Tag Archives: KKK

Politics

Canada’s emergency powers evoke reflections on democracy, freedom

By Fernando Arce, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

As the world woke up to breaking reports of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, Canada’s short-lived Emergencies Act has evoked memories of Eastern European dictatorships among some communities and ignited reflections about ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’ among ethnic media commentators. 

A number of ethnic media outlets have pointed to what they see as hypocrisy and double standards from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government for supporting disruptive protests around the world but cracking down on similar ones at home.

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Health

Ethnic media brings ‘lived experience’ lens to coverage of ‘Freedom’ protests

By Fernando Arce, New Canadian Media, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Even as law enforcement prepared to move in to tackle the demonstrators in downtown Ottawa Friday morning, ethnic media platforms across Canada this past week focused on hardships to newcomers, a division within trucker ranks, splits within communities and the absence of people of colour in most of the footage from the “Freedom Convoy”.

Another issue that found resonance mainly among Filipino outlets is the continuing nursing shortage, caused partly by the refusal to recognize the credentials of those educated abroad.  

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History, Indigenous Nations

The hushed Racist history of Abbotsford

By Aly Laube, Fraser Valley Community Radio, CIVL 101.7 FM, Local Journalism Initiative

Without the labour of Asian immigrants, who ran the city’s lumber mill and built railroads all over Canada, Abbotsford wouldn’t be what it is today. Many of the South Asian families in the valley are second and third generation Canadians with established roots in the local community. 

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History, Indigenous Nations History

The Klu Klux Klan comes to Abbotsford

By Aly Laube, Fraser Valley Community Radio, CIVL 101.7 FM, Local Journalism Initiative

To understand the nature of systemic racism and white supremacy in Abbotsford, you have to understand the history. But that history can be hard to find, tucked away in archives and couched in vague language. The information is there if you look, and it speaks volumes about the area’s past in relation to upholding structures that support white settlers.

In 1925, American Klu Klux Klan members came to Abbotsford in search of new recruits. For $10 apiece, residents born in Canada, the US, the UK, and Northern Europe who were white, male, able-bodied, Protestant, and “of sound mind” could sign up to join the KKK and become part of an organized effort to “maintain forever White Supremacy.” 

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