NEWS
16 Obiter Dicta
Ferguson
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Ferguson is a reminder that we continue to be worlds
apart from our American counterparts. Their statistics are troubling: a black individual is shot and killed
by a police officer every two weeks in the United
States. For many, what occurred in Ferguson, and in
many other places in the United States, is simply not
happening in Canada. As Toronto lawyer David Butt
noted in the Globe and Mail, “the sad events in the St.
Louis suburb give us the opportunity to ponder how
we do things differently and to realize how comparatively well things work here.” It might be comforting
to think that the shooting of Brown, and the protest
that followed, are distinctly American phenomena.
The history of racial tension, trigger happy police
officers, and the disproportionate criminalization of
racialized people have long plagued the United States.
But wait a second...
The Toronto police shootings of Michael Wade
Lawson, Lester Donaldson, Sophia Cook, Raymond
Lawrence, Jeffrey Reodica, and Always Al Nadhir
(to name a few) illustrate that the shooting of Brown
is neither an anomaly nor solely an American lived
experience.
As author Steve Mertl notes, the situation in
Ferguson, like other cla shes, is rooted in racial and
cultural divisions in society that Canada has not been
immune from. It may be what Constance Backhouse
calls “historical amnesia” or our views on multiculturalism that allowed the chaos that surrounded
Brown’s death to give many Canadians a “temporary diversion” from our own events. Whatever the
reason, the images that emerged out of Ferguson
of police officers in full riot gear against protestors
looked similar to the photos from the G20 summit in
Toronto in 2010. The historical complaints of racial
profiling by Ferguson police mirror those of racialized
communities in Toronto. The fatal shooting of Brown
in some ways echoes the killing of Sammy Yatim who
was shot repeatedly on empty Toronto streetcar.
The dumping of Indigenous people by Saskatoon
police officers outskirts of the city left to freeze
to death is another reminder of the conditions
that exist which make it possible for such senseless acts of police violence. Author Tomas Borsa’s
“While Ferguson Morns” illustrates that it was only
ten days after Brown’s death that the body of Tina
Fontaine was pulled from the Red River just outside of Winnipeg. The strained relationship between
Indigengous people and Canada’s police forces is only
reinforced by the view that the police have been disinterested in thoroughly investigating missing and
murdered Aboriginal women. When these types of
police abuses are committed through a lens of racism
they are shrouded in darkness only to be discounted
and ignored.
It might be cliché in a wake of a major racial eruption to say that the public needs to have a national
conversation on race. What is happening from the
Trayvon Martins to the Eric Garners strengthens the
need to have this difficult discussion on the social and
human cost of racial profiling. Brown’s shooting is a
microcosm of where we are as a society. The events
highlighted a real problem. It is a problem that not
only affects basic human rights, but a national failure
to recognize police violence against racialized people
as a larger cultural phenomenon that views black and
brown bodies as criminalized. As the public, we need
to challenge our understanding of the problems that
ê Tensions soar in Ferguson as police face off against voices demanding change.
have helped create the environment that guides a
police officer to shoot an unarmed teen six times. ◆
Jurisfoodence
Cited Sources
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Steve Mertl,” Ferguson: Lessons for Canada from a
police debacle” Daily Drew (22 August 2014).
Tomas Borsa, “While Ferguson mourns Michael
Brown, Canada shrugs off Tina Fotaine’s Death”
Canada.com (25 August 2014)
Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy, and Zakaria
Abdulle , “What Toronto Can Learn From the Police
Shooting of Michael Brown” Torontoist (20 August
2014)
Editorial
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mistakes, I finally found myself making real strides
with the business.
After about a month of work, it became clear to me
that the biggest strides were always thanks to trial
and error, which is why I wanted to end this piece
speaking about this over-used and unappreciated
phrase. I found that trying, failing, having a short
memory, and being determined to try again was all
I needed to actually build a business. I rewrote my
business plan, sought out more advisors, and finished
my research. I got a web developer, a manager, and
researchers to help me, and I turned my idea into a
real, working web service. One step at a time, I managed to secure funding, advertising, and eventually clients by taking simple, manageable steps, and
remaining determined.
This piece was written to show that the gap
between an idea and a business may seem large, but
the bridge across it is far sturdier than one may imagine. Taking determined steps, where each failure does
nothing but set the groundwork for a future attempt,
can result in significant progress. For me, being passionate about an idea and its potential to help others,
and having a short memory to help keep me motivated and driven, proved more than enough to take
on what at first seemed an enormous task. I hope this
editorial will encourage others to do the same. ◆
get your eggs scrambled. Eventually, he settled on the
Cinnamon French Toast, and I got the Omelette of the
Day.
Despite all my other complaints, I thought the food
was great. My omelette – comprised of zucchini, eggplant, roasted red peppers and provolone – was delicious. It came with challah bread and home fries, the
latter of which were pretty decent. My BC was satisfied with his French Toast, but noted that the only
thing that distinguished it from other places was that
it came with real maple syrup.
Cost
Omelette ($8.75) and coffee ($2.25) = $11 plus tax.
Thankfully, Aunties and Uncles is a place where you
can get brunch for under $10; however, if my review
hasn’t deterred you, beware that this is a CASH ONLY
establishment. ◆
fin a l SCORE
service: 1/5
atmosphere: 3/5
food: 4/5
overall: