As Canadians, we tend to cloak ourselves in myths about the lack of racism and slavery in our country, contrasting ourselves with our American counterparts. Yet “slavery existed in Canada from the 16th century until its abolition in 1834. After slavery was abolished, African Canadians still had to contend with de facto segregation in housing, schooling and employment, and exclusion from public places such as theatres…”
In January 2020, the Food Policy Council committed to integrating into our work programming focused on systemic racism and food. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted our plans for 2020, just as it has done to everyone, everywhere. Nevertheless, the urgent need to understand how systemic racism is manifested in food systems has only been highlighted by the events of 2020…
Imagine you and your family live in a lovely house. It is the place you grew up in. The doorframe into the mudroom has notches that documented yours and your siblings growing bodies over the years, as you got taller and taller – and now there are new notches tracking the growth of your own children. Out in the backyard, there is the most awesome tree in whose branches you played, swung and built the tree fort, and from those lofty heights you surveyed the world around…
