Latest news with #TRC
National Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- National Post
Raymond J. de Souza: Reconciling with history on National Indigenous Peoples Day
Article content Thirty years ago, the Sacred Assembly, a national meeting on Indigenous affairs organized by Elijah Harper, called for a 'National First Peoples Day,' the first of which was observed the following year on June 21, 1996. It coincides with the summer solstice, highlighting the importance of the sun in various Indigenous religious beliefs. It has been observed ever since, now using ' Indigenous Peoples ' rather than 'First Peoples.' Article content Four hundred years ago, in June 1625, French Jesuit missionaries — Jean de Brébeuf amongst them — arrived in Quebec, whence they would launch their religious and cultural work in Huronia, northwest of what is now Toronto, amongst the Wendat (Huron) people. Article content Article content Exactly a century ago, on June 21, 1925, Brébeuf and his martyred Jesuit companions were beatified in Rome, with a contemporary celebration at what is now the Martyrs' Shrine in Midland, Ont. They were canonized five years later, in 1930. Article content Ten years ago this month, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its executive summary and 94 'calls to action.' Justin Trudeau, then the leader of the third party, announced that he would accept the TRC report and all its claims without exception. By December 2015, when the entire six-volume report was released, he was prime minister. Article content The TRC was massively influential. Eighteen months after its full release, the 2017 celebrations of the sesquicentennial of Confederation were relatively muted. The TRC recasting of four centuries of history through the singular prism of the residential schools made the entire Canadian project out to be an unrelenting campaign of genocidal brutality, a massive criminal enterprise. What then to celebrate at Canada 150? Article content In 2021, the apparent discovery of 'mass graves' in Kamloops set off a global firestorm, the flames of which were fanned by the prime minister himself. Statues of his first predecessor, Sir John A. Macdonald, were splattered, shattered, scrapped and shuttered. Article content A new statutory holiday was rushed through in a matter of weeks, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, observed for the first time on Sept. 30, 2021. Article content That was the TRC's impact. In the 1990s, Indigenous leaders had called for a day to celebrate Canada's aboriginal heritage. It is a day of commemoration, but not a statutory holiday. The TRC statutory holiday, in contrast, says, in effect, that the residential schools are the most important thing in Indigenous history. Article content Just four years ago, the future of Canada's history seemed to be definitively different from its past. And then much changed. Article content In 2022, the exaggerated false claims about Kamloops were exposed — not least by journalist Terry Glavin in these pages — but not as a whitewash of Canadian history, and certainly not as exculpatory of the residential school policy. Quite the contrary in fact. Article content That summer Pope Francis visited Canada on a 'penitential pilgrimage' and offered apologies, but he also said things that had not been said for a long time, praising the good work that the European missionaries did, not least in preserving Indigenous languages and defending them against the depredations of colonial authorities. Article content The upshot is that now, four hundred years after the Jesuits' arrival in New France, three hundred years after their beatification, 30 years after the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 10 years after the TRC, a more truthful — and thus more reconciling — history is now being told. Article content A significant step came last year with the publication of Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie, who writes meticulous history in bracing style. (He recently published a biography of Pierre Poilievre.) Article content Attempting the 'first secular' biography of Brébeuf, Bourrie is not writing hagiography. It's not obvious that a 'secular' telling can capture the lives of saints, who are, almost by definition, outside the usual historical categories. His assessment of Brébeuf would offend many pious ears, even as he insists that we ought not 'judge the people of these worlds through a 21st-century lens.' Article content It is a worthy project, history seeking truth, rather than today's politics shaping history. The truth can be difficult to read. Bourrie shows how the Huron and Iroquois were war-making peoples, and that the gruesome martyrdom of Brébeuf by the latter followed their usual practise of torture. The 17th-century was like that; Brébeuf left Europe in the midst of the bloodletting of the Thirty Years War. The Europeans were war-making peoples with their own tastes in torture. Article content Would Biblioasis, the impressive new publisher in Windsor, Ont., have published Crosses in the Sky just five years ago? Perhaps, as they seem a doughty band. Would it have been received to critical acclaim then? Unlikely. Article content Earlier this year, the Jesuits from Martyrs' Shrine took the Jesuit relics across Canada on a tour to commemorate their anniversaries. The relics were received with honour by Indigenous leaders at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex near Calgary. A more complex, more accurate, history is now being told, 10 years after the TRC buried its own research under a political agenda. Article content Article content
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Willie Wilson: The unfinished business of Juneteenth
Juneteenth is a reminder of progress made and an uncomfortable recognition of the distance still to be traveled toward attaining equality. On June 19, 1865, Army Gen. Gordon Granger and Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans living there that the Civil War had ended and that they were free. Approximately 250,000 enslaved people in Texas celebrated — but with uncertainty regarding their future. While Juneteenth represents a second Independence Day, there remains unfinished business on the journey to healing, reconciliation and racial economic justice. A Pew Research Center survey from February noted that 82% of Black Americans believe the nation has not gone far enough in achieving equal rights with white people. After the cookouts, cultural celebrations, dancing and educational seminars, the question must be asked — what is the unfinished business on the road to equality for Black Americans? In 1995, then-South African President Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to help South Africans come to terms with their troubled past. The commission sought to reveal human rights violations that happened between March 1960 and May 1994, provide support such as reparation to victims and their families and to compile a full and objective record of the effects of apartheid on South African society. Mandela appointed Desmond Tutu to chair the TRC. Unlike South Africa, the United States has yet to establish a commission to address the effects of slavery down through generations or the healing that must take place. Many falsely believe because we are generations removed from slavery that the harm has been repaired. However, the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws continues to have a lasting impact on racial inequality today. That impact can be seen through laws and policies that sought to maintain the status quo of white supremacy. The following are a few examples: There is nothing that compares to the horrific atrocities of slavery and Jim Crow. Families were ripped apart, thousands were lynched, women were raped and children were taught they were inferior. White people benefited economically from the institution of slavery. Generational wealth was passed down to their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Until there is an acknowledgment by those who benefited through inherited wealth from the institution of slavery or Jim Crow laws — it is hard to achieve healing and forgiveness. Tutu said, 'If you can find it in yourself to forgive, then you are no longer chained to the perpetrator.' In 2008, the nation formally apologized for slavery. House Resolution 194 acknowledged the fundamental injustice of slavery and Jim Crow laws and expressed commitment to rectifying their lingering consequences. That commitment has not materialized. Several states and cities have established reparations commissions to study and recommend ways to address the legacy of slavery and its continuing impact on Black communities. Black Americans must forgive this nation for the pain and trauma of slavery and Jim Crow laws if we are to move forward in unity. I know it is difficult to do. Although, the physical chains have gone away, the manifestations of slavery remain. Just as Jesus Christ forgave those who nailed him to the cross, we must also forgive. Forgiving does not mean we forget. Maya Angelou was right when she said, 'History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.' Just as Jewish people will never forget the Holocaust, Black people and America must never forget the dark stain of slavery. True reconciliation will help bring our nation together and free people of pain and guilt. In order to move forward, we all should seek to repent, repair and ask for forgiveness while there is still time. How can we move toward economic and racial justice when laws and other impediments are being enacted to undercut Black progress? As President Abraham Lincoln observed, a house divided against itself cannot stand. We cannot continue to be separated by racial discord and injustice. We truly are stronger together. The following are suggestions to help complete the work of Juneteenth: This country has come a long way since 1865. If we are to become that 'more perfect union,' much work remains to achieve equality for all Americans. I believe forgiveness opens the door for reconciliation. I wish everyone a happy Juneteenth! I write this commentary to make those comfortable with ignoring the unfinished business of Juneteenth uncomfortable. Willie Wilson is a business owner, philanthropist and former mayoral candidate.
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
ExxonMobil Recommends Shareholders Reject Below-Market Mini-Tender Offer by TRC Capital Investment Corporation
SPRING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) has received notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by TRC Capital Investment Corporation to purchase up to 1 million shares of ExxonMobil common stock, which represents approximately 0.023 percent of the shares outstanding as of the June 9, 2025 offer date. TRC's offer of $100 per ExxonMobil share is 4.1% below the closing price on June 6, 2025, on the New York Stock Exchange, the last trading day prior to opening of the offer. It is also more than 10% below its closing price yesterday. ExxonMobil recommends that stockholders do not tender their shares in response to TRC's offer because the offer has a conditional market price for ExxonMobil's shares of $99.06 each and is subject to numerous other conditions. ExxonMobil is not affiliated or associated in any way with TRC, its mini-tender offer, or the offer documentation. TRC has made similar mini-tender offers for shares of other companies. Mini-tender offers seek to acquire less than 5 percent of a company's shares outstanding, thereby avoiding many disclosure and procedural requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that apply to offers for more than 5 percent of a company's shares outstanding. As a result, mini-tender offers do not provide investors with the same level of protections as provided by larger tender offers under U.S. securities laws. The SEC has cautioned investors that some bidders making mini-tender offers at below-market prices are 'hoping that they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price.' More on the SEC's guidance to investors on mini-tender offers is available at ExxonMobil urges investors to obtain current market quotations for their shares, to consult with their broker or financial advisor and to exercise caution with respect to TRC's offer. ExxonMobil recommends that shareholders who have not responded to TRC's offer take no action. Shareholders who have already tendered their shares may withdraw them at any time prior to the expiration of the offer, in accordance with TRC's offering documents. The offer is currently scheduled to expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on July, 10, 2025. TRC may extend the offering period at its discretion. ExxonMobil encourages brokers and dealers, as well as other market participants, to review the SEC's letter regarding broker-dealer mini-tender offer dissemination and disclosure at ExxonMobil requests that a copy of this news release be included with all distributions of materials relating to TRC's mini-tender offer related to ExxonMobil shares of common stock. About ExxonMobil ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international energy and petrochemical companies, creates solutions that improve quality of life and meet society's evolving needs. The corporation's primary businesses - Upstream, Product Solutions and Low Carbon Solutions – provide products that enable modern life, including energy, chemicals, lubricants, and lower emissions technologies. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading portfolio of resources, and is one of the largest integrated fuels, lubricants, and chemical companies in the world. ExxonMobil also owns and operates the largest CO2 pipeline network in the United States. In 2021, ExxonMobil announced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emission-reduction plans for 2030 for operated assets, compared to 2016 levels. The plans are to achieve a 20-30% reduction in corporate-wide greenhouse gas intensity; a 40-50% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of upstream operations; a 70-80% reduction in corporate-wide methane intensity; and a 60-70% reduction in corporate-wide flaring intensity. With advancements in technology and the support of clear and consistent government policies, ExxonMobil aims to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from its operated assets by 2050. To learn more, visit and ExxonMobil's Advancing Climate Solutions.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Queensland councils revive plans for Nathan Dam with $3.4b-plus price tag
After more than a century of false starts, a major Queensland dam project is back at the starting line and, as always, there is no promise it will ever finish the race. First proposed in 1922 for the Dawson River near Taroom in central Queensland, the Nathan Dam has repeatedly stalled over the decades, most recently in 2021. But with water security concerns across the region, regional leaders are uniting to urge the state government to fund a proper study into whether the $3.4 billion-plus dam project stacks up. The revived plan, published by Western Downs Regional Council (WDRC) in 2023 and officially backed by Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) this week, includes building a dam 30 kilometres north-east of Taroom. It would also involve a pipeline stretching more than 700km through the Western Downs to Toowoomba. WDRC described Nathan Dam as "the most critical water project in modern Queensland history", with Mayor Andrew Smith citing urgent urban, agricultural and energy water needs. "Water is becoming more like gold every day," Mr Smith said. "A lot of our communities aren't too far away from approaching unsustainable levels." Mr Smith said the dam was needed to support the region's booming agriculture and energy sectors. Government AgTrends data showed the Toowoomba region was Queensland's top agricultural producer in 2023-24 with a gross value of production of $1.27 billion, followed by the Western Downs at $951 million. "If the state wants the Western Downs to participate in the economy, we need to come up with a solution for water," Mr Smith said. The pipeline alone is expected to cost at least $750 million, while the broader project was pegged to cost at least $3.4 billion — though this was considered a "significant underestimation" in a more recent report for TRC. Toowoomba Deputy Mayor Rebecca Vonhoff, who holds the water portfolio, said despite all three regional dams being full, the region's growth, coupled with future climate risks, demanded long-term water planning. "There's this tendency to sort of sit back, and that is really not the way to go," Ms Vonhoff said. "We have to be pushing forward right now because this is exactly the time that we can try to make some big picture strategic decisions when we don't have the weight of having to come up with a solution really fast." Banana Shire Mayor Nev Ferrier, whose region would host the 888-megalitre dam, said he supported it in principle but was sceptical. "There's no way in the world we'd be against sending water down [to Western Downs] for town usage, but if they want to irrigate, it'd be a lot easier to buy country up here and use water that's already here instead of building hundreds of kilometres of pipeline — that's billions of dollars," Mr Ferrier said. He said the idea of pumping all that water into pipelines connected to other dams further south would mean his community would "end up with nothing here". He also questioned whether the dam would be big enough to serve its purpose and raised concerns over environmental hurdles. "It's never going to be big enough," Mr Ferrier said. "It'd be nearly impossible to pass all the environmental stumps that they'll put in front of you now." Mr Ferrier referenced the boggomoss snail, an endangered species native to the area, which has posed a significant obstacle to past versions of the project. Despite the challenges, TRC formally endorsed the project at a meeting on Tuesday, while ruling out further investigation for a new dam at Emu Creek, north of the city. Water Minister Ann Leahy said she was aware of the renewed advocacy, saying the state was assessing water infrastructure projects across Queensland, including Nathan Dam. Ms Leahy would not confirm whether there was any funding for a feasibility study in the state budget next week. However, she said, "We need to make sure we don't invest in things that don't stack up."
Canada Standard
3 days ago
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Decolonizing history and social studies curricula has a long way to go in Canada
In June 2015, 10 years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) called for curriculum on Indigenous histories and contemporary contributions to Canada to foster intercultural understanding, empathy and respect. This was the focus of calls to action Nos. 62 to 65. As education scholars, we are part of a project supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council called Thinking Historically for Canada's Future. This project involves researchers, educators and partner organizations from across Canada, including Indigenous and non-Indigenous team members. As part of this work, we examined Canadian history and social studies curricula in elementary, middle and secondary schools with the aim of understanding how they address - and may better address in future - the need for decolonization. We found that although steps have been made towards decolonizing history curricula in Canada, there is still a long way to go. These curricula must do far more to challenge dominant narratives, prompt students to critically reflect on their identities and value Indigenous world views. Read more: Looking for Indigenous history? 'Shekon Neechie' website recentres Indigenous perspectives As white settler scholars and educators, we acknowledge our responsibility to unlearn colonial ways of being and learn how to further decolonization in Canada. In approaching this study, we began by listening to Indigenous scholars, such as Cree scholar Dwayne Donald. Donald and other scholars call for reimagining curriculum through unlearning colonialism and renewing relationships. Read more: Leaked Alberta school curriculum in urgent need of guidance from Indigenous wisdom teachings The late education scholar Michael Marker, a member of the Lummi Nation, suggested that in history education, renewing relations involves learning from Indigenous understandings of the past, situated within local meanings of time and place. Curricula across Canada have been updated in the last 10 years to include teaching about treaties, Indian Residential Schools and the cultures, perspectives and experiences of Indigenous Peoples over time. Thanks primarily to the work of Indigenous scholars and educators, including Donald, Marker, Mi'kmaw educator Marie Battiste, Anishinaabe scholar Nicole Bell and others, some public school educators are attentive to land-based learning and the importance of oral history. But these teachings are, for the most part, ad hoc and not supported by provincial curriculum mandates. Our study revealed that most provincial history curricula are still focused on colonial narratives that centre settler histories and emphasize "progress" over time. Curricula are largely inattentive to critical understandings of white settler power and to Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Notably, we do not include the three territories in this statement. Most of the territorial history curricula have been co-created with local Indigenous communities, and stand out with regard to decolonization. For example, in Nunavut's Grade 5 curriculum, the importance of local knowledge tied to the land is highlighted throughout. There are learning expectations related to survival skills and ecological knowledge. Members of our broader research team are dedicated to analyzing curricula in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. Their work may offer approaches to be adapted for other educational contexts. In contrast, we found that provincial curricula often reinforce dominant historical narratives, especially surrounding colonialism. Some documents use the term "the history," implying a singular history of Canada (for example, Manitoba's Grade 6 curriculum). Historical content, examples and guiding questions are predominantly written from a Euro-western perspective, while minimizing racialized identities and community histories. In particular, curricula often ignore illustrations of Indigenous agency and experience. Read more: Moving beyond Black history month towards inclusive histories in Quebec secondary schools Most curricula primarily situate Indigenous Peoples in the past, without substantial consideration for present-day implications of settler colonialism, as well as Indigenous agency and experiences today. For example, in British Columbia's Grade 4 curriculum, there are lengthy discussions of the harms of colonization in the past. Yet, there is no mention of the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism or the need to engage in decolonization today. To disrupt these dominant narratives, we recommend that history curricula should critically discuss the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism, while centring stories of Indigenous resistance and survival over time. There are also missed opportunities within history curricula when it comes to critical discussions around identity, including systemic marginalization or privilege. Who we are informs how we understand history, but curricula largely does not prompt student reflection in these ways, including around treaty relationships. In Saskatchewan's Grade 5 curriculum, students are expected to explain what treaties are and "affirm that all Saskatchewan residents are Treaty people." However, there is no mention of students considering how their own backgrounds, identities, values and experiences shape their understandings of and responsibilities for treaties. Yet these discussions are essential for engaging students in considering the legacies of colonialism and how they may act to redress those legacies. A key learning outcome could involve students becoming more aware of how their own personal and community histories inform their historical understandings and reconciliation commitments. History curricula generally ignore Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Most curricula are inattentive to Indigenous oral traditions, conceptions of time, local contexts and relationships with other species and the environment. Instead, these documents reflect Euro-western, settler colonial worldviews and educational values. For example, history curricula overwhelmingly ignore local meanings of time and place, while failing to encourage opportunities for land-based and experiential learning. In Prince Edward Island's Grade 12 curriculum, the documents expect that students will "demonstrate an understanding of the interactions among people, places and the environment." While this may seem promising, environmental histories in this curriculum and others uphold capitalist world views by focusing on resource extraction and economic progress. To disrupt settler colonial relationships with the land and empower youth as environmental stewards, we support reframing history curricula in ways that are attentive to Indigenous ways of knowing the past and relations with other people, beings and the land. Schools have been, and continue to be, harmful spaces for many Indigenous communities, and various aspects of our schooling beg questions about how well-served both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students are for meeting current and future challenges. If, as a society, we accept the premise that the transformation of current curricular expectations is possible for schools, then more substantive engagement is required in working toward decolonization. Decolonizing curricula is a long-term, challenging process that requires consideration of many things: who sits on curriculum writing teams; the resources allocated to supporting curricular reform; broader school or board-wide policies; and ways of teaching that support reconciliation. We encourage history curriculum writing teams to take up these recommendations as part of a broader commitment to reconciliation. While not exhaustive, recommendations for curricular reform are a critical step in the future redesign of history curricula. The goal is a history education committed to listening and learning from Indigenous communities to build more inclusive national stories of the past, and into the future.
