As part of McGill’s Black History Month 2019, the Black Students’ Network of McGill (BSN) and Black Law Students’ Association of McGill (BLSAM) hosted a panel titled “Racism and Systemic Discrimination: The Canadian Context” on Feb. 4 to shed light on the realities of black lives in Canada. Moderated by[Read More…]
Tag: discrimination
Reflecting on the Quebec mosque shooting two years later
I remember crying when I first heard about the Quebec City Mosque shooting. I saw the faces of my father, my uncles, and my friends in the faces of the victims. I remember asking how this could have happened in a country that claims to value immigrants and diversity. I[Read More…]
Number of harassment complaints double in 2017-18
McGill announced that Sinead Hunt has been appointed to the position of Senior Equity and Inclusion Advisor (SEIA) in an email to the student body on Sept. 9. The SEIA acts as a first contact for students attempting to report instances of harassment or discrimination on campus. The number of[Read More…]
Inclusive hiring requires more than a quota
Dalhousie University has recently come under fire for limiting its search for a new vice-provost student affairs to “racially visible persons and Aboriginal peoples,” in an effort to boost minority faculty representation. Critics have condemned the policy as discriminatory against white people, and argue that hiring based on race, rather than[Read More…]
Hiring discrimination exists—it’s time for universities to acknowledge it
In her Nov. 4 column in The Globe and Mail, Margaret Wente denounced the decision of Universities Canada, a national university lobbying group, to release the demographic data for each university faculty in a national database. Her argument is that universities have come to prioritize inclusivity over performance; hiring staff,[Read More…]
In countering hate and racism, SSMU must keep local issues at the forefront
On Sunday, Nov. 12, thousands of activists filled Place Émilie-Gamelin for the “Large Demonstration Against Hate and Racism.” A McGill contingent, led by Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer, joined forces with a coalition of Montreal activist groups to protest hate and the far-right. SSMU Council[Read More…]
McGill must take a stand against Bill 62
Bill 62 is a xenophobic piece of legislation that is not reflective of the multicultural values upheld at McGill. The bill, passed by the provincial government on Oct. 18, prohibits citizens from covering their faces while giving and using public services. Justified under the guise of religious neutrality and security,[Read More…]
STEMM Diversity @ McGill launches at Redpath Museum
Nearly a year after its inception, the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine (STEMM) Diversity @ McGill initiative, which aims to promote diversity in STEMM fields, launched an exhibition under the same name at the Redpath Museum on Oct. 11. The exhibit, which is still growing, features interviews with women and[Read More…]
Systemic racial discrimination of indigenous children in Canadian public policy
“What if 165,000 children were told by a government that they were going to get less education, less health, less child welfare, and less [access to] clean water […] because of their race?” Dr. Cindy Blackstock, of the Gitksan First Nation, asked in her keynote address at the third annual[Read More…]
Editorial: Report on systemic discrimination in McGill faculty reveals the need for action
Last month, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Systemic Discrimination—commissioned by the Joint Board-Senate Committee on Equity—released a comprehensive report based on a survey of tenure-track and tenured faculty at McGill. The report gave a glimpse of the ongoing forms of discrimination, such as racism and sexism, that permeate the[Read More…]