Volume 11, numéro 2, 2024 Fall/Winter 2024: From the Ground Up

EN :

The distortion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in American popular media has spread to Canada, where the word “race” has traditionally been avoided in education, but where incidents involving race and “anti-racism” now garner considerable attention. We outline CRT in education and the context surrounding anti-racism work in Ontario. We then analyze important initiatives, such as Ontario’s proposed Bill 16 and the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s “Learn. Disrupt. Rebuild.” module, in terms of their relevance within the CRT theoretical framework. Basic qualitative content analysis shows that the much-discussed provincial-level Bill 16 does not reflect the tenets of CRT—despite what its opponents, notably organizations such as Parents As First Educators (PAFE), have argued. However, the district-level “Learn. Disrupt. Rebuild.” initiative does reflect some tenets of CRT. This latter equity initiative is suggested as a model, starting from the local level in school districts, that other Canadian educators supportive of CRT should feel justified in following, as progressive Canadian districts move from anti-racism towards the next phase of district reform.

EN :

This article delves into the recent efforts of Asian migrant massage and sex workers in the Town of Newmarket, Ontario, and their struggle against a recently amended Personal Wellness Establishments (PWE) By-law. It starts with a historical overview of municipal licensing schemes and legislated migration controls in Canada, used to justify increased surveillance, control movement, and deny Asian women entry into Canada, before illustrating the enduring impacts on Asian migrant workers today. It concludes by emphasizing that migrant sex workers, often depicted as voiceless and nonconsenting victims, take leadership and have agency in defining their own struggles and authoring possibilities to resist.

EN :

In this paper we share key insights from an 18-month participatory research project exploring the lived experiences and realities of cancer among racialized adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Written collaboratively with adolescent and young adult co-thinkers, we discuss the creative methodologies used in the study, critical and imaginative frameworks within Indigenous, Black and queer of colour theorizing, and the value of an interdisciplinary approach for understanding the cancer care experiences of racialized adolescents and young adults. The analysis explores five core research themes, which highlight what the project offered to the adolescents and young adults who participated: a place to meaningfully participate, to be understood in their complexity, to create and be creative, to be in community, and to imagine their desired futures. We argue for a meaningful and inclusive engagement of AYAs in cancer care systems and research, urging healthcare practitioners and researchers to recognize the complexities of AYAs' lives and experiences. Ultimately, we advocate for transformative changes in cancer care research and practice, with the goal of supporting AYAs as active agents in their own care and futures.