The Catholic Church ran more than half of Canada’s residential schools. In these schools they immersed Indigenous children and youth in Catholic culture. The effect on these children and youth and their families has been so great that on the first page of its Final Report the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has said that what the residential schools did “can best be described as cultural genocide.” The TRC has called upon the Pope to apologize “for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools.”
Now this same Church wants to establish yet another Catholic school in a largely Indigenous community — Winnipeg’s North End. 
The principal and executive director of the proposed Gonzaga Middle School acknowledges that the culture of the school will be Catholic, and goes so far as to say that the school “will immerse students in Catholic culture.” The principal will personally interview potential students and their families, hand-picking the 60 students he considers to be the most suitable candidates. They will then spend their middle school years being immersed in Catholic culture, and when they are finished middle school they will be steered into one of Winnipeg’s private Catholic high schools, where their tuition will be paid for.
By Jim Silver
First published in the Winnipeg Free Press Dec 10, 2015
It has recently been claimed in the media that nothing is working in the fight against poverty.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ State of the Inner City Report 2015: Drawing on Our Strengths, shows that this is not the case. Important poverty-related indicators are improving. After decades of decline, public investment in community-led initiatives is making a difference.
By Shauna MacKinnon
Appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press December 4th, 2015.
I teach in the department of Urban and Inner City Studies at the University of Winnipeg. Our program is located on Selkirk Avenue in Winnipeg’s North End. A large number of our students have grown up poor. Some have not known anything but poverty. Others come from the suburbs to learn about urban and inner city issues from a different perspective. The diversity in our classrooms leads to some very interesting discussions.
By Evangel Ekine
As an international student in Canada, the stark difference in labour laws and provisions between Canada and my home country Nigeria embitters my heart. On a brighter side, my knowledge of these two contrasting realities has shaped my perspective. Studying the history of unions and their evolution in the Canadian workplace tells a story; a story of struggle, of determination spurred by an unflinching willpower to see change for better. One can boldly hope that with more activism and grass root participation, the laws and more importantly their implementation, even in Nigeria, can improve if modelled after the Canadian story. One reason could be the interlocking nature of social movements and how infectious a wind of change in one nation can spur a trend in others. By this logic, unions even in Nigeria can strategize on how to win more rights for their members and prospectively appeal to more non-unionized workers.
By Lynne Fernandez
Two interesting reports crossed my desk recently. The first one, a column by Dan Lett, appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on November 18th. Lett explains why he is unconvinced by Brian Pallister’s position on a variety of issues. He question Pallister’s math, but in doing so Lett has to admit that the NDP is doing a good job. It has managed to keep spending increases at reasonable levels considering the array of bad luck (expensive flooding; global financial crisis) we’ve endured, and decreasing support from the federal government in the face of growing healthcare, education and justice costs. He even seems to agree that the PST increase, although badly handled, was necessary to pay for much needed infrastructure spending. As Lett explains, the Conservatives claim they can keep spending on infrastructure, not cut programs or services AND balance the budget at the same time as they reverse the PST increase and raise the personal income tax exemption. It’s easy to see why Lett is incredulous.
By Jess Klassen
This past weekend marked Canada’s National Housing Day. In recent history, housing in Canada hasn’t been a hopeful topic. In 1993 federal funds for new social housing development were cut and responsibility for social housing was devolved to the provinces. Provinces have since borne the brunt of filling this funding gap and, because provinces have less fiscal capacity than the feds, homelessness has increased.
Jim Stanford in Winnipeg Nov 24
Join Jim Stanford, economist for Unifor and panelist for CBC National’s “The Bottom Line” as we launch a brand-new second edition of Economic for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism.
Tuesday November 24th
7 pm
Neechi Commons
865 Main Street
Light refreshments provided
Q & A and book signing to follow talk
Many experts think economics is dull, technical and best left to the “experts”. But in fact, economics is something we all experience, every day, in our own lives. And it turns out that our economy depends more on work, family and care, than financial markets
Facebook event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1480679002239753/
Economicsforeveryone.ca
Follow us!