances where this atrocity was committed. The Holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur or Armenia are among the most well known, but are they the only instances where genocide has occurred? Surely not, but this is indicative of a problem we are faced with today. Since the term “genocide” was coined, countries are very wary of admitting to any acts of wrongdoing in their history which may fit that definition. Canada is not exempt from this thinking, and because of this we must ask, has Canada ever committed acts of Genocide? This paper will look at one relatively recent example that can be used to answer “yes” to this question; the residential school system. Canada’s Indian Residential School (IRS) system and it’s treatment of Indigenous children was not just dark and brutal, but in fact constituted a “genocide” as defined by the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide.

Aboriginal persons in Canada have been facing oppression ever since colonization began. Even when Canada gained independence from the British Empire, the oppression continued and still goes on today. One major contributing factor to the oppression of Aboriginal people in Canada is the actions taken by the Government. The Government of Canada has in fact mistreated and found to be partaking in wrongdoing when dealing with the Aboriginal population in this country. With this ugly truth being revealed, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had to be tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. (cite)

Since the colonization of Canada First Nations people have been discriminated against and assimilated into the new culture of Canada through policies created by the government. Policies created had the intentions of improving the Aboriginal people’s standard of living and increasing their opportunities. Mainly in the past hundred years in Canadian Society, policies and government implemented actions such as; Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reserve systems have resulted in extinguishing native culture, teachings, and pride. Policies towards the treatment of Aboriginal Canadians has decreased their opportunities and standard of living because of policies specified previously (Residential schools, the Indian Act, and reservation systems).

Immigration policies have been under fire for their racist under- or overtones. As Rees states, "Canadian immigration policy has historically always been determined by racial preferences." Institutionalized racism is a problem in Canada, in spite of the many official policies and programs designed to manufacture an equitable society. For example, Canada's Human Rights Commission and Employment Equity Act are both admirable but "Canada fails to fully implement" their guidelines (Song). Racial profiling is also a problem in the Canadian law enforcement and immigration sector. One study shows that Canadian residents who are African or black receive "harsher treatment" than white residents, and are also "overrepresented in police statistics of charges and arrests," (Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants).

Racism is very prevalent in today’s society against Indigenous people in Canada. They face many forms of individual and institutionalized racism. According to LaRocque, Racism is prejudice or discrimination based on the belief that one or one 's group is innately or genetically superior to another. Racists believe that “race” determines qualities such as intelligence, innovation, creativity and even morality” (N.D). People have been taught the stereotypes of Indigenous people whether it be from the educational system, health system, court system and many other institutions in Canada.

Discrimination towards ethnic minority continues to find its way in our country. Unfortunately, the subject of racial profiling remains a part of Canada, as officers ignore individual behavior and instead, rely on race in police investigations. According to Katheryn Russell (as cited by Amy Hackney & Jack Glaser, 2013) racial profiling is defined as “The use of race or ethnicity by law enforcement officials as a basis for judgement of criminal suspicion” (Russell, 1998). Racial profiling within our country can be exposed through Canadian history, surveys and interviews from those treated unjustly. All of which stakeholders attempt to remedy for the victimization of the innocent.

The act of targeting or judging someone based on their race is called racial profiling and it is an issue especially in law enforcement. Racial profiling occurs more often than we know. It has been all over the news with several prevalent cases, but acts of racial profiling may occur almost every day. Police officers make arrests based on skin colour or information about that person that could indicate their heritage, mostly their names. Acts of racial profiling can be made subconsciously, the idea to prejudge someone based in their race already ingrained in one’s head without realizing, but in the court of law racial profiling is not legal. Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadian citizens have the right to not be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. When an accused is racially profiled, they are most likely being arbitrarily detained based on the colour of their skin.

When someone speaks of great inequalities and human rights violations, very seldom is Canada as a nation (in a broader sense,) conjured together with these thoughts. However, in reality probably some of the greatest human right violations within our time and even within the late modern period, and most concerning examples of them, can be found through looking back into Canadian history. For many this may be a surprise to hear, however for others, specifically the native population of Canada, we can assume this is well understood. Commonly known today as Indian residential schools, a great act of wrong was committed under the command and leadership of the Canadian government starting back with elementary roots through the passage of the

Article 1: The issues concerning immigration and refugees lie in the structural policies and the access that have differential impacts on racialized groups. One example of Canadian racial discrimination and assimilation was based on interment camp. The article

Discrimination is a big topic it can be blatantly out of discussion but it is important to stress that people of all race, gender and sex, religion or even sexual orientation. In Canada specifically has done some reasonable set of legal protections to prevent Canadians from being discriminated against but sometimes it is not that easy and things turn out of people’s control and will. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a section of the Canadian Constitution that makes it illegal for the government of Canada, and the provincial government to pass laws that either plainly discriminate against certain Canadians on the basis of their identity. Place an unfair burden on one group over another. The Supreme Court of Canada routinely overturns laws they perceive to be discriminatory on the grounds of Charter protections. Canada’s legislation called the Canadian Human Rights Act that prevents private entities, such as employers, landlords, schools, and stores from discriminating against clients or customers on the basis of identity. Discrimination cases of these sorts are decided by a government known as the Human Rights Tribunal that has the power to issue fines and or other corrective actions. The various provincial governments have their own human rights laws.

In this essay, I would like to explain the racial policing with the issue of discrimination and racism towards marginalized and the black people. The article describes the risk assessment strategies and legislative responses of policing to reduce racial policing. The article explains the racial policing through racialization and Canada is a country who receives immigrants from a different culture, ethnic, race, and color (Wortley and Akwasi 2011). Every year a large number of immigrants settle in Canada. Those who migrate from one country to Canada may face several challenges such as language barrier, discrimination, racism, and racial policing.

Many countries around the world perceive Canada to be a multicultural utopia. While few may believe this is true, there are some factors that may question their reasoning. In “Even in Toronto, my daughters are growing up being assessed according to the colour of their skin”, Randy Boyagoda describes the discrimination his children face, as mixed race, in their schools. The hardships his children faced are comparable to the discrimination Aboriginal children encountered growing up in residential schools: based off the article “Residential School Syndrome” by Charles Brasfield. One may find a few similarities between the two articles.

We in the Canadian Government do not support the unlawful abuse of our citizens especially when the targeting is due to social class and ethnicity. Canada is one of the most diverse countries in the world but we still face the same issues of violence that is faced By our neighbours to the south.

The goal of this research paper is to expose the racism that lies within the social structures that is set up for society; primarily within the educational and justice systems. Exposing how minorities are criminalized and targeted because of their skin color. These social institutions have created and perpetuates a racial hierarchy, and has done so throughout history. Racial profiling is the product of stereotyping of racialized communities and fuels further stereotyping in not only on the streets, but in classroom where the future generation is being taught the rights and wrongs of society (Manitoba Human Rights Commission, 2007). When one thinks of racism, slavery, Jim Crow laws, residential schools are a few things that come to mind, but

Many will agree that the root of the horrendous conducts stipulated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report is an old classical racism; but has this classical racism vanished or just done a cosmetic face lift over time? It would be naïve to think that the report in question had any impact on the basis of racism in Canada. Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada may have opened some eyes, but correspondingly, has not and cannot eradicated the source of racism, so as to stop racist based injustices from reoccurring. The probability of repeating such racism stipulated in TRC report looks feeble in today’s Canada, nonetheless a kind of modern racism which is complicated, hard to penalize, and is multi-dimensional, that has developed in the recent years, and needs to be addressed, exists. As defined contemporary racism is the