As we are all aware of, the 2019 Canadian Federal Election has been well underway. The election is soon among us, on October 21st, to be exact! This is when Canadians from all around the country will head out to cast their ballot.
In 2015, the Liberals won a majority, which was led by Justin Trudeau. Again, Justin Trudeau is running as the leader of the Liberal party and has been their leader since April, 2013. If the
Liberals win, and if Trudeau wins his seat in Papineau, he will remain as the Prime Minister of Canada. The Liberals are associated with the colour, red. There are a couple of other noteworthy parties. “Choose Forward” is the slogan that the Liberals run with.
Andrew Scheer is the leader of the Conservative party. They are usually associated with the colour, blue. Currently, they are sitting in second place. “It’s Time for You to Get Ahead,” is the slogan that is used by the Conservatives. Scheer has been the Conservative leader since May, 2017. His seat that he needs to win is in Regina.
Next, there is the NDP or the New Democratic party which is led by Jagmeet Singh. (He is a big deal to us because his ‘seat’ is in the Burnaby South riding – Royal Oak area. These leaders also need to be elected or win their ‘seat.’ The slogan that the NDP uses is: In it for You. Singh has been the leader of the NDP since October, 2017. There are a few other parties that are also running like: the Bloc Quebecois, the Green Party and the People’s Party.
As the Prime Minister of Canada, Trudeau has implemented many positive changes in government and in Canada. First, he has worked hard to increase gender equality. For example, our anthem became gender neutral and his federal cabinet has 15 men and 15 women (this was a first of any other government). Second, he has allowed at least 40, 000 Syrian refugees to come to Canada, and in 2018, Canada resettled more refugees than any other country in the world. Lastly, he has focused greatly on climate change and the reconciliation process with our First Peoples.
Take a look at this link for how elections work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7RKzzoLK-g
This video explains how Canada’s voting system works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr-93C176qI
In fact, he has been one of the most vocal Prime Minister’s that Canada has had regarding equality. BUT! Unfortunately, when an election is happening and every vote counts, unsettling stories surface. For many, many years, White Male actors would play roles of Black characters. Instead of having a black actor play the role, or just doing away with the whole idea of colour/race/ethnicity, these actors would wear ‘blackface.’ Generally speaking, actors would take black coloured shoe polish and rub it all over their face to appear ‘black.’ Sadly, some actors would try to caricature (exaggerate) black features, like facial features or hair. In recent yea
rs, the West has stood heavily against these racist acts – at no point is something like this ‘funny’ or a ‘costume.’ In their college / high school years, a couple of American politicians wore ‘blackface’ and when their pictures surfaced in the media, they resigned.
Take a look at a Florida politician, who has yet to step down, named Anthony Sabatini. Clearly, he is dressed up as a racist stereotype- a Black gangster.
Watch this news clip about blackface in Canada:
https://globalnews.ca/video/5928411/a-look-at-canadas-long-history-of-blackface
On at least a few occasions, Justin Trudeau dressed up in blackface and brownface.
In the pictures on both the top left and bottom left, Justin Trudeau is wearing blackface. On the picture in the right, Trudeau is dressed up in brownface, wearing a turban and attempting to look like an Arab (Muslim) in his Aladdin costume. He says: In 2001, when I was a teacher in Vancouver, I attended a gala. The theme was Arabian Nights. I dressed up in an Aladdin costume and put makeup on. I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better, but I didn’t and I’m really sorry.
Please read the below articles for more information:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-brownface-arabian-nights-1.5289165
https://www.cbc.ca/news/justin-trudeau-brownface-blackface-1.5289259
So after reading through this all, it’s your turn, your first of the year, to weigh in on this. What are your thoughts on Trudeau’s actions? Do you feel that he is racist or that the acts of dressing up in blackface and brownface was/is racist? Or, was it like he said, a simple mistake that he didn’t know about at the time. Do you feel that as a politician, he should have resigned or is it fair for him to stay in power and run as the Liberal leader? Do you think that this sends a strong message to people that blackface and brownface is wrong, or will people still continue thinking that it isn’t that bad? What do you think this says about Canada to the rest of the world? Please respond in complete sentences, formal language and use of details. Grade 5’s your submission should be roughly 20 sentences, grade 6’s your submission should be roughly 30. Please feel free to write more than this, and remember to treat this issue with sensitivity and compassion!
1942 version
Well, why do people do this? If you are from a country that is less socio-economically developed (remember, we don’t use words like First World or Third World anymore!), why not have your child born in a country that will give them better living conditions? In fact, this child will get free public schooling, healthcare, other aid and eventually be able to sponsor their parents. This means that their parents can eventually become Canadian too. Sounds good, This is what some people are starting to think and are travelling to countries, especially: Hong Kong, the United States and Canada (top three for birth tourism).