There are many examples in Canadian history that illustrate the concept of racism and discrimination in our society. To begin, from the beginning of Canada’s history, the white man has been discriminatory towards indigenous people. This is demonstrated during the fur trade when the white man came to Canada and treated the natives as if they were not human. They stole their lands and furs and cheated them in trade. This bigotry was continued with residential schools and clearly shows how the Canadian government and the people were very discriminative in the history of Canadian First Nations peoples. In addition, Canadians were against Italians immigrating to the country. This is evident because, after the Second World War, Italians that had come to Canada were considered enemy aliens and seen as violent people or criminals. Canadians would beat them and call them derogatory terms. Employers would also not hire them just for being Italian. This shows the hatred that Canadians had towards the Italian people. Finally, a more recent example of racism in Canada is that some Canadian people were racist against Chinese people during Covid-19. This is illustrated when Chinese people were being blamed for causing the virus or bringing it here and people would act as if they had covid just because it came from China. This demonstrates that there is still intolerance against Asians in our community. Although we have made racism a big problem in our society’s past, I think we have gotten better at respecting people for who they are. Reading and discussing the novel “In the Heat of The Night” has made me understand how terrible racism truly is and how it can affect people. It has also given me a better understanding of how minorities can feel. Because of the aforementioned items, it is clear that racism is a horrid act that has been displayed in Canada in many ways and needs to end.
Works Cited
‘Colonization’. Facing History and Ourselves, https://www.facinghistory.org/stolen-lives-indigenous-peoples-canada-and-indian-residential-schools/historical-background/colonization. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.
Italophobia. http://www.italiancanadianww2.ca/theme/detail/italophobia. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.
Wells, Nick. ‘Chinese-Canadians Voice Worries about Racism, Job Losses One Year into Pandemic’. Coronavirus, 8 Feb. 2021, https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/chinese-canadians-voice-worries-about-racism-job-losses-one-year-into-pandemic-1.5299682.