TORONTO —
Sunday marked Canada’s first federally recognized Emancipation Day — the day on which the British Empire ended the practice of slavery for millions of African people and their descendants across the former colonies.
The recognition of the day follows years of campaigning by Black lawmakers and community advocates, all of which culminated in March, when the federal government unanimously voted to recognize Emancipation Day.
Aug. 1, 1834 was the date an act came into effect that ended slavery in the former British colonies, including Upper and Lower Canada. The act freed about 800,000 enslaved people of African descent across the colonies nearly 200 years ago.
In-person and virtual ceremonies and events were held to commemorate Emancipation Day in different cities and provinces, including Nova Scotia, home to a historic Black community.
In a statement online, Nova Scotia Independent Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard – a leading figure in the push to recognize Emancipation Day — called the day a “monumental milestone for Black people in Canada.”
“In 2021, African Canadians continue to experience systemic anti-Black racism and substantial economic inequalities. Understanding our full history provides a critical perspective of the persisting condition of poverty and violence within Black communities, acknowledging these as systemic issues, not individual issues,” she said.
She added that “federal recognition of the day highlights that Black history is Canadian history” and extends beyond simply the month of February — echoing how many educators across the country hammered home that same idea last Black History Month.
Emancipation Day. A time to reflect on the Slavery Abolition Act which became law in the British Empire on August 1st 1834 and ended the practice of slavery. Here is a list of some events happening around the province of Nova Scotia on August 1st. Visit: https://t.co/TsoihVQRD9pic.twitter.com/B8FHdIm3It
— Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia (@BCC_NS) July 31, 2021
At an online event on Saturday held by the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute, Bernard also noted how apologies and topics such as reparations need to be discussed seriously.
Natasha Henry, president of Ontario Black History Society which is hosting its own virtual celebration at 6 p.m EST, explained long-standing events such as Caribana festivities in Toronto were created specifically to honour Emancipation Day.
So with the federal recognition, the government is simply following the “long tradition in Canada and in the Americas,” she told CTVNews.ca in a phone call on Sunday.
“I see it as a great opportunity for more Canadians to … join in understanding that this is also a call to action,” Henry said, attributing the unanimous vote directly to last year’s social uprising following the murder of George Floyd.
“I think it affords an opportunity for people to also not see Emancipation Day as one day, but connected to the wider movement for Black lives around the issues that Black Canadians have raised forever around education, around employment, [and] around the justice of the criminal justice system.”
And in a blog post last week, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO echoed the call for genuine action.
“For real progress to continue, we need more than just a tacit acknowledgement from Canadians and our government,” the commission wrote. “Observing a shameful historical moment in our history is one thing. Doing something proactive to address its legacy is another.”
Michelle Williams, assistant professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University told The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which has been promoting several different online events, that today marks simply “one step toward righting the historical wrongs and resulting harms that African Nova Scotians continue to experience.”
In a statement on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “Emancipation Day is a representation of social activism, justice, and our commitment to an equitable future.
“Today, we recommit ourselves to fighting anti-Black racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination, and related intolerance faced by people of African descent in Canada,” he said.
The federal government’s webpage about the day states that “Emancipation Day celebrates the strength and perseverance of Black communities in Canada. After British colonial settlers established Upper Canada, the number of enslaved Africans and their descendants increased significantly. It is estimated that 3,000 enslaved men, women and children of African descent were brought into British North America and eventually outnumbered enslaved Indigenous Peoples.”
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
