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The RCMP have released the video of the violent arrest of Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Mr. Adam says he was approached because of an expired licence plate, and the stop escalates to the point that a Mountie forcefully tackles the chief to the ground and punches him repeatedly.
The video is just the latest incident to raise concerns about the use of force by police on Indigenous people and comes as protests against police brutality continue around the world.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the conduct in the video was unacceptable, but that he still trusted in the ability of the police force to end its systemic racism after decades of problems.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
The federal government announced today that temperature checks will slowly become mandatory on all air travel. One person who is probably not eager to hear about more restrictions is the CEO of Air Canada, who said the safety measures are stifling the recovery of the travel industry.
The Alberta government has tabled sweeping new legislation for the energy sector which would remove the need for government approvals of oil-sands projects.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne needs to explain how his holding two mortgages with the state-owned Bank of China doesn’t compromise his ability to deal with China
Guelph, Ont., police say they did not inform the public about the arrest of a sitting Liberal MP because they did not think he posed a threat.
And even though the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, Loblaws and Metro say they will cut the pay premiums they had briefly offered to their front-line workers in recognition of the way they are putting their health on the line.
Tanya Talaga (The Globe and Mail) on the lack of action to save Indigenous lives: “A promised national action plan has been put off indefinitely because of COVID-19. Why the delay when our government has mobilized with lightning quickness to provide benefits and plans to prop up the economically vulnerable in all corners of Canadian society – from the airline industry to university students – while our women continue to be in situations that threaten their very lives?”
Michaëlle Jean (The Globe and Mail) on systemic racism: “To us, racism feels like a succession of painful stings. It is never trivial, never harmless. It can be unwitting, but it always reeks of a history that suffocates our communities, like the cruel, forceful knee pressed against the neck of George Floyd in the violent and inhuman police intervention we saw in Minneapolis. The scene was filmed, the whole world was watching, but the act committed that day is just one in an unending string of deaths in policy custody.”
Fariha Naqvi-Mohamed (Montreal Gazette) on supporting the Black community: “Those who are so fatigued by all this talk of people being killed and annoyed at the protests taking place, recognize this: If talking about racism unsettles you, imagine experiencing it every day of your life.”
Mark O’Neill, president of the Canadian Museum of History, in The Globe on Canada’s past: “Examples of Canada’s history of racism abound. Our first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, when presented in his complex entirety, is the architect of both Confederation and the Indian Act (the two historical realities are inextricably bound – and critical to understanding both him and our country).”
Marni Soupcoff (National Post) on improving the police: “Specifically, as Torontonians call for an end to over-policing, which injures minorities disproportionately, let us not forget about the harm under-policing does, particularly to minority communities, as well. Whatever defunding the police looks like, it must be a change that makes achieving justice for Black victims of violent crimes more likely than it is now.”
John Ibbitson (The Globe and Mail) on Erin O’Toole’s run for Conservative leader: “This Canada First message is aimed at those ultrapartisan Conservatives who think U.S. President Donald Trump is doing a fine job, despite all the fake news about him in the lamestream media. But it’s a hard message to take to the suburban middle-class voters who decide Canadian elections.”
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Chris Hannay