OTTAWA—“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them,” goes a quote attributed to Margaret Atwood. A week ago, my family and I said our final goodbyes to a young woman who was vibrant, full of life, and taken too soon. I can...
The Hill Times
Conservatives are looking at the trees when they should be designing a vision for the forest
Mar 24, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—After losing the last two elections, including one to the blackface guy, the Conservative Party is officially looking for that glow up. Whether or not this is a FaceApp transformation or one that requires reconstructive surgery remains to be seen. (Hope y’all...
Historical misinformation persists in the real legacy of colonial rule
Mar 17, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—Last Monday, on International Women’s Day, I appeared on CTV’s Power Play with former lieutenant-governor David Onley to talk about Harry and Meghan’s interview. Instead of sticking to the subject at hand, he inserted a commonly held belief that Canada’s...
The CAF’s misogynistic merry-go-round needs to end
Mar 10, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—This year’s International Women’s Day was marked by the biggest interview of the decade: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, later joined by Prince Harry, spilled some scalding hot royal tea. What this interview revealed, besides that the Firm is racist, is the...
An open letter to federal Black employees
Mar 3, 2021 | The Hill Times
Dear federal Black employees, Thank you for your words of encouragement and support and for trusting me with your own stories. Your humanity is not to be negotiated and your voices are never to be silenced. Unfortunately, to work in the public service means as Black...
The royal tea? Black women are never allowed to be part of the club
Feb 24, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—It’s possible that we’re starting to see the beginning of the end of the modern version of the British monarchy. Abolitionists are laughing in schadenfreude. Last week was a week from hell for the Saxe-Coburg-Gothas who are at the apex of British society and...
Black History Month has turned into HR blackface
Feb 17, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—Instead of organizations creating positive, inclusive environments to celebrate Black History Month with their employees, what has transpired is nothing less than an onslaught of microaggressions that would leave anyone disillusioned and depressed. Many...
Cross-country COVID response too easily swayed by political winds of change
Feb 10, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—The Weeknd walking deliriously through a candescent, mirrored hallway in his Superbowl halftime performance is a metaphor for Canada’s COVID response. The incompetence delivered as a train wreck is breathtaking and frankly, globally embarrassing, yet easy to...
Political platitudes do nothing for Black Canadians stuck at back of the bus
Feb 3, 2021 | The Hill Times
CALGARY—Malcolm X once said, “The white man will try to satisfy us with symbolic victories rather than economic equity and real justice.” This has been the strategy of the Liberal government since their 2015 majority win, but they’re not the only performance in town....