tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/montreal-30014/articlesMontreal – The Conversation2024-03-06T21:16:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223612024-03-06T21:16:57Z2024-03-06T21:16:57ZCampus garden initiatives can help grow the next generation of environmental change-makers<p>No longer a problem of the future, the climate crisis is now driving devastating real-world impacts <a href="https://changingclimate.ca/CCCR2019/chapter/headline-statements/">here in Canada</a> and worldwide. </p>
<p>For many Canadians, one of the most visible climate impacts is on the availability and cost of the food we eat as climate change, global crises and profit-driven food companies have combined to drive food insecurity. The agricultural sector is simultaneously a <a href="https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-11/farming-future-agriculture-climate-change-canadian-prairies.pdf">major contributor</a> to Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and itself highly vulnerable to climate change.</p>
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<p>Amid this crisis, students are sowing seeds of change on university campuses across the country. </p>
<h2>Transformative learning and action</h2>
<p>Student-led food initiatives like <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/education/resources/facilities-equipment-online-tools/communitygarden">campus gardens</a>, <a href="https://involvement.mcgill.ca/organization/machappybelly">food waste diversion projects</a>, and <a href="https://cultivaction.ca/">community food security partnerships</a> are on the rise and are a proven way of localizing climate action and transforming food systems.</p>
<p>Given the sheer scale and complexity of the climate and food security crises, it can be tempting to doubt just how much impact these small-scale campus initiatives can have. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2015.1130764">Researchers</a> have even criticized student gardens for entrenching shallow and depoliticized understandings of the food system among participants. After all, the GHG emissions saved by growing vegetables in one garden plot or setting up a compost program are minuscule compared to the many hundred million tons of emissions attributed to corporations.</p>
<p>While student-led initiatives may not directly solve the crises we face, we found they can transform students’ mindsets and develop their skills and confidence as agents of larger-scale change. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1230787">Our research</a> with McGill University students participating in student-led campus- and community-based initiatives shows how these activities can support transformative opportunities for learning about, and acting on, food security and climate change.</p>
<p>Students have <a href="https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003000396">long reported</a> that education about food and environmental issues like climate change feels abstract and disempowering within the confines of classroom walls. </p>
<p>The lack of real-world engagement makes it challenging for learners to discern how and where they can contribute to building solutions. Student-led food initiatives are one way that students engage with these issues through experiential learning.</p>
<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>We found that initiatives that only focus on the technical or scientific aspects of food security and climate change have limited educational impact on student participants. Rather, building critical and transformative understandings of food systems in students appears to hinge on a few key practices that some, but not all, student-led initiatives address.</p>
<p><strong>1 - Learning and acting beyond the classroom</strong> </p>
<p>Through hands-on learning students gain opportunities to “learn by doing,” either through course-based or extracurricular activities. This approach is especially effective when education transcends campus boundaries through partnerships with local communities and community organizations. </p>
<p>When immersed in hands-on and collaborative experiences with communities, students demonstrated new capacities to collectively act in small ways on large-scale issues. Connecting with partners in school and community gardens, for example, allowed students to grapple with complex issues on tangible scales and foster a deeper understanding of the challenges at hand.</p>
<p><strong>2 - Centring equity and justice</strong> </p>
<p>Building on our insights about learning in hands-on collaborations, we found that working with equity and justice-oriented partners deepened student engagement even further. For instance, collaboration with local food banks called upon students to observe, interact with, and reflect on community food insecurity and injustice, which they otherwise may not encounter within campus confines. </p>
<p>This direct engagement with food system realities nurtured a more complex, holistic and critical understanding of food systems issues among participants. It also inspired hope and confidence within students, motivating them to engage in further action.</p>
<p><strong>3 - Engaging with peers across boundaries</strong> </p>
<p>Our research found that student-led initiatives act as important spaces for social engagement and learning between students, creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue across academic disciplines. Social bonds were also important for motivating and strengthening collective action among students, often evoking feelings of hope. These feelings stand in stark contrast to the despair and discouragement reported by students exposed to conventional “doom-and-gloom” environmental education. </p>
<p>For example, in developing a workshop for a local food bank that connected composting in the community garden with climate change, students studying education and environment exchanged new understandings of the connections between climate, food and educational systems.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Students and staff from McGill University discuss campus-based sustainable garden initiatives.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Supporting student learning</h2>
<p>With the impacts of climate change only projected to grow in the years to come, educational institutions urgently need to step up to the scale and scope of the challenge. </p>
<p>Our findings show how investing in hands-on, justice-oriented and boundary-spanning learning opportunities helps to drive transformative learning and can nurture students as the next generation of change-makers. Universities can do this by supporting student-led initiatives through the allocation of funds, space or mentorship to these efforts, or by expanding experiential learning within academic courses and programs. </p>
<p>Strengthening university-community partnerships, particularly with organizations working to advance climate, social and food justice, is critical to both types of investment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows how university garden initiatives can help drive transformative change and nurture a new generation of environmental and socially conscious change-makers.Blane Harvey, Associate professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill UniversityEmily Diane Sprowls, Faculty Lecturer, Science Education, McGill UniversityZoë Deskin, Master's Student, Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of CopenhagenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223292024-02-20T22:35:26Z2024-02-20T22:35:26ZHow global warming is reshaping winter life in Canada<p>As we begin to emerge out of yet another mild winter, Canadians are once again being reminded of just how acutely global warming has changed Canada’s winter climate. </p>
<p>The impacts of this mild winter were felt across the country and touched all aspects of winter culture. From <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-winter-carnival-closes-palais-de-bonhomme-due-to-warm-weather-1.6764453">melting ice castles at Québec’s winter carnival</a>, to a dismal lack of snow at <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-bc-ski-resorts-struggle-with-lack-of-snow-as-warm-weather-persists/">many Western Canada ski resorts</a>, seemingly no part of Canada was unaffected. But the change that will likely be felt most keenly by many Canadians is the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/014028">loss of a reliable outdoor skating season</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop28-why-we-need-to-break-our-addiction-to-combustion-218019">COP28: Why we need to break our addiction to combustion</a>
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<p>For the second year running, <a href="https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/rideau-canal-skateway">Ottawa’s Rideau Canal Skateway</a> was closed for what should be the peak of the skating season. In 2022-2023, the Skateway did not open at all for the first time ever. This winter, a portion of the Skateway opened briefly in January, but continuing mild temperatures forced a closure again after only four days of skating. In Montréal, <a href="https://www.patinermontreal.ca/f/paysagee/patin-libre/sports-dequipe">fewer than 40 per cent of the city’s outdoor rinks were open</a> in the middle of February.</p>
<p>There is no obvious upside to this story. Outdoor skating in Canada is fast becoming the latest casualty of our failure to confront the reality of the climate crisis.</p>
<h2>On thin ice</h2>
<p>More than a decade ago, our research group published <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/014028">our first analysis</a> of how outdoor skating was being affected by warming winter temperatures in Canada. We showed that even as of 2005, there was already evidence of later start dates, and shorter skating seasons across most of the country. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A report on the management of the Rideau Canal Skateway in 2023, produced by the CBC.</span></figcaption>
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<p>These conclusions were echoed by <a href="https://www.rinkwatch.org">subsequent publications from the RinkWatch project</a>, which has reported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12878">consistent declines in skating season length and quality</a> in many Canadian cities.</p>
<p>Meanwhile in Ottawa, skating days on the <a href="https://rideaucanalskateway.com/">Rideau Canal Skateway</a> have been trending downwards over the last 20 years. In this time, the typical skating season has decreased by almost 40 per cent, a trend that is clearly correlated with increasing winter temperatures over the same period. </p>
<h2>Moving in the wrong direction</h2>
<p>Climate mitigation progress continues to be far too slow. </p>
<p>Global CO2 emissions reached their <a href="https://globalcarbonbudget.org/fossil-co2-emissions-at-record-high-in-2023/">highest level ever recorded in 2023</a>, and average global temperatures have now reached <a href="https://berkeleyearth.org">1.3 C above pre-industrial temperatures</a>. If these trends continue, we are on track to reach 1.5 C — the lower threshold of the Paris Agreement temperature target — in <a href="https://climateclock.net">less than seven years</a>.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12878">2012 paper</a>, we estimated that suitable rink flooding days could disappear across most of southern Canada by mid-century. In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ab8ca8">a more recent analysis of Montréal’s outdoor rinks</a>, we estimated that the number of viable skating days in Montréal could decrease to zero by as early as 2070. </p>
<p>In hindsight, these and other similar projections may have been far too optimistic. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2465">study of Rideau canal skating days published in 2015</a>, the authors projected declining but sustained skating conditions throughout this century, even in a high future emissions scenario. The reality of the past two seasons shows that skating conditions have deteriorated far more quickly than predicted. </p>
<p>Global temperatures in 2023 were the highest ever recorded, as were winter temperatures in December 2023 and January 2024. Since 1950, winter temperatures in Canada have increased by more than 3 C, <a href="https://theconversation.com/2023-was-the-hottest-year-in-history-and-canada-is-warming-faster-than-anywhere-else-on-earth-220997">which is about three times the rate of global warming over this same period</a>. </p>
<p>Outdoor rinks require at least three consecutive very cold days to establish a foundation of ice, followed by enough cold days to maintain a good ice surface. Temperatures above freezing are poorly tolerated by outdoor rinks, and rain is often disastrous. </p>
<p>A few degrees of warming in January and February temperatures can be the difference between a rink that is skatable and one that is not. As winters continue to warm, the case for building and maintaining outdoor municipal rinks will become harder to justify.</p>
<h2>A stark and still changing new reality</h2>
<p>As years go by without any real progress on climate mitigation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine a future in which outdoor rinks will be widely available without artificial refrigeration. Other winter activities will also be affected by changing snow conditions, but outdoor skating will likely be hit first in direct response to warming winter temperatures.</p>
<p>Wayne Gretzky famously <a href="https://gretzky.com/bio.php">learned to skate and play hockey in Branford, Ont. in the 1960s on an outdoor rink built by his father</a>. Reliable winter skating conditions in southern Ontario are already mostly a thing of the past, and are becoming more and more scarce as global warming progresses. It is increasingly unlikely that current and future generations will be able to follow Gretzky’s path. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/could-the-good-news-story-about-the-ecological-crisis-be-the-collective-grief-we-are-feeling-215658">Could the good news story about the ecological crisis be the collective grief we are feeling?</a>
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<p>This reality is both a tragic injustice for many young Canadians and an existential threat to a core aspect of the Canadian winter identity.</p>
<p>Preserving what remains of Canada’s winter skating culture will require that we rapidly step up our efforts to drive down CO2 emissions and stabilize global temperatures. Otherwise, Joni Mitchell’s “<a href="https://genius.com/Joni-mitchell-river-lyrics">river I could skate away on</a>” will become an increasingly wishful dream that soon will exist only in the lyrics of old songs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>H. Damon Matthews receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mitchell Dickau receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Global warming is melting away an iconic cornerstone of Canadian culture — outdoor skating.H. Damon Matthews, Professor and Climate Scientist, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityMitchell Dickau, PhD Candidate, Geography, Planning, and Environment Department, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194472024-02-01T23:18:48Z2024-02-01T23:18:48ZNATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence to open in Montréal: What does it mean for Canadian security?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572896/original/file-20240201-29-vhq8wo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6240%2C4156&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">NATO's Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE) is set to open this year in Montréal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/nato-climate-change-and-security-centre-of-excellence-to-open-in-montreal-what-does-it-mean-for-canadian-security" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>This year Montréal is set to become the home for the <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/nato-otan/centre-excellence.aspx?lang=eng">North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s new Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE)</a>. The CCASCOE, as the name would suggest, is set to provide specific expertise on the environment and the impacts of climate change for NATO security.</p>
<p>When announcing the new centre, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared it will “<a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2023/07/12/prime-minister-announces-additional-measures-support-ukraine">enable Canada, NATO allies, and other global partners to understand and address the serious security implications of climate change, including in the Arctic …[and]… it will contribute to Montréal’s status as a global hub for international organizations.”</a> </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_68372.htm">NATO centres of excellence (COE) system</a> provides a valuable network of expertise to support innovation, and to “assist in doctrine development, identify lessons learned, improve interoperability and capabilities, and test and validate concepts through experimentation.” </p>
<p>Amid escalating geopolitical risks, Montréal’s new centre represents a strong commitment to climate security and will be crucial to promoting a co-ordinated global response that strengthens Canada’s capacity to address climate-specific concerns. As the federal government set out in a <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/nato-otan/centre-excellence.aspx?lang=eng">recent statement</a>:</p>
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<p>“Climate impacts may test the resilience of military installations and equipment, create harsher or more complex operational conditions, and change the nature of the strategic environment, which poses unique challenges for military and security entities charged with maintaining our security.”</p>
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<p>The new centre is specifically designed to address these evolving concerns.</p>
<h2>Climate security collaboration</h2>
<p>In June 2021, the Canadian government proposed hosting the CCASCOE at a NATO Summit in Brussels. A year later it announced Montréal as the planned host city, with Canada providing $40.4 million in “direct support” for CCASCOE as host nation over five years.</p>
<p>The CCASCOE’s founding document governs “<a href="https://www.act.nato.int/about/centres-of-excellence/">the relationship between participating countries and the Centre of Excellence</a>” and was <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/nato-otan/centre-excellence.aspx?lang=eng">signed by Canada and 11 sponsoring nations</a>.</p>
<p>NATO’s <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_68372.htm#:%7E:text=The%20overall%20responsibility%20for%20COE,CAN">Allied Command Transformation ACT</a> is responsible for establishing, accrediting and preparing the centres of excellence in co-ordination with the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. </p>
<p>The centres of excellence network provides a global array of expertise and practices that can benefit the development of the CCASCOE and facilitate information-sharing to climate change-related security capabilities. That ranges from the development of climate-related rapid response exercises to environmental disasters and other related engagements.</p>
<p>NATO has a long history of co-operation on doctrine development, which could serve as a valuable template for CCASCOE activities.</p>
<p>For instance, the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) <a href="https://ccdcoe.org/about-us/">in Tallinn, Estonia, provides</a> “interdisciplinary expertise” through joint initiatives that include research, training and exercises. Meanwhile, the <a href="https://ccdcoe.org/exercises/crossed-swords/">Crossed Swords</a> exercise simulates adversaries’ perspectives to identify NATO’s own strengths and weaknesses. </p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://ccdcoe.org/exercises/locked-shields/">Locked Shields</a> is a team exercise focused on “realistic scenarios, cutting-edge technologies and simulating the entire complexity of a massive cyber incident.” </p>
<p>These existing exercises could offer the CCASCOE a helpful framework to structure engagements supported by the existing centres of excellence network. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-military-view-on-climate-change-its-eroding-our-national-security-and-we-should-prepare-for-it-65535">A military view on climate change: It's eroding our national security and we should prepare for it</a>
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<p>Another area where CCASCOE can lead innovation is through the hosting of exercises to train disaster-response capabilities for climate security challenges. An annual flagship exercise or a series of shorter practical workshops could support this leadership and help NATO members combat climate security challenges, build capacity and enhance public awareness.</p>
<h2>Developing strategies</h2>
<p>ACT’s <a href="https://www.act.nato.int/article/act-enhances-natos-understanding-of-climate-change/">Strategic Foresight Analysis 2023 report</a> will update NATO’s understanding of the security implications of climate change to the alliance. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.act.nato.int/article/sfa-topics-climate/">update will highlight</a> the importance of international co-operation to mitigate climate change, given that “strategic competitors may exploit disruptive changes, undermining alliances through false narratives and weaponizing critical technologies.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-creating-security-threats-around-the-world-and-militaries-are-responding-173668">Climate change is creating security threats around the world – and militaries are responding</a>
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<p>At the Vilnius summit in June 2023, NATO released a series of <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_217212.htm">climate strategy reports</a>, including a climate security assessment, a collection of best practices and guidelines to measure greenhouse gas emissions for civilian and military infrastructure. </p>
<p>These initiatives emphasized the required civilian and military collaboration on climate security challenges — co-ordination that Canada and the CCASCOE are ideally placed to support.</p>
<h2>Melting Arctic, rising tensions</h2>
<p>This development occurs amid rising tensions.</p>
<p>The Arctic is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38511-8">predicted to experience the first September free of sea ice in history as early as the 2030s-2050s irrespective of emission scenarios</a>. As a result, the Arctic will increasingly become more active and see increased demand for resource access, shipping routes and territorial claims. The increased activity and strategic significance placed on the Arctic will heighten geopolitical risk.</p>
<p>For example, in August 2023, Russia’s <a href="https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2023/04/fsb-signs-maritime-security-cooperation-china-murmansk">FSB Border Guard Service and China’s Coast Guard were reported</a> to have increased co-operation in the northern port of Murmansk. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2023/06/19/russian-vtb-bank-to-finance-the-construction-of-icebreakers/">Russia</a> and <a href="https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2023/06/28/third-chinese-polar-icebreaker-will-carry-deep-sea-submersibles/">China</a> have also invested in ice-breakers designed to increase a regional presence in the north.</p>
<p>These moves present serious challenges to the NATO alliance. </p>
<p>High on the agenda at this summer’s annual NATO summit will no doubt be the development of a co-ordinated approach to support climate security innovation. And in this regard, Canada — and the CCASCOE — will likely play an active role in developing this new strategic agenda.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Atkinson receives funding from the Canadian Defence and Security Network and previously worked at NATO.</span></em></p>Climate and environmental insecurity is set to grow in severity as the world warms. The upcoming launch of a new NATO climate change and security centre in Montréal aims to address these concerns.Ryan Atkinson, Postdoctoral Fellow, Defence Policy, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205372024-01-22T22:32:59Z2024-01-22T22:32:59ZYoung Black men in Canada face racism, ageism and classism when looking for work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569965/original/file-20240117-19-skld11.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5372%2C3581&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black people in Canada continue experiencing oppression and dehumanization because of how their skin colour is viewed and represented.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/young-black-men-in-canada-face-racism-ageism-and-classism-when-looking-for-work" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Youth employment in Canada continues to be a concern. Young people between the ages of 15 and 30 <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/42-28-0001/2021001/article/00002-eng.htm">are less likely to find and sustain employment compared to an older population of Canadians</a>.</p>
<p>According to Statistics Canada, around 11 per cent of youth aged 15-24 are unemployed. Among young Black Canadians that number is around <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240105/dq240105a-eng.htm">17.5 per cent</a>.</p>
<p>Black people in Canada continue experiencing oppression and dehumanization <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12400">because of how their skin colour is viewed and represented</a>.</p>
<p>Impoverished Black male youth in particular encounter racism, ageism, classism and gender biases when looking for work. These are stereotypes which encourage many Canadian employers to view them as not good for business and unemployable.</p>
<h2>Intersecting oppressions</h2>
<p>As a sociocultural anthropologist who is dedicated to uncovering the nuances in Black youth un(der)employment, I have found that impoverished Black youths’ inability to find employment is due to <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/intersectionality-as-critical-social-theory">intersectional oppressions</a> such as ageism and classism, which is also tied to their Blackness. </p>
<p>The challenges they face vary among different Canadian cities. In my <a href="https://repository.library.carleton.ca/concern/etds/xg94hq41j">doctoral study</a> about impoverished Black male youth in Montréal, Ottawa and Toronto, I found these youth are denied employment opportunities for multifaceted reasons. These include discrimination based on a person’s address, age, classism and gender biases — particularly about the negative stereotypical ideas that surround Black manhood. </p>
<p>The sociological study focused on Black male youth between the ages of 15 to 29 who live in low income areas between Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa. The qualitative study gathered data from 21 young Black men through semi-structured interviews and focus groups. </p>
<p>Political philosopher <a href="https://groveatlantic.com/book/toward-the-african-revolution/">Frantz Fanon</a> warned us of the dangers of recognizing Black people’s experiences as one. Black people have differences that contribute to their humanness, which the colonizer has denied.</p>
<p>Similarly, when we presume all youth have the same experiences, we fail to take diversity seriously and may be falsely interpreting the lived experiences of many youth. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young Black man working on a laptop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569950/original/file-20240117-21-xa58hw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young Black men face overlapping forms of discrimination based on racist and classist views of Black masculinity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There was never one reason, such as anti-Black racism, which was the cause of employment barriers among these young people. The reality is these youth experience overlapping discrimination that are tied to anti-Black racism, such as classism, which varied based on different encounters with various employers.</p>
<p>My study found that impoverished Black male youth are tied to a socially manufactured hierarchical system that considers race, gender, sexuality, ability, age, social class and education. Unfortunately, employers excluded them because of the many intersections that make up their identities.</p>
<p>Although the Canadian government recognizes Black youth face barriers to employment, <a href="https://www.miragenews.com/minister-marci-ien-supports-black-youth-955894/">few politicians recognize that more needs to be done to create inclusivity in the workplace</a>. The lived experiences of impoverished Black male youth and their ability to access employment are not the same nationwide. </p>
<h2>Secularism laws impact opportunities</h2>
<p>My study also found that many Black male youth in Montréal are also at the mercy of Québec’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-supposed-benefits-of-quebec-secularism-bill-dont-outweigh-the-costs-114907">secularism law</a>. Black male youth in the city must deal with classism and constantly being tied to the unworthy idea that they do not serve many employees’ needs. This is based on the stereotypical ideas of what their Black masculinity represents. </p>
<p>Some of these young people adorn religious clothing, which has complicated their job-seeking strategies. Many young Black men living in the province <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2023/elghawaby-quebec-double-standard/">face discrimination based on their religious values</a> and their clothing or attire was a reason they were overlooked for employment.</p>
<p>These secularism laws are an added issue for impoverished Black male youth seeking employment, as many of them do not feel a sense of belonging, and are constantly faced with intersecting social oppressions where they are overlooked for employment opportunities. </p>
<p>We must realize that some laws and policies may be suitable for some Canadians. But in an effort to create legislation, there is a disregard for the social concerns of those who have been othered. Creating laws without considering them adds to a sense that they do not belong in this country.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Black teenage boy carrying a backpack poses for a photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570411/original/file-20240119-17-moluuo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black men and boys must continuously confront racist narratives that impact their future prospects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Thinking through Black masculinity</h2>
<p>For years, Black Canadian scholars such as <a href="https://edu.yorku.ca/edu-profiles/index.php?mid=2196">Carl James</a>, <a href="https://brocku.ca/social-sciences/sociology/people/tamari-kitossa/">Tamari Kitossa</a> and myself have discussed Black masculinities in Canada and how Black men are seen as dangerous, untrustworthy men undeserving of a sense of belonging in the white settler nation-state. </p>
<p><a href="https://ualbertapress.ca/9781772125436/appealing-because-he-is-appalling/">These historical narratives continue to inform our present day society</a>, which has complicated how impoverished young Black men seek and obtain employment. Failing to recognize these tensions among young Black men is distancing ourselves from the lived experiences rooted in history, which are playing out in our contemporary moments.</p>
<p>The young Black men I spoke to courageously shared what it means to seek employment while having to negotiate your right to be treated fairly. When these young men do eventually obtain employment, they are often trapped in low-paying, menial labour positions reflective of unfair stereotypes about Black masculinity.</p>
<p>This type of work degrades their humanity and selfhood. The dehumanization faced by these youth when they attempt to seek employment demonstrates how they are othered not solely by their race.</p>
<p>For there to be equitable hiring practices, governments and employers must understand anti-Black racism in light of the intertwined forms of discrimination that often accompany it. </p>
<p>Homogenizing the lived experiences of Black youth can cause harm and promote misconceptions about their lived experiences. I urge people to refrain from thinking about racialized people based on their race alone. Instead, we should intentionally focus on the individuality of people. We must practice cultural competency which invites us to appreciate people and their different lived experiences.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Warren Clarke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Young Black men are being denied employment for multifaceted reasons, and when they do find work, are often trapped in low-paying jobs.Warren Clarke, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2184952024-01-22T20:42:47Z2024-01-22T20:42:47ZDespite legislative progress, accessible cities remain elusive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566380/original/file-20231218-29-jo501r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5755%2C3833&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Textured surfaces on city pavements can help make public space more accessible to disabled persons.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/despite-legislative-progress-accessible-cities-remain-elusive" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Amid a complex web of disability civil rights legislation in Canada and the <a href="https://www.ada.gov/">United States</a>, one could easily be lulled into thinking that the work is done. Some of this legislation is now <a href="http://www.ccdonline.ca/en/humanrights/promoting/20years">several decades old</a>; more recent additions include <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/110191">accessible design standards and guidelines</a> and barrier-free elements of <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/120332">building codes</a>.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://accessnow.com/moca/">if only this were true</a>. Watching Toronto and other cities in North America work on accessibility feels a bit like watching a snail moving through molasses: the best route is unclear, progress is slow and they often become stuck.</p>
<h2>Paratransit</h2>
<p>Access to safe and reliable public transit is one such problem. For example, many of the issues <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839919888484">plaguing paratransit (ideally on-demand, door-to-door service for disabled persons) today</a> — unacceptably long wait times, having to plan and schedule days in advance, service costs, convoluted trip regulations, failing to pick people up — are often as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839919888484">old as the services themselves</a>. </p>
<p>It’s perhaps hard to imagine, but it could get worse. Data from the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2021002-eng.htm">2017 Canadian Survey on Disability</a> indicate that nearly 18 per cent of <em>housebound</em> disabled persons report the absence of transport service as the cause — they have somewhere to go, but no way to get there.</p>
<p>New York City, Toronto and Montréal have underground public transit. These systems share a checkered past where disability is concerned. Time and time again, each system has been the site of disability activism, litigation, accessibility retrofit, cycles of investment progress and delay, and what I call last-millimetre problems.</p>
<p>In New York City, it took multiple <a href="https://new.mta.info/accessibility/ada-settlement-notice">class-action lawsuits</a> filed by disabled persons to get the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to launch a multi-decade accessibility plan. This included a promise to stop renovating stations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/rehabilitation-act-1973-original-text">Rehabilitation Act of 1973</a> and <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/the-law.page">New York City Human Rights Law</a>. </p>
<p>Seven years on, an August 2017 article in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/nyregion/nyc-subway-accessible-disabled.html"><em>New York Times</em></a> reported on the MTA’s stalled progress and justifiable skepticism on the part of disabled passengers.</p>
<p>The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is in the midst of a promising multi-year <a href="https://www.ttc.ca/accessibility/Accessible-Transit-Services-Plan">Accessible Transit Services Plan</a>. The plan includes accessibility retrofit of many stations built before the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/05a11">2005 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)</a> became law. These are massive infrastructure projects with hefty price tags.</p>
<p>Symptomatic of a much broader failure across the province to meet AODA’s 2025 deadline, implementation of the TTC’s accessibility plan is behind schedule. In the most recent <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/msaa-fourth-review-of-aoda-final-report-en-2023-06-30.pdf">AODA progress review</a>, Rich Donovan, CEO of The Return on Disability Group, declared a state of crisis following “17 years of missed opportunities,” “minimal change in accessibility” and reports of terrible accessibility experiences across the province.</p>
<p>Looking back reveals a deep history of transit <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-metro-50-years-criticism-1.3804756">criticism and activism in Montréal</a>. In 1988, members of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) protested poor transit accessibility during the <a href="https://adaptmuseum.net/gallery/index.php?/category/24">American Public Transit Association (APTA) meetings held in Montréal</a>. This occurred two years before the iconic “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/ada-disabilities-act-history.html">Capitol Crawl</a>” in Washington, D.C. where, tired of congressional inertia, disabled protesters climbed the steps of the Capitol to push for the immediate passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/stSkqzI9mKY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A 2009 documentary about disabled persons’ experiences with Montréal transit.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Montréal’s Société de transport de Montréal (STM) now has a long-range accessibility plan with an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/stm-metro-accessibility-plan-will-mean-more-elevators-ramps-1.4013361">aspirational end date of 2038</a>. The <a href="https://cutaactu.ca/stm-wins-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-award/">Canadian Urban Transit Association</a>) recently announced STM as the winner of an equity, diversity and inclusion award, noting it has “taken significant steps in enhancing customer accessibility since 2023.”</p>
<h2>The last millimetre problem</h2>
<p>Beyond a now seemingly normalized requirement for disabled persons to hold transit authorities to account, much of the progress underground has focused on elevators.</p>
<p>What I find astounding is the “last millimetre problem” — a wide gap or vertical misalignment between platforms and transit vehicles making it impossible or hazardous for some disabled persons, like my daughter, to get on or off the system. The problem seems to occur most often when newly acquired trains meet up with old stations. </p>
<p>In New York City, a vertical misalignment of up to six inches was reported in at least one MTA station. Gaps across the system have led to <a href="https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/10/26/riders-with-disabilities-sue-mta-to-close-the-gap-between-subway-train-and-platform/">more class-action litigation</a>. </p>
<p>As of 2019, the TTC has a subway platform gap retrofit program. Consultation
with its Accessibility Advisory Committee produced tolerances of <a href="https://pw.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/Public-Meetings/Board/2019/September_24/Reports/8_Subway_Platform_Gap_Retrofit_Program.pdf">89 mm or less and 38 mm or less respectively for horizontal and vertical misalignments</a>. Misalignment problems have also been reported <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/how-some-universally-accessible-montreal-metro-stations-are-not">across multiple Montréal Metro stations</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X231175595">Disability as an afterthought</a> makes platform and vehicle retrofit an inconvenient, costly necessity. The technical part of this problem can likely be solved with existing technology, like platform gap fillers and bridge plates. Waiting around for disabled passengers to engage in class-action litigation is not an effective strategy.</p>
<h2>Cycling infrastructure</h2>
<p>The voices of disabled persons have been relegated to the edges of the conversation about active transportation (cycling, walking) and healthy, climate-resilient urban futures.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v42i1.8276">Disabled persons ride bikes</a> on and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2059170883639">off-road</a>. The literature on cycling and disability focuses on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2017.01.013">planning for the inclusion of disabled cyclists</a>. Due consideration should also be given to interactions between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2022.102896">disabled pedestrians</a> and transport infrastructure in general, including bike lanes. </p>
<p>Recently, a bike lane in Toronto was built level to an adjacent sidewalk, without sufficient aids to alert <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/blind-advocates-toronto-bike-lanes-1.7034433">blind pedestrians</a>. Design solutions exist — the Canadian National Institute for the Blind’s <a href="https://www.cnib.ca/en/sight-loss-info/clearing-our-path?region=on"><em>Clearing Our Path</em></a> suggests various types and applications of tactile walking surface indicators.</p>
<p>Curbside bike lanes can produce other <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/di/comm/communicationfile-79642.pdf">problems for disabled pedestrians</a>. For example, parking spaces adjacent to bike lanes with a step up to the sidewalk can force wheelchair users into the path of bicycles or vehicles.</p>
<p>Cycling infrastructure needs to be inclusive and safe infrastructure.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a bidirectional bike lane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570542/original/file-20240122-17-emsqmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A bike lane in downtown Toronto.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Consulting the community</h2>
<p>Research, policy, legislation, design and technologies exist to improve urban accessibility. Despite real progress on both the legislative and infrastructure fronts, the lived experiences of disabled persons continue to highlight serious incongruity between legislation, policies and outcomes.</p>
<p>Accessibility advisory committees are often a requirement of provincial legislation, and enacted at the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/municipal-accessibility-advisory-committees">provincial or municipal levels of government</a>. Transit agencies often have separate committees comprised of community volunteers and agency staff — the <a href="https://www.ttc.ca/about-the-ttc/the-advisory-committee-on-accessible-transit">TTC</a>, <a href="https://new.mta.info/accessibility/ACTA">New York MTA</a> and <a href="https://www.stm.info/en/about/corporate-governance/board-committees/customer-service-and-universal-accessibility-committee">Montréal STM</a> all have committees. </p>
<p>Committee membership criteria should ensure adequate representation from within and across disability communities. Disabled community members should be compensated for sharing their specialized knowledge. </p>
<p>Real accountability, rather than performative empty consultation, should be the order of the day. Accessible cities can only happen when governments and their various agencies deeply listen to and act upon what disabled citizens have to say.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218495/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ron Buliung does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Decades of activism have resulted in legislation and infrastructure to make cities more accessible, but the lived experiences of disabled residents shows there’s still a long way to go.Ron Buliung, Professor, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2205912024-01-09T22:05:08Z2024-01-09T22:05:08ZHow security at the 1976 Montréal Summer Games set a precedent for future Olympics<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-security-at-the-1976-montreal-summer-games-set-a-precedent-for-future-olympics" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>With the countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympics in full swing, it’s an ideal time to reflect on legacies of past Olympic Games, including Canada’s past experiences hosting the Games. The legacy of the Montréal Olympic Games is especially relevant this year, as the city is hosting the Olympic trials for <a href="https://www.swimming.ca/en/2024-olympic-paralympic-trials-presented-by-bell-may-13-19-montreal-qc/">swimming</a> and <a href="https://athletics.ca/blog/2023/11/14/national-track-field-tour-returns-in-2024/">track and field</a>.</p>
<p>The Montréal 1976 Summer Olympics remains the <a href="https://www.mqup.ca/montreal-olympics--the-products-9780773535183.php">largest sporting event in Canadian history</a>. It is <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-canada-ever-host-another-olympics-if-not-dont-blame-the-1976-montreal-games-108465">remembered for many things</a>: it was <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/history/montreal-olympics">outrageously expensive</a>, costing over $1.5 billion. It took 40 years to pay off the debt, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal-remembers-1976-olympics-1.256829">despite Mayor Jean Drapeau’s claim</a> in 1970 that the “Olympics could no more have a deficit than a man could have a baby.”</p>
<p>The Olympic stadium was a disaster: it wasn’t even fully completed for the Games. The event saw gymnast Nadia Comaneci of Romania score a perfect 10, which remains one of the great feats of modern sports. The American team fielded the best boxing team in history. Women’s events were held for the first time in <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/montreal-olympics-photo-flashback-more-women-competed-thanks-to-three-new-events">basketball, handball and rowing</a>. </p>
<p>Canada set a record as well: it <a href="https://olympic.ca/games/1976-montreal/">earned a meagre 11 medals</a> and was the first host country to not win a gold. Taiwan, China and 29 African states <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/montreal-olympics-african-boycott-of-1976-games-changed-the-world">boycotted the Games over apartheid South Africa</a>. Twelve men died during the construction of the venues.</p>
<p>Then there were the lesser-known events. The Montréal Fire Department, after hearing from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that Ukrainian protestors planned to strip down and burn Soviet flags, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2014.987342">greased flagpoles around the city with Vaseline</a> (one protestor was injured, and then arrested, in a failed flag-pole climbing incident).</p>
<p>The 1976 Olympics also marked a turning point in Olympic history: it was the first highly visible security operation, which has since become the norm for Olympic Games. After years of requests through the Access to Information Act, the <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/archives/montreal-olympics">RCMP released more than 50,000 pages of documents</a> on security planning for the Montréal Olympics that provide new insights into the scale and cost of securing the Games.</p>
<h2>The road to Montréal</h2>
<p>Most remember the Montréal Olympics as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jul/06/40-year-hangover-1976-olympic-games-broke-montreal-canada">financial disaster</a>. Soaring costs threatened to cancel the Games; Drapeau underestimated the cost so badly the National Assembly hauled him before an inquiry to explain the situation. </p>
<p>The Summer Olympics in Tokyo (1964, $9 million), Mexico City (1968, $12 million) and Munich (1972, $495 million) were dwarfed by the more than $1.5 billion spent in Montréal. </p>
<p>With the exception of Moscow (1980, $1.3 billion), subsequent Games in Los Angeles (1984, $408 million) and Seoul (1988, $531 million) were nowhere near as costly. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/019372357800200103">Unlike other host cities</a>, Montréal had little existing sports infrastructure and needed to build most of its venues.</p>
<p>Social services suffered and several projects had to be put on hold. For many years after the Olympics, Montréal was the only major city in North America that was still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/019372357800200103">dumping waste into adjacent waterways</a>.</p>
<h2>Heightened fear of terrorism</h2>
<p>Olympics security had not been a serious preoccupation before Montréal. By the 1970s, though, the Games were taking place amid a heightened fear of international and domestic terrorism. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/">Global Terrorism Database</a>, there were at least 4,340 terrorist attacks between 1970 and 1976. In the previous five years, two dozen diplomats around the world had been kidnapped, and six others assassinated. </p>
<p>In 1971 and 1972, there were at least 12 aircraft hijackings involving Canadian airlines (metal detectors were introduced in large numbers at airports in 1973). The <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/october-crisis">Front de libération du Québec</a> was responsible for numerous bombings, robberies and killings across Québec throughout the 1960s and the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/october-crisis">1970 October Crisis</a>.</p>
<p>In the United States, there were more incidents of domestic terrorism in the 1970s than any other period in history: at least 680 incidents compared to 282 in the 1980s (77 fatalities in the 1970s, 22 in the 1980s).</p>
<p>The Montréal Olympics also took place in the shadow of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Munich-Massacre">Munich massacre</a> — a terrorist attack carried out by the Palestinian militant group, Black September, against members of the Israeli Olympic team during the 1972 Summer Olympics. Eleven Israelis (including <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massacre-begins-at-munich-olympics">nine hostages</a>), five of the terrorists and one policeman were killed in the incident.</p>
<p>Over five million people would attend the Summer Olympics in Montréal, more than Tokyo in 1964 and Munich in 1972. Such a massive gathering was bound to strain Canada’s limited security apparatus. It was uncommon for such a small country (25 million at the time) to host a Summer Olympics.</p>
<h2>The security operation</h2>
<p>The overall operation was impressive. A <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/olympics/Final_Report_National_Security_Plan.pdf">security force of 17,224</a> included 8,940 Canadian Forces; 1,606 Montréal Urban Community Police; 1,376 RCMP; and 1,140 Sûreté du Québec. </p>
<p>Security personnel also included officers from the Metropolitan Toronto Police, Ontario Provincial Police, National Harbours Board Police, Manpower and Immigration, the Montréal Fire Department and 2,910 private security guards — all to protect fewer than 6,000 athletes. </p>
<p>Rather than spreading the Village across the city (as was the case in past Games), the Montréal Olympic Village was a towering 19-storey pyramidal structure with limited access and a 10-foot high wire fence. Athletes were driven to competition sites on buses with armed soldiers or police officers, while soldiers with automatic weapons patrolled the Village.</p>
<p><a href="https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/olympics/Final_Report_National_Security_Plan.pdf">Security was provided for 13 competition sites and 27 training sites</a>, as well as the Village. The Sûreté du Québec alone drew officers from 47 detachments across the province scattered over six districts, and drove 1,462,159 miles in 26 vehicles (and 112 hours in helicopters) over the 46-day operation. </p>
<p>Military personnel who were assigned to assist the police were deputized as law enforcement officers, which authorized soldiers to arrest anyone breaking a law in the absence of police. </p>
<p>The federal government passed special immigration legislation allowing the minister of immigration to deport anyone who might engage in violence during the Olympics. It was an unusual statute: only one sentence, which gave the minister unfettered power to deport non-citizens with no right to appeal. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, local law enforcement was dramatically enhanced, including a squad of 24 officers to police pickpockets. The crime rate in Montréal <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/olympics/COJOReport1976.pdf">dropped by more than 20 per cent during the Games</a>.</p>
<h2>The cost of security</h2>
<p>An initial <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/olympics/Final_Report_RCMP2.pdf">federal budget of $14.3 million dollars for the RCMP</a> was later augmented to $23 million. In addition, the Department of National Defence estimated it cost the ministry $21 million to provide security for the Olympics. </p>
<p>The Montréal Olympic Committee paid $1.8 million for private security. The Montréal Urban Community Police also had a budget of $1.8 million for the Olympics (including regular salaries that would have been paid anyway). The Ontario Provincial Police paid an extra $1.9 million to have 350 officers provide security for the royal visit and sailing competitions in Kingston. </p>
<p>While there were some unknown costs, such as those for overtime pay and additional security, the <a href="https://historyofrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/olympics/Memo_Security_Service_Budget.pdf">total cost for security at the Montréal Olympics</a> was likely about $52 million (or $262 million in 2023 dollars). While this was small compared to the overall costs, it was dramatically higher than Munich’s paltry $2 million budget four years earlier. </p>
<p>The Montréal Olympics may be remembered for many things, but its most significant impact was inaugurating a new era of security planning for the Olympics. When Vancouver hosted the Games 34 years later, the estimated <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010614543582">cost of security</a> was over $1 billion. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/terrorism-cyber-attacks-main-paris-2024-threats-security-plan-finalised-2023-11-23/">security budget for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics</a> this summer is 320 million euros ($468.37 million) out of an overall budget of 8 billion euros ($11.7 billion). This is perhaps the most enduring legacy of the Montréal Olympics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique Clément receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council</span></em></p>The 1976 Olympics marked a turning point in Olympic history: it was the first highly visible security operation, which has since become the norm for Olympic Games.Dominique Clément, Professor, Sociology, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169802023-12-21T21:37:49Z2023-12-21T21:37:49ZThe Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank: a goldmine for research on brain diseases<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557356/original/file-20231005-26-rmh9lm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C1508&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The experimental methods available today allow us to break the brain down into its elementary components in order to understand its functions and dysfunctions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Human beings have always been fascinated by the brain. </p>
<p>Although scientific knowledge about this 1.3 kg of fragile substance embedded in our cranium has long been incomplete, dazzling technical breakthroughs made in recent years are now ushering in a Golden Age of molecular neuroscience. </p>
<p>These breakthroughs have been made possible partly thanks to brain banks, which preserve human brains in the best possible conditions for scientific research. Here in Montréal, we have one of the world’s largest such banks, the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank (DBCBB), <a href="https://douglasbrainbank.ca">founded in 1980 at the Douglas Hospital</a>. </p>
<p>The DBCBB, which receives several brains each month, has collected over 3,600 specimens to date. Every year, its team processes dozens of tissue requests from scientists in Québec, Canada and abroad, preparing some 2,000 samples for research. </p>
<p>Over the past 40 years, these efforts have led to a considerable number of discoveries about different neurological and psychiatric diseases. </p>
<p>As a full professor in the department of psychiatry at McGill University, researcher at the Douglas Research Centre and director of the DBCBB since 2007, I work in close collaboration with <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/psychiatry/gustavo-turecki">Dr. Gustavo Turecki</a>, co-director of the DBCBB and responsible for the component devoted to psychiatric illnesses and suicide.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C2%2C1535%2C1231&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="cerebral hemisphere" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C2%2C1535%2C1231&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552153/original/file-20231004-17-mdh992.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank, which receives several brains each month, has collected over 3,600 specimens to date.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Naguib Mechawar)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A brief history of research on the human brain</h2>
<p>Scientists only began to identify the microscopic elements that make up the human brain in the second half of the 19th century. </p>
<p>That was when brains were preserved for the first time in formalin, a solution that preserves biological tissue so that it can be handled more easily and stored over a longer term.</p>
<p>At the same time, precision instruments and protocols were being developed that made it possible to examine the microscopic characteristics of nervous tissue.</p>
<p>Until the middle of the 20th century, researchers were mainly satisfied with preserving the brains of patients, taken during autopsies, so they could use them to identify possible macroscopic or microscopic changes linked to either neurological or psychiatric symptoms.</p>
<p>This is in fact what the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer did when he analyzed the brain of one of his patients suffering from dementia. In 1906, he described, for the first time, the microscopic lesions which characterize the disease that now bears his name.</p>
<p>Until the end of the 1970s, numerous collections of brain specimens preserved in formalin were built in hospital environments, a bit like the cabinets of curiosities of olden days.</p>
<p>Towards the end of the 20th century, new experimental approaches were developed allowing the high-resolution analysis of cells and molecules within biological tissues.</p>
<p>It then became necessary to collect and preserve human brains, obtained with the consent of the individual or his or her family, in conditions compatible with modern scientific techniques.</p>
<p>Researchers began freezing one of the cerebral hemispheres in order to measure its various molecular components. The other hemisphere was preserved in formalin to be used for macroscopic and microscopic anatomical studies.</p>
<p>This was the context in which the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank was created.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The DBCBB premises" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552154/original/file-20231004-25-z5k7jp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Montréal is home to one of the world’s largest brain banks, the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank, which was founded in 1980 at the Douglas Hospital.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Naguib Mechawar)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New experimental approaches are yielding results</h2>
<p>Leading researchers from many universities around the world now use DBCBB samples to advance their research. This, of course, includes a number of teams in Québec.</p>
<p>For example, with his team from the Douglas Research Centre, which is affiliated with McGill University, <a href="https://douglas.research.mcgill.ca/judes-poirier/">Judes Poirier</a> discovered that the APOE4 gene is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0140-6736(93)91705-Q">risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease</a>. More recently, the team of <a href="https://crhmr.ciusss-estmtl.gouv.qc.ca/en/researcher/gilbert-bernier">Gilbert Bernier</a>, professor in the department of neuroscience at Université de Montréal, discovered that the lesions characteristic of this disease are associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-37444-3">abnormal expression of the BMI1 gene</a>.</p>
<p>With regard to psychiatric illnesses, and more specifically depression, major progress has been made recently by the <a href="https://douglas.research.mcgill.ca/mcgill-group-suicide-studies-mgss/">McGill Group for Suicide Studies</a>. </p>
<p>Using cutting-edge methods to isolate and analyze human brain cells, Turecki’s team has succeeded in precisely identifying the cell types whose function is affected in men <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-0621-y">who have suffered from major depression</a>, and then discovering that the cell types involved in this illness differ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38530-5">between men and women</a>. </p>
<p>These experimental approaches generate huge data sets that can be examined in subsequent studies. This is the case, for example, of work carried out in my laboratory, which identified signs of persistent changes in neuroplasticity within the prefrontal cortex of people with a history of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01372-y">child abuse</a>. In fact, the studies mentioned above enabled us to discover at least one of the cell types involved in this phenomenon. </p>
<p>In short, the experimental methods we have today allow us to break the brain down into its elementary components in order to understand its functions and dysfunctions.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cerebral hemispheres preserved in formalin" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/552155/original/file-20231004-27-62uc6y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leading researchers from many universities around the world benefit from Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank samples to advance their research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Naguib Mechawar)</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Identify, prevent, screen and treat</h2>
<p>Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the entire DBCBB team, as well as the unfailing support of all its partners, patrons (often anonymous) and funding bodies — particularly the FRQS research fund and Québec’s suicide research network, the <a href="https://reseausuicide.qc.ca">Réseau québécois sur le suicide, les troubles de l'humeur et les troubles associés</a> — this invaluable resource has not only managed to survive, but to grow and become one of the largest brain banks in the world. </p>
<p>There is every reason to believe that, in the years to come, the DBCBB will play an important role in the increasingly precise identification of the biological causes of brain diseases, and, as a result, will contribute to the identification of new targets for better approaches to prevention, screening and treatment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216980/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naguib Mechawar has received funding from CIHR, NSERC, HBHL (CFREF) and FQRS (NEURON ERA-NET and RQSHA).</span></em></p>Montréal is home to one of the world’s largest brain banks, the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank, where discoveries about different neurological and psychiatric diseases are made.Naguib Mechawar, Neurobiologiste, Institut Douglas; Professeur titulaire, Département de psychiatrie, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2143122023-10-02T20:35:28Z2023-10-02T20:35:28ZMontréal’s ‘mixed’ police squads don’t help the city’s unhoused people — they cause more harm<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/montreals-mixed-police-squads-dont-help-the-citys-unhoused-people-they-cause-more-harm" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Since 2009, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/mixed-squads-montreal-homeless-1.6972877#:%7E:text=A%20new%20report%20is%20calling,unhoused%20people%20in%20public%20space.">Montréal has seen a proliferation of what are known as “mixed squads</a>,” which generally involve a police officer working alongside a social worker or health worker to respond to situations in public spaces. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/attachments/1.3%20Hurtubise%20Rose.pdf">Some experts</a> and police say these squads <a href="https://spvm.qc.ca/fr/PDQ1/Actualites/15209">can help leave repression behind to provide support to marginalized people</a>. </p>
<p>But what happens when we pay attention to the perspectives of those who work on the front lines with unhoused people? Listening to these perspectives and bringing them into the public debate is the aim of <a href="http://rapsim.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/rapport-sur-les-escouades-mixtes-20-sept-2023.pdf">a new report</a> on mixed squads in Montréal. We contributed to the research.</p>
<p>The perspectives of front-line workers couldn’t be clearer: far from being a form of support, mixed squads have further harmed unhoused people. </p>
<p>The squads add a layer of surveillance and harassment that leads unhoused people to leave the spaces they know best and distance themselves from their support network in order to avoid police. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, they continue to be harassed by <a href="https://www.observatoiredesprofilages.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Judicialization-of-homelessness-in-Montreal.pdf">conventional police officers</a>.</p>
<h2>Needs of the homeless are ignored</h2>
<p>None of this is surprising.</p>
<p>While mixed squads differ from conventional policing in terms of their personnel, their objective remains the same: to intervene in lives of unhoused people in the interests of businesses, wealthier residents or other city residents who wish to see them displaced. </p>
<p>In short, the interests and needs of unhoused people are secondary, if not simply ignored.</p>
<p>The impact of mixed squads on community work is equally significant and negative. The report found the squads hinder the work of front-line workers, complicating their interventions and relationship-building and making it harder to maintain their independence from law enforcement. Police officers, meanwhile, are occupying an ever-bigger space in the ecosystem of the services unhoused people need.</p>
<p>The squads also have an increasing share of public funds. As a result, they both represent and accelerate a shift in Montréal’s management of homelessness away from the community groups that support unhoused people and work to resolve the problems they experience over the long term. Instead, the squads ignore long-term solutions and ultimately move people from one space to another on a continual basis.</p>
<p>Faced with these problems, the report calls for a new approach to homelessness, including abolishing mixed squads and reallocating their funding to two types of interventions.</p>
<h2>1. A new all-civilian squad</h2>
<p>The squad would be co-created by all concerned groups to respond to non-criminal 911 calls. This type of squad is <a href="https://theappeal.org/what-public-safety-without-police-looks-like/">increasingly common in North America</a>, and Fady Dagher, director of the Montréal police force, <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/montreal/772079/fady-dagher-promet-un-equilibre-entre-la-repression-et-la-prevention?">is in favour of creating one</a>.</p>
<p>We should emphasize that an existing squad, the Équipe mobile de médiation et d'intervention sociale (ÉMMIS), is not the civilian squad we are calling for. Although ÉMMIS teams don’t involve police, the initiative was created to respond to complaints about unhoused people, with funding of <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreals-mobile-intervention-program-to-be-expanded">$50 million over five years</a>. </p>
<p>The ÉMMIS approach turned marginalized people into objects of intervention, rather than the equivalent of housed city residents.</p>
<p>The ÉMMIS squad also patrols the city, talking to unhoused people in public spaces to establish “a relationship of trust.” This role makes it difficult for the unhoused to distinguish between those who are really working in their interests and needs and those who are working to improve the sense of security of others. </p>
<p>This leads to further disengagement from, and loss of confidence in, the institutions of society.</p>
<h2>2. More funding to community groups</h2>
<p>In addition to a new civilian team, we are calling for community organizations to be refinanced. The primary focus must be supporting people experiencing homelessness, and working towards long-term solutions to the problems they face.</p>
<p>That’s why the report calls for most of the funds currently devoted to mixed squads to be transferred to community organizations that share this mission.</p>
<p>Our report doesn’t claim to have all the answers. Its main objective is to challenge a public discourse dominated by the police and various city officials by prioritizing the perspectives of front-line workers who are well placed to understand what unhoused people really need. </p>
<p>We encourage further debate on this issue, which is why we are asking the city — as Montréal’s primary network of homeless-serving organizations, <a href="http://rapsim.org/">Réseau d'aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes</a> (RAPSIM), did back in 2007 — to hold public consultations soon to discuss the creation of an all-civilian response to non-criminal 911 calls.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214312/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karl Beaulieu receives funding from SSHRC</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Rutland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Front-line workers who support unhoused people say far from being a form of support, mixed police squads add a layer of surveillance and harassment.Ted Rutland, Associate professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityKarl Beaulieu, PhD student in Social Work, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2142042023-09-28T20:35:52Z2023-09-28T20:35:52ZMapping unmarked graves: Why the Mohawk Mothers are fighting McGill University<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/mapping-unmarked-graves-why-the-mohawk-mothers-are-fighting-mcgill-university" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A Québec superior court <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-judge-mohawk-mothers-1.6976070">recently ruled that excavation can continue</a> on certain parts of the site of Montréal’s former Royal Victoria Hospital. The ruling comes after <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mohawk-mothers-seek-halt-to-excavation-amid-former-montreal-hospital-grave-search-1.6561486">a group of Indigenous women known as the Mohawk Mothers</a> called for an emergency court hearing to halt excavations at the site.</p>
<p>The Mothers called for the hearing after McGill University and the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI) disbanded the court-appointed panel of Indigenous archaeologists that was set up under a <a href="https://falconers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Approved-Settlement-Agreement-April-6-2023.pdf">settlement agreement</a> and started construction on certain parts of the former Royal Victoria Hospital site.</p>
<p>In October 2022, the <a href="https://www.mohawkmothers.ca/">Mohawk Mothers</a> obtained a temporary injunction against McGill to stop any excavations. The former Royal Victoria Hospital, vacant since 2015, was slated for <a href="https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/mohawk-mothers-win-injunction-against-mcgill-at-david-and-goliath-hearing/">an $850-million redevelopment project</a> to expand McGill’s campus led by the SQI. It neighbours the Allan Memorial Institute, a former psychiatric hospital where <a href="https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/cadaver-dogs-sniff-out-potential-human-remains-near-old-royal-victoria-hospital-site/">American and Canadian-funded psychiatric experiments</a> involving Indigenous children took place from 1957 to 1964. </p>
<p>In April, <a href="https://easterndoor.com/2023/04/21/landmark-settlement-agreement/">Québec’s Superior Court approved a settlement</a> allowing the Mohawk Mothers to investigate unmarked graves at the site. The agreement states that excavation work can begin on a rolling basis if no graves are immediately found, but that it be done in a sensitive manner in case there is an unexpected discovery.</p>
<p>In June, specialized detection dogs <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/793868/des-tombes-autochtones-potentiellement-decouvertes-pres-de-mcgill">discovered evidence of human remains</a> at the site, further substantiating the Mothers’ claim.</p>
<p>The task of investigating children’s deaths and forced disappearances is emotionally taxing and physically draining. One might expect that McGill and the SQI would do everything in their capacity to support the Mothers’ efforts. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this has not been the case. One week after the excavation began, the Mohawk Mothers and cultural monitors mandated to be on-site under the agreement were <a href="https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/08/07/mohawk-mothers-feel-pushed-aside-in-the-search-for-unmarked-graves/">removed</a> by SQI security. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-the-search-for-the-unmarked-graves-of-children-lost-to-indian-residential-schools-214437">Inside the search for the unmarked graves of children lost to Indian Residential Schools</a>
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<h2>Defining mapping</h2>
<p>I am a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12883">cartographer specializing in mapping governmental and ecclesiastical archives</a>. Because of this work and my relationships with Mohawk communities around Montréal, I was invited to attend the Mohawk Mothers’ court hearings.</p>
<p>At the Sept. 14 hearing, the debate about whether the settlement agreement has been breached revolved around the definition of “mapping.” According to section 11 of the settlement agreement: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The mandate of the Panel is to assess and identify the appropriate archaeological techniques to be used on different areas of the site to detect whether there are unmarked graves (also known as “Mapping”).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>McGill’s lawyer argued that mapping means making a map with points or zones where different archaeological techniques should be applied to find human remains. When all the zones were drawn, the panel could be disbanded because the mapping was over. Construction on certain parts of the site could resume and the Mohawk Mothers would be made aware if anything was found.</p>
<p>This interpretation distorts and extensively simplifies the process of mapping the unmarked graves of children. It reduces mapping to a mere checklist item, detached from the ever-changing reality on the ground.</p>
<p>It allows McGill to claim that the mapping work undertaken by the panel is over, and that McGill no longer needs to consult or share results with them during the excavation phase. Moreover, disbanding the panel gives McGill and the SQI exclusive authority in interpreting the excavation results.</p>
<p>In contrast, the Mohawk Mothers’ see the mapping as an ongoing process. This means that the areas where they are actively searching for remains can be continually updated on the map as the project progresses and new information becomes available. </p>
<p>The panel’s responsibilities don’t end after creating an initial map. While this initial mapping serves as a starting point, the panel should remain involved as the map evolves. Starting construction on the site isn’t reasonable given that it may need to halt at any point due to new evidence discovered in archives, survivor testimonies or in the ground.</p>
<p>The paradoxical nature of cartography lies in <a href="https://theconversation.com/using-maps-as-a-weapon-to-resist-extractive-industries-on-indigenous-territories-111472">its dual potential to work both for and against Indigenous communities</a>. The debate about how mapping is defined highlights a conflict between colonial and decolonial perspectives. McGill and the SQI have presented themselves as willing collaborators, ostensibly working toward reconciliation. Yet, they view the mapping as a mere item on their to-do list. </p>
<p>The Mohawk Mothers <a href="https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/08/07/mohawk-mothers-feel-pushed-aside-in-the-search-for-unmarked-graves/">have expressed</a> their frustration at being entirely excluded from the process. They cite instances where McGill and SQI have ignored the panel’s suggestions, overlooked crucial evidence and refused to share findings with the <a href="https://canadianarchaeology.com/caa/about/committees/caa-working-group-unmarked-graves">Canadian Archaeological Association Working Group on Unmarked Graves</a>. </p>
<p>The Sept. 14 hearing took place four days before <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/equity/channels/event/12th-annual-indigenous-awareness-weeks-mcgill-university-345586">McGill’s annual “Indigenous Awareness Weeks.”</a> The irony was not lost on anyone.</p>
<h2>Colonial vs. decolonial perspectives</h2>
<p>This case echoes other well-known debates concerning the definition of mapping and its implications for Indigenous land rights. Observing the courtroom proceedings, I was struck by the enduring presence of colonial assumptions about cartography. Indigenous communities continue having to advocate for and defend their cartographic methods in order to uphold their connections and duties to the land. </p>
<p>In the 1970s, maps played a pivotal role in <a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100030973/1542914627289">land claims negotiations</a> between the Inuit and the federal government, ultimately leading to the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-28.7/page-1.html">1993 Nunavut Land Claims agreement</a>. The Inuit demonstrated in court that mapping, as a process, was more effective in conveying their lived realities. </p>
<p>Through the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0064.2010.00341.x">Inuit Land Use and Occupancy project</a>, they meticulously developed <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/194277861701000109">“map biographies”</a> to document hunting, fishing, trapping and other activities, showcasing each of the 34 Inuit communities’ longstanding ties to their land.</p>
<p>The Gitxsan and the Wet’suwet’en First Nations faced racism and denialism in <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1569/index.do">the Supreme court of British Colombia</a> when they presented their map in the form of a song and were told by the chief justice of the court that “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2564238.pdf">to have witnesses singing songs in court is, in my respectful opinion, not the proper way to approach the problem</a>.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/delgamuukw-25-years-on-how-canada-has-undermined-the-landmark-decision-on-indigenous-land-rights-196196">Delgamuukw 25 years on: How Canada has undermined the landmark decision on Indigenous land rights</a>
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<p>Just because the panel of archaeologists has made a map, it doesn’t mean they are done mapping. A truly decolonial mapping project <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cart.53.3.intro">centres and respects Indigenous geographical knowledge and protocols, and includes involvement of Indigenous communities in the process</a>.</p>
<p>Protocols and agreements with Indigenous groups should not be seen as cumbersome paperwork. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3138/cart-2019-0022">They are an opportunity</a> for McGill, the SQI and others to work collaboratively in a culturally sensitive manner for the management of potential burial sites.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Léa Denieul-Pinsky receives funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) for research related to mapping and Indigenous-settler relations. </span></em></p>Debates over what “mapping” means show how Indigenous communities still have to advocate for and defend their cartographic methods in order to uphold their connections to the land.Léa Denieul-Pinsky, PhD Candidate Geography, Planning, Environment, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2091042023-08-16T21:15:01Z2023-08-16T21:15:01ZArtificial intelligence can be used to design engaging and interactive public art<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536724/original/file-20230711-29-7uc6gy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C33%2C4500%2C2957&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prismatica, an art installation displayed in 2015 in Montréal's Quartier des Spectacles.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/artificial-intelligence-can-be-used-to-design-engaging-and-interactive-public-art" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Montréal’s public art program attracts people to specific locations throughout the city, encouraging visitors to linger. This helps stimulate the economy, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/downtown-montreal-public-spaces-economy-covid-19-1.5657502">as people often also visit nearby retailers</a>. </p>
<p>Interactive artworks in Montréal’s public spaces range from <a href="https://wireframe.ca/portfolio-item/sound-sculpture/">audiovisual sound sculptures</a> and <a href="https://www.mtl.org/en/experience/luminotherapie">light installations</a> to <a href="https://massivart.com/project/public-urban-art-installation-montreal/">engaging and playful experiences</a>. But while these installations are entertaining, there is often a certain uniformity across these different works. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.apa.org/members/content/social-media-research">The rise of social media</a> has encouraged people <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/instagrammable">to look for Instagrammable</a> experiences and TikTok-worthy content. As a result, many public art installations in Montréal have been designed with social media visuals in mind.</p>
<h2>Artificial creativity</h2>
<p>Artificial intelligence (AI) is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/ai-statistics/">increasingly incorporated</a> into every aspect of our lives, <a href="https://hai.stanford.edu/news/ai-will-transform-teaching-and-learning-lets-get-it-right">including education</a>, <a href="https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9402-artificial-intelligence-business-trends.html">business</a>, <a href="https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/artificial-intelligence-healthcare">health</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/sci-fi-shows-like-westworld-and-altered-carbon-offer-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-urban-transportation-179916">transportation</a> <a href="https://devtechnosys.com/insights/ai-in-gaming/">and entertainment</a>.</p>
<p>The art realm also benefits from what <a href="https://aelaschool.com/en/art/artificial-intelligence-art-changes/">AI has to offer</a>. Montréal has featured AI-powered artworks and continues to support arts and innovation. For instance, <a href="https://iregular.io/work/faces/"><em>Faces</em></a> by digital art studio <a href="https://iregular.io/studio/">Iregular</a> uses a facial recognition algorithm that collects images of visitors to create a continuously evolving portrait. </p>
<p>Another Iregular work, <a href="https://iregular.io/work/our-common-home/"><em>Our Common Home</em></a>, uses computer vision and AI technologies to speculate on the human impact on the planet. Their goal is <a href="https://expo2020.canada.ca/media/shaping-the-future-of-interactive-art.html">to create awareness</a> with four installations that are experienced in massive public displays. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrN-eezK_8l","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Opportunities and dangers</h2>
<p>Public spaces can help urban residents engage with the community, make social connections and have exciting experiences. Digital technologies, when incorporated into the public realm, have the potential to reshape the <a href="https://repository.corp.at/661/">urban experience</a>. </p>
<p>Creating interactions in public space turns the urban space into a playful and social venue that could attract residents of all ages. However, there are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-34292-9_16">challenges when designing interactive urban installations</a>. These include the potential that some people may find installations with an audio component disturbing, installations with lights may be less visible during the day and audience safety must be managed.</p>
<p>Another critical challenge is accessibility. Urban spaces should <a href="https://urbandesignlab.in/redefining-universal-design-in-public-spaces/">incorporate universal design principles</a> to support the development of <a href="https://futurecitiescanada.ca/portal/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/fcc-eg-publicspaces-accessible-eng--oct-2022-uae-secured.pdf">accessible and inclusive public spaces</a>.</p>
<p>Including art in public spaces also raises the question of who the decision-makers and stakeholders are. <a href="https://effetquebec.ca/en/trends/interactive-installations-in-public-spaces/">Often, a government agency commissions local artists for specifically tailored artworks</a>, but some argue for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/artblog/2008/may/11/artinpublicspacesshouldbe">a more democratic approach</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.13381">Other conflicts could occur</a>, such as whether public art is the right tool to reconstruct public spaces or whether the public should contribute to the artworks.</p>
<p>Interactive installations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9765-3_9">can increase public engagement and create community dialogues</a>. Diverse AI technologies, such as machine learning and generative AI, can provide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2021.04.087">dynamic experiences in public spaces</a>.</p>
<p>AI could support the development of urban communities in terms of not only arts but also mobility, education and health care. For instance, AI can directly obtain data from the surrounding environment to create a real-time experience such as <a href="https://www.geotab.com/blog/future-of-transportation/">intelligent transportation systems</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/SCIOT50840.2020.9250204">public interactions powered by augmented reality</a> and <a href="https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/773961">inclusive, safe and environmentally adaptive structures</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CtUzUEwg1AS","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>This can even foster learning in the public sphere. The rapidly increasing hype around AI technologies <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.825625">generates curiosity and attracts audiences</a>. Incorporating interactive installations that offer entertaining, educative and exciting experiences could contribute to more equitable and sustainable cities.</p>
<p>On the other hand, adopting AI technologies in the public realm raises issues surrounding <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2016.06.004">consent and privacy</a> and the <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/cloud-ethics">role of algorithms in society</a>.</p>
<h2>Interactive experiences</h2>
<p>Even though we only just started to see AI artworks in the public realm, artists and designers are already using AI’s many features, such as data generation and image processing to create unique works. Specifically, in interactive works, AI enhances the experience by creating stimulating engagements with the audience. </p>
<p>Japanese interaction designer <a href="https://www.tomokihara.com/">Tomo Kihara</a> and U.K.-based design studio <a href="https://studioplayfool.com/">Playfool</a> collaborated on <a href="https://deviationgame.com/"><em>Deviation Game</em></a>. This multimedia installation includes a digital game that prints the results. </p>
<p><em>Deviation Game</em> exemplifies a participatory engagement where players digitally interact with each other and the AI algorithm. The game requires players to describe randomly given words by drawing on a screen. The goal is to draw the figures in a way that other human players can guess, while making them incomprehensible to the AI algorithm. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="three people sitting around a projection screen, one is drawing on a tablet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538544/original/file-20230720-15-sd93cy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Deviation Game</em> requires players to draw images on a tablet with the aim of deceiving an AI.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(S. Maruyama)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another example of interactive AI work is <a href="https://infratonal.com/portfolio_page/intention/"><em>Intention</em></a> by <a href="https://infratonal.com/about-2/">French artist Louk Amidou</a>, which uses generative AI to respond to gestures. </p>
<p>It exhibits an individual engagement mode, allowing visitors to play with the digital forms. <em>Intention</em> uses AI, interaction design, digital art and electronic music to produce a multi-sensory experience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a photo showing a human hand reaching for a computer-generated image" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535636/original/file-20230704-17-u71i6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A screenshot from <em>Intention</em>, an interactive installation by French artist Louk Amidou.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(L. Amidou)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These two examples create unique and engaging interactive experiences by involving the audience in the creation process. </p>
<h2>Playful cities</h2>
<p>Artists and public space programmers can take certain actions to create <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/MTS.2020.2967486">ethically and morally responsible</a> machine learning practices. Computer scientists are developing human-centred approaches to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5679-1_49">privacy</a> for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neucom.2020.06.149">smart applications</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3408308.3427605">risk assessment tools</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/DPRG-03-2022-0023">data-driven approaches for smart cities</a> and more. </p>
<p>It wouldn’t hurt if interactive urban installations used AI to become more playful, entertaining and even educational. It would reshape public spaces and turn them into engaging activities for locals and tourists. AI certainly promises interesting features for improving these installations, if only being designed responsibly.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209104/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmela Cucuzzella receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Burcu Olgen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Interactive artworks are frequently seen in Montréal’s public spaces, providing sensory interactions. While these installations are entertaining in some way, there is a certain monotony in them.Burcu Olgen, PhD Student, Research Assistant, Concordia UniversityCarmela Cucuzzella, Professor Design and Computation Arts, Université de MontréalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2090942023-07-11T17:01:14Z2023-07-11T17:01:14ZNew report suggests there’s no real effort to end racial profiling in Montréal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536409/original/file-20230709-4906-1lvz4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1958&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A police cruiser is shown in a Montréal park in September 2020</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/new-report-suggests-theres-no-real-effort-to-end-racial-profiling-in-montreal" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/06/22/montreal-police-spvm-street-checks-racial-profiling-second-report/">A damning new report</a> on racial profiling in Montréal suggests the city and its police force have given up on fighting the problem.</p>
<p>An update to a 2019 study, <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-police-chief-rejects-street-check-moratorium-despite-racial-profiling-data-1.6452248">the report</a> — authored by three independent researchers hired by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) — found that rates of racial profiling were either the same or higher than four years earlier, with Black, Indigenous and Arab people still particularly susceptible to being stopped by police. </p>
<p>As such, the report points to problems not just with the SPVM, but with the city administration that has long promised to curtail racist policing practices.</p>
<p>The problem of racial profiling can be <a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/robyn-maynard-police-violence-legacy-of-racial-and-economic-injustice">traced to the beginnings of policing</a> in North America, but it has nevertheless acquired more public attention in the last 10 to 15 years. </p>
<h2>Montréal’s history of racial profiling</h2>
<p>In Montréal, a city with <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/a-timeline-of-police-violence-against-people-of-colour-in-montreal">a long history of protests against police racism and violence</a>, the police killing of Fredy Villanueva in a city park in 2008 sparked widespread demonstrations. It did so in part because it occurred in the midst of a campaign of incredibly racist policing in an area in the city’s north-east.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman weeps into a handful of tissues." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lilian Villanueva, mother of Fredy Villanueva, reacts to the coroner’s report on the death of her son at a news conference in 2013 in Montréal. Villanueva was shot and killed by police in a park in Montréal in 2008.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An <a href="https://pdf.lapresse.ca/lapresse/charest.pdf">internal report by the SPVM</a> revealed that police had stopped as many as 40 per cent of young Black men in the north-east neighbourhoods of Saint-Michel and Montréal-Nord in 2006 and 2007. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/fr/publications/profilage-racial-et-discrimina-1">lengthy and damning report</a> on racial profiling by the Québec Human Rights Commission followed in 2011, while a series of shorter reports appeared over the next five years.</p>
<p>While these protests and reports challenged the SPVM, the task of combatting racial profiling ultimately belongs to the governments that oversee the police, especially the city of Montréal. </p>
<p>The city’s first major response to the increasing criticism of the SPVM was to hold <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02722011.2020.1831139">a major public consultation</a> on racial profiling in 2017. The consultation provided a venue for a wide range of community organizations, activists and researchers to call for police reform.</p>
<p>Among these demands were calls to strengthen police oversight and discipline, abolish arbitrary police stops and partially transfer police spending to community-based safety initiatives.</p>
<p>The city balked at these demands, but took the unprecedented step of calling on the SPVM to produce an analysis of police stops by racial group, a key indicator of racial profiling. The SPVM agreed to the demand and soon hired the three independent researchers to provide a report. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A protester in a parka holds up a sign decrying racial profiling by police." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People attend a protest in Montréal in February 2021 calling for justice for a Black man who was wrongfully arrested by police and jailed for six days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Action soon?</h2>
<p>In a sense, the city kicked the can down the road. Concrete action, Montréalers were told, would await a more detailed assessment of the problem, but there would be action soon. </p>
<p>In the meantime, a new city administration took power as Valérie Plante was elected mayor and her Projet Montréal won a majority of seats in the November 2017 election. Following the election, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-report-fail-address-racial-profile-1.4416461">Plante said</a> combating “social and racial profiling” would be a priority of her administration.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark-haired woman gestures with her hands as she speaks into a microphone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante speaks during a news conference in Montréal in August 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The analysis of police stops promised in 2017 was finally completed in 2019. Known as <a href="https://spvm.qc.ca/upload/Rapport_Armony-Hassaoui-Mulone.pdf">the Armony Report</a>, the study found that Black and Indigenous people were more than four times as likely than white people to be stopped by police, while Arab people were twice as likely to be stopped. </p>
<p>Looking at gender, the report also found that Indigenous women were 11 times more likely to be stopped than white women. </p>
<p>With the assessment complete, it was time for the city to act. Rather than listening to community demands, however, the Projet Montréal administration invested its hopes in a new police stops policy. </p>
<p>The policy, introduced in July 2020, stipulates that police stops must not be discriminatory and must be based on “observable facts” that justify the stop. The policy was widely criticized at the time as it simply reiterated the anti-discrimination provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. </p>
<p>Many (<a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-new-montreal-police-policy-wont-stop-racial-profiling">including myself</a>) also observed that police could always find “observable facts” to justify a stop motivated by other, discriminatory criteria.</p>
<h2>Backing the police</h2>
<p>Since 2020, Plante’s administration has repeatedly touted the police stops policy as a strong antidote to racial profiling. For example, Plante cited the policy in February 2023, when she was called to testify in a class-action lawsuit against the city and the SPVM for racial profiling. </p>
<p>Pointing to the policy, <a href="https://www.noovo.info/nouvelle/action-collective-pour-profilage-racial-temoignage-de-la-mairesse-de-montreal.html">she testified</a> that her team was “very proactive and works very hard on racial profiling.”</p>
<p>This narrative, already disputed, was fully discredited when the updated report on racial profiling was released in June 2023.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Black bald man gestures as he speaks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dan Philip, president of the Black Coalition of Québec, responds to a question during a news conference in Montreal in 2019 after a judge authorized a racial profiling class-action lawsuit against the city.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://spvm.qc.ca/upload/02/Rapport_final_2e_mandat.pdf">It found</a> Black people are now 3.6 times more likely to be stopped by police than white people (a modest decline from 2019), Arab people are 2.6 times more likely to be stopped (a modest increase), and Indigenous people are now six times more likely to be stopped (a major increase).</p>
<p>If anyone was expecting a mea culpa from the city about its meagre efforts to combat racial profiling, they were disappointed. Plante, who said she was shocked by the 2019 report, has yet to comment publicly on the new findings. </p>
<p>Her colleague Alain Vaillancourt, the city Executive Committee member responsible for the police, simply <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/793501/malgre-un-rapport-extremement-critique-le-spvm-maintient-les-interpellations-policieres">said he supports the city’s police director</a> and feels “comfortable” with his plan to change the “culture” of the SPVM. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1672250179611684864"}"></div></p>
<p>The city’s response to racial profiling seems to have entered a new phase. After delaying action in 2017 and implementing a toothless new policy in 2019, the city seems content to leave the problem in the hands of the police director and abdicate its role in overseeing the police on behalf of the population. </p>
<p>In a city with a long history of protest against police racism and violence, this stance is unacceptable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Rutland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Montréal’s response to a new report on racial profiling shows little appetite for change.Ted Rutland, Associate professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022922023-04-10T15:50:14Z2023-04-10T15:50:14ZThe first Asian screenwriter in Hollywood’s 1920s ‘dream factory,’ Winnifred Eaton, challenged its racism<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-first-asian-screenwriter-in-hollywood-s-1920s--dream-factory---winnifred-eaton--challenged-its-racism" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>A century before Michelle Yeoh became the <a href="https://ew.com/awards/oscars/michelle-yeoh-first-asian-woman-best-actress-oscars-2023/#">first Asian woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress</a>, the daughter of a Chinese mother and a white English father, <a href="https://www.winnifredeatonarchive.org/timeline.html">Winnifred Eaton</a>, was working behind the scenes in Hollywood.</p>
<p>Winnifred Eaton, often credited in Hollywood as Winnifred Reeve, was born in Montréal in 1875. She wrote and adapted scores of screenplays for MGM and Universal Studios, where she was literary advisor and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OfDfcOyACfz2JBg4A8L4x5f9-nKZuZuf/view?usp=share_link">editor-in-chief</a> from 1925 to 1930. </p>
<p>Eaton was the first Asian screenwriter in Hollywood, and the first Asian — and first woman — to head a Hollywood script department. </p>
<p>Together with a team of scholars, including Joey Takeda and Jean Lee Cole, <a href="https://www.winnifredeatonarchive.org/">we are digitizing</a> Eaton’s surviving screenplays so that her role in Hollywood, and the tradition of Asians in Hollywood, from Eaton to Yeoh, can be better understood.</p>
<p>Eaton was an advocate for more sympathetic depictions of women, the working classes and some racialized people, but also complicit in her era’s racism and sexism. That her efforts to hold space for Asian characters and themes were ultimately rejected by Hollywood speaks volumes about its refusal to accept Asians <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/hollywood#section_5">in its Golden Age</a>.</p>
<h2>Early career</h2>
<p>Eaton’s mother, Achuen Amoy, was born in China, and, as our <a href="https://www.winnifredeatonarchive.org/timeline.html">research</a> has uncovered, toured the world as a child apprentice to a Chinese acrobatic troupe. After returning to China, she met and married English silk importer Edward Eaton. The Eatons lived in England and New York before settling in Montréal.</p>
<p>Soon after Canada introduced the <a href="https://humanrights.ca/story/chinese-head-tax-and-chinese-exclusion-act">Chinese Head Tax</a> in 1885, Eaton’s sister <a href="http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/eaton_edith_maud_14E.html">Edith Eaton</a> began to publish sympathetic fictional and journalistic portraits of North American Chinatowns under the pen name “Sui Sin Far.”</p>
<p>Winnifred Eaton, however, began her career as an author at the height of <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/j/japonisme">the western popularization of Japanese art and design</a> in a context of orientalism and racism. She published bestselling novels under the faux-Japanese pen-name “Onoto Watanna,” a problematic persona she assumed in 1896 and later came to regret.</p>
<p>Eaton’s second novel <a href="https://www.winnifredeatonarchive.org/JapaneseNightingale6.html"><em>A Japanese Nightingale</em></a> (1901) was an immediate bestseller, translated into several languages, and made <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009237/">into a film</a> in 1918.</p>
<h2>Screenwriting success</h2>
<p>Yet Eaton was much more than the author of formulaic Japanese romances. Like many early 20th-century novelists and playwrights, Eaton recognized the movie industry desperately needed writers with an ear for dialogue as it moved <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-celebrity-cameos-from-sunset-boulevard-to-eurovision-song-contest-139735">from its silent era into the “talkies.”</a> </p>
<p>It also needed writers with perspectives on what were seen as exotic locales, the sites of cultural collision and exchange that were at the heart of the early “dream factory.” </p>
<p>As performing arts scholar Vito Adriaensens <a href="https://wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/winnifred-eaton/">has uncovered</a>, Eaton optioned her first story to the Selig Polyscope Company in 1914. </p>
<p>Later that decade, Eaton won a screenwriting contest. Writing as Winifred Reeve, she earned her first screenwriting credit for the 1921 Universal feature <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0012151/"><em>False Kisses</em></a>. By the early 1920s, Eaton had moved with her second husband to Alberta where she continued to write. </p>
<h2>Credited on only five films</h2>
<p>During this period, Eaton wrote scores of scripts, including several for starlets <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0679907/">Mary Philbin</a> and Mary Nolan. </p>
<p>Universal Studios referred to Eaton as “an instrument of salvage” who could go into its “morgues” and “garb” abandoned scripts in “modern <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2252497792?accountid=5705">screen attire</a>.” </p>
<p>However, in the collaborative world of Hollywood, where much writing labour remains invisible, Eaton received screenwriting credit for only <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Literary_Voices_of_Winnifred_Eaton.html?id=OZyDyPZQprYC&redir_esc=y">five films</a>. </p>
<p>Many of the films we know she worked on, for example <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020393/"><em>Shanghai Lady</em>, </a><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020850/"><em>East is West</em></a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026097/"><em>Barbary Coast</em></a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028654/"><em>Borneo</em></a>, featured Asian characters, but these were played by <a href="https://www.sfreporter.com/movies/2022/05/04/yellowface-asian-whitewashing-and-racism-in-hollywood/">white actors in yellowface</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-blackface-97987">The problem with blackface</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Censored scripts</h2>
<p>Eaton’s depictions of race and gender often aligned with the outdated standards of the time. That said, as literature scholar Jean Lee Cole <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Literary_Voices_of_Winnifred_Eaton.html?id=OZyDyPZQprYC&redir_esc=y">has argued</a>, multiple drafts of screenplays reveal Eaton’s efforts to create sympathetic racialized characters, particularly women, and to depict interracial relationships. </p>
<p>However, these efforts were often rejected or written out by later screenwriters and editors, or censored by <a href="https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/early-hollywood-and-hays-code/">1930s production codes</a>. </p>
<p>Cole compared scripts in <a href="https://searcharchives.ucalgary.ca/winnifred-eaton-reeve-fonds">Eaton’s papers</a> with their final filmed versions and noted how other writers and producers revised Eaton’s scripts to conform to existing <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Literary_Voices_of_Winnifred_Eaton.html?id=OZyDyPZQprYC&redir_esc=y">“film formulas that reified male dominance, class hierarchies, and racial purity.</a>” </p>
<p>Upon seeing the revised script for <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026097/">Barbary Coast</a></em>, Eaton wrote <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Literary_Voices_of_Winnifred_Eaton.html?id=OZyDyPZQprYC&redir_esc=y">“I really feel sick … I feel as if I don’t want my name on this</a>.” </p>
<h2>Brilliant novel ‘Cattle’ critiqued colonialism</h2>
<p>Eaton’s film treatment for her brilliant 1923 novel <a href="https://www.winnifredeatonarchive.org/Cattle2.html"><em>Cattle</em></a> made a daring critique of the violence, racism and sexism undergirding settler colonialism. </p>
<p>In Eaton’s story, a rancher steals cattle from local Indigenous communities and unleashes violence on his illegitimate Stoney Nakoda son and rapes his housemaid. A Chinese cook achieves justice when he loosens the gates so his abusive boss’s starving cattle can run free, and one of them gores the rancher to death. </p>
<p>However, in a <a href="https://searcharchives.ucalgary.ca/cattle-wild-seed-treatment-draft">revision</a> of Eaton’s <a href="https://searcharchives.ucalgary.ca/cattle-treatment-synopsis">treatment</a>, another writer eliminated the cook’s role. Paramount then scuttled the project because of the story’s sympathetic portrayal of a mother raising her illegitimate child. A film of <em>Cattle</em> was never made. </p>
<h2>Hollywood ambivalence</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A woman seen with a bob haircut in black and white photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519880/original/file-20230406-14-3bmvu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hollywood cast Anna May Wong as Indigenous characters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikipedia)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As <em>Everything Everywhere All at Once</em> actor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VquCKgx_5o">James Hong recalled</a>, early Hollywood was not a welcoming place for Asian actors and writers, despite its fascination with Asian settings and topics. If Asian actors were given roles, these were often as villains or in other stereotyped racialized roles. </p>
<p>Chinese American actress <a href="https://doi.org/10.5790/hongkong/9789888139637.001.0001">Anna May Wong</a> (1905-1961) played Indigenous characters in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014655/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt"><em>The Alaskan</em> (1924)</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015224/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk"><em>Peter Pan</em> (1924)</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A man in black and white photo in a suit." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519877/original/file-20230406-18-alptew.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sessue Hayakawa was a silent film star and in 1957 was nominated for an Oscar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Wikipedia)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/sessue-hayakawa">Sessue Hayakawa</a> (1886-1973), the <a href="https://twitter.com/TIFF_NET/status/1394350247229407237">first big-screen heartthrob or sex symbol</a> and first Japanese actor nominated for an Oscar, told Eaton in an <a href="https://www.winnifredeatonarchive.org/WhatHappenedHayakawa1.html">1929 interview</a>, he “did not like the stories [he] was required to play.” He also told Eaton he left Hollywood in 1922 in protest because he had been called a racial slur. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/early-hollywood-and-hays-code">Hays Code</a>, introduced in 1930, made things worse for actors of Asian backgrounds when it forbade featuring non-white actors in romantic on-screen relationships with white actors. </p>
<h2>New edition of ‘Cattle’</h2>
<p>Eaton left Hollywood in 1931. While she continued to write screenplays, there is no evidence any of her later scripts were produced. </p>
<p>This July, scholars will gather in Calgary, Alta., with Eaton’s descendants including biographer <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/?id=p073885">Diana Birchall</a> for a <a href="https://weaconference.sites.olt.ubc.ca/">conference</a> open to the public to discuss Eaton’s career and to launch a new <a href="https://invisiblepublishing.com/product/cattle/">edition</a> of <em>Cattle</em> on the centenary of its publication.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202292/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Chapman receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sydney Lines does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A team of scholars is digitizing the scripts of Eaton, the Montréal-born daughter of a Chinese mother and an English silk importer father.Mary Chapman, Professor of English and Academic Director of the Public Humanities Hub, University of British ColumbiaSydney Lines, Public Scholar and PhD Candidate in English Language and Literatures, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1991682023-03-22T19:58:14Z2023-03-22T19:58:14ZCentring race: Why we need to think about gentrification differently<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515348/original/file-20230314-6490-w1cjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C4896%2C3202&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A poster highlighting rising rental costs due to gentrification in Hackney, London. Gentrification often results in the dislocation of marginalized communities who can no longer afford to live in their communities. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/centring-race--why-we-need-to-think-about-gentrification-differently" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>When we think of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Gentrification/Lees-Slater-Wyly/p/book/9780415950374">gentrification</a>, we often think of how a neighbourhood’s demographics and landscape are transformed. Luxury apartment blocks replace single family homes. Trendy cafes replace independent businesses. Affluent families and businesses move in, often pushing out longstanding residents who can’t afford to stay.</p>
<p>Over the decades, gentrification has had a significant impact on cities across the world. <a href="https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/new-york-neighborhood-gentrification-new-report">One 2016 study</a> by New York University on the city’s gentrifying neighborhoods estimated that some of them had seen an average rent increase of 78.7 per cent between 1990 and 2014, compared to 22.1 per cent citywide. New York consistently ranks among <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/12/world-most-expensive-cities/">the most expensive cities in the world</a>, along with Singapore, Zurich and Hong Kong.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/urban-lab/news/2015/jan/how-ruth-glass-shaped-way-we-approach-our-cities">When gentrification was first introduced into our vocabulary a few decades ago</a>, it was used to describe the economic dimensions of neighbourhood changes. But more recently, it has become clear that gentrification has dramatic effects on racialized communities in particular.</p>
<p>From <a href="https://www.bcnuej.org/2020/03/24/how-one-of-montreals-poorest-neighborhoods-became-ripe-for-green-gentrification/">Montréal</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/black-homeowners-gentrification.html">New York</a>, <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/black-women-leaving-london">London</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/remembering-hogan-s-alley-hub-of-vancouver-s-black-community-1.3448080">Vancouver</a>, and elsewhere, racialized people continue to disproportionately feel the detrimental impacts of urban development and gentrification.</p>
<p>In the context of <a href="https://inequality.org/facts/inequality-and-covid-19/">growing inequalities prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic</a>, skyrocketing housing prices and racial unrest, the process of gentrification and its sociocultural effects on communities of colour is especially pertinent right now.</p>
<h2>Montréal’s Chinatown</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Chinese style red and gold gateway above a road." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515350/original/file-20230314-4703-hx0f7a.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the paifangs that mark the entrance to Montréal’s Chinatown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once a refuge where Chinese immigrants could celebrate their culture and enjoy a sense of belonging, Montréal’s Chinatown has faced a number of <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/chinese-canadian-history/montreal_chinatown_en.html">threats from gentrification over the past 50 years</a>. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the neighborhood was downsized to make space for developments like the Complexe Guy Favreau, Complexe Desjardins and the Place du Quartier.</p>
<p>Construction of the Complexe Guy Favreau led to the demolition of several buildings used by the Chinese community including churches and grocery stores. These major urban projects eventually propelled <a href="https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2021/11/the-struggle-to-save-quebecs-last-chinatown/">the displacement of Chinese families</a>. In their stead, whiter and wealthier people and businesses moved in.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.canvasjournal.ca/read/the-aestheticization-of-chinatown-a-sociopolitical-account-of-montreals-paifangs">The construction of four paifangs</a> — a type of traditional Chinese gateway — in 1999 marked the beginning of Chinatown’s estheticization. Signaling a desire to create marketable authenticity, <a href="https://mcgilltribune.com/constructing-chinatown/">the arches grew out of orientalist representations of Chinese culture</a> and a wish to promote the area’s fantasized “Chineseness” to tourists.</p>
<p>In addition, the municipality installed the paifangs following expropriations and redevelopments responsible for <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8590373/montreal-chinatown-future-at-risk/">the erasure of the Parc de la Pagode, three Chinese churches, many local businesses and an entire residential area</a>. Through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-013-0297-1">the marketization of Chinese exoticized “otherness,”</a> the arches have become symbolic of the redevelopment that has turned Montréal’s Chinatown into a tourist destination where Chinese culture is reduced to a spectacle for Western consumption.</p>
<h2>Brooklyn’s Crown Heights</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The top of a row of buildings in New York." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515351/original/file-20230315-4237-ams0aa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Buildings along Bedford Avenue in Crown Heights, New York. The neighbourhood’s gentrification has led to many racialized long-time residents being priced out of their homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Located in the east of Brooklyn, New York, <a href="https://wp.nyu.edu/crownheights/history-and-geography/crown-heights-from-the-1950s-to-today/">Crown Heights has been historically home to a large West Indian, Caribbean and Hasidic Jewish working-class population</a>. For more than two decades, the neighborhood has witnessed the arrival of high-income, predominantly white renters. Over the last decade, <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/northern-crown-heights-doubled-its-white-population-decade">while the neighborhood’s Black population dropped, its white population has doubled</a>. That has led to many racialized long-time residents <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/nyregion/gentrification-in-a-brooklyn-neighborhood-forces-residents-to-move-on.html">being priced out</a> of their homes and businesses.</p>
<p>Particularly noteworthy are the changes that came to Crown Heights’ dining scene, with the establishment of new and sometimes controversial restaurants. One such establishment, Summerhill, opened in 2017. The restaurant, <a href="https://gothamist.com/food/new-crown-heights-restaurant-proudly-advertises-cocktail-next-to-bullet-hole-ridden-wall">branded as a “boozy sandwich shop,”</a> was owned by Becca Brennan, a white newcomer from Canada. Soon after opening, the restaurant faced backlash after <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/brooklyn-bullet-hole-walls-racism-becca-brennan-1.4217971">Brennan advertised her cocktails next to a “bullet hole-ridden wall”</a> — remnants of a rumoured backroom illegal gun shop, Brennan claimed. She was accused by long-term residents of downplaying poverty and racism while fetishizing the area’s violent history.</p>
<p>New restaurants and businesses — owned by and catering to wealthier outsiders who are indifferent to the local history — often act as a renewed form of violence and exclusion for local communities. Following intense resistance, Summerhill eventually closed its doors.</p>
<h2>Gentrification is about more than housing</h2>
<p>Ethnic enclaves, such as Chinatown and Crown Heights, have long served as safe spaces for marginalized immigrants and racialized communities. But many are now disappearing as cities look to maximize their profit and attractiveness. With gentrification, those areas are turned into an environment that caters to upper-middle-class white norms, tastes and sensibilities. </p>
<p>At the same time, what’s perceived as “authentic” or “ethnic” often acts as a gentrification booster. By turning local cultures into commodities for consumers, gentrification manifests a broader effort to rebrand our cities. </p>
<p>It is an effort that denies racialized people cultural ownership over their own spaces. As such, gentrification is about much more than housing or physical displacement: it is also about <a href="https://shelterforce.org/2017/08/23/cultural-ramifications-gentrification-new-orleans/">cultural appropriation</a> and racial exclusion.</p>
<p>Gentrification is a complex, multi-faceted and multi-layered phenomenon. As gentrification expands and intensifies, it is essential that we develop definitions that accurately reflect such complexity and address the ways race and racism inform the process. We need to think about how white privilege and gentrification configure one another.</p>
<p>We also have to consider the role played by corporate and institutional forces in the cultural displacement and social dislocation of racialized communities. Last but not least, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/15356841211054790">we need to place gentrification in a broader and ongoing history of racial violence</a>. In order to stop gentrification from perpetuating racial segregation within cities, its racial dynamics need to be discussed and addressed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199168/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mieko Tarrius receives funding from Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FRQSC). Mieko Tarrius is a Policy Researcher Fellow at the Office of the Manhattan Borough President.</span></em></p>Gentrification is often used to describe the economic impacts of urban development. However, racialized communities in particular disproportionately feel its detrimental impacts.Mieko Tarrius, Ph.D. Candidate in Geography and Urban Studies, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2011312023-03-08T20:56:07Z2023-03-08T20:56:07ZMontreal Gazette: A case for the local ownership of community news media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513834/original/file-20230306-1219-30sx50.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2941%2C1881&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Copies of the 'Montreal Gazette' are shown on a newsstand in Montréal on Feb. 16, 2023. Local Montréal businessman Mitch Garber has expressed interest in buying the newspaper. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Montréalers awoke on Feb. 16 to the news that a local <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/businessman-mitch-garber-pitches-taking-over-montreal-gazette-as-paper-faces-more-cuts-1.6276114">businessman and lawyer was trying to buy the <em>Montreal Gazette</em></a>, the city’s only anglophone daily newspaper.</p>
<p>No doubt many missed this news in the swirl of information at our fingertips, especially considering the <em>Gazette</em> is now a mere shadow of its former self. </p>
<p>The latest indignity the <em>Gazette</em> faced was a series of layoffs. Initially, <a href="https://rover.substack.com/p/postmedia-scales-back-gazette-layoffs">10-12 layoffs were expected</a>, but the hit was scaled back to six after <a href="https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/02/12/petition-postmedia-montreal-gazette/">public pressure</a>, leaving just <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/advisory-council-will-keep-journalists-in-the-newsroom-at-montreal-gazette-postmedia-1.6287942">32 journalists and three managers</a> covering a metropolitan area of four million.</p>
<p>This marks a tremendous change for the <em>Gazette</em>, whose well-known writers have included <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mordecai-richler">Order of Canada recipient Mordecai Richler</a>. Its fame has even been enshrined in bronze, in the form of a statue of a man reading the newspaper that stands in one of the city’s anglophone enclaves.</p>
<h2>News industry challenges</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A statue of a man leaning against a building and reading a newspaper" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513822/original/file-20230306-14-igwd0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A statue in Westmount, Que. of a man reading the ‘Montreal Gazette.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <em>Gazette</em> has suffered the familiar challenges of the news industry. It hasn’t been locally owned since 1968 <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/montreal-gazette">when it was bought by Southam</a>. A list of chain owners followed: Hollinger acquired it in 1996, Canwest in 2000 and Postmedia in 2010. </p>
<p>In 2014, 100 people lost their jobs when printing was outsourced. But the real damage came after Chatham Asset Management, a New Jersey hedge fund, acquired a two-thirds stake in Postmedia in 2016. The <em>New York Times</em> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/business/media/hedge-fund-chatham-mcclatchy-postmedia-newspapers.html">reported that Postmedia cut 1,600 jobs across Canada</a> in the first four years of Chatham’s ownership. </p>
<p>As a society we have expressed concern about newspapers that have closed — 470 of them since 2008 in Canada, <a href="https://localnewsmap.geolive.ca/">according to the Local News Research Project</a>. But we are increasingly paying attention to the growth of <a href="https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/loss-of-local-news/the-rise-of-the-ghost-newspaper/">“ghost newspapers”</a> — publications that still exist, but whose newsgathering activities have shrivelled to almost nothing. </p>
<p>The <em>Gazette</em> is certainly not a ghost, producing lots of excellent local coverage every day, but it’s undoubtedly trending ghostward. We also know life is worse in communities with less local news: local journalism <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2013.834253">increases voter turnout</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108950930">reduces polarization</a> and <a href="https://www.cjr.org/q_and_a/investigative-reporting-value.php">saves communities money</a>. </p>
<h2>Mitch Garber’s offer</h2>
<p>This brings us back to the businessperson who offered to purchase the <em>Gazette</em> in February, Mitch Garber. He is an investor and a minority owner of the Seattle Kraken NHL team. </p>
<p>When news of the recent layoffs broke, the <em>Gazette</em> staffers <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2023/02/16/prominent-businessman-mitch-garber-pitches-local-ownership-for-montreal-gazette.html">reached out to him</a> for help. In a series of since-deleted tweets on Feb. 15, Garber declared he would consider buying the newspaper.</p>
<p>“I never really wanted to own a newspaper,” <a href="https://www.iheartradio.ca/cjad/audio/mitch-garber-explains-importance-of-montreal-gazette-calls-out-advisory-council-1.19260566">he told CJAD radio</a>. “Do I have a plan? No. But I want to do what I can to help,” he <a href="https://rover.substack.com/p/knives-out-at-the-montreal-gazette">told <em>The Rover</em></a>. “I am a capitalist, I believe in smart investments and I know that investing in the print news business isn’t a big money-making investment. But some things are more important than money and I think this city needs an English language daily.” </p>
<p>Postmedia CEO Andrew MacLeod <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/postmedia-ceo-not-sure-it-s-the-right-time-for-local-ownership-of-montreal-gazette-1.6277293">dismissed the offer</a>, noting that sharing printing, distribution and stories across newspapers makes it hard to remove one of them. </p>
<p>It’s worth taking Garber’s suggestion seriously, even if not in the short term. Chain ownership might lower costs. If the purpose of a newspaper is to build up local democracy, it’s important to consider what the true cost of these savings is, and whether they outweigh the tremendous shrinkage of the newsroom. I know what my answer is. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man speaks into a microphone while another man, who is bald, looks on" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513845/original/file-20230306-18-h3ki0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Businessman Mitch Garber, right, speaking at a news conference in Montréal in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although Garber has invested in a range of industries, he appears to have no background in media. “Some things are more important than money,” is a promising statement, and anyone who is willing to put their own money on the line to save a community asset has my attention. </p>
<p>But individual owners can be capricious. While local ownership, no matter its structure, brings a level of accountability to the news business, it is worth taking a moment to think about how to actually build a more responsible, community-focused news source. </p>
<h2>Are non-profits the future?</h2>
<p>The <em>Gazette’s</em> local competition offers examples worth examining. <em>La Presse</em>, a French-language, online-only publication became a non-profit in 2018, meaning all profits generated are put back into the editorial process. </p>
<p><em>La Presse’s</em> owners left $50 million in its accounts before the conversion and its circulation <a href="https://nmc-mic.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SNAPSHOT-2022-REPORT_Total-Industry-01.31.2023.pdf">has been rising</a>. </p>
<p><em>Le Devoir</em>, a French-language newspaper published in Montréal, <a href="https://www.lesamisdudevoir.com/fr/les-amis-du-devoir.html">has been owned by a non-profit trust for over 100 years</a>.</p>
<p>Joseph Atkinson left the <em>Toronto Star</em> to a charitable trust in 1948, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/about/history-of-the-toronto-star.html">a move that was overturned by government legislation</a>, but whose charitable spirit was preserved through the trustees <a href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/05/the-toronto-stars-owner-once-dreamed-that-it-would-be-a-nonprofit-now-its-being-sold-to-a-private-equity-firm/">who owned it until recently</a>. </p>
<p>And reaching further back, revenue from the operations and eventual sale of the <em>Toronto Telegram</em> <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1t88wsq">helped support Sick Children’s Hospital</a>. (Today, of course, it’s newspapers that are the charity case.)</p>
<p>South of the border also has plenty of interesting examples. One of the oldest examples is the <em>Tampa Tribune</em>, <a href="https://www.poynter.org/history/">left to a trust by its owner</a>. </p>
<p>H.F. Lenfest, a prominent businessman and benefactor, <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/business/museum-of-the-american-revolution-lenfest-institute-for-journalism-philadelphia-20220419.html">created a non-profit to house <em>The Philadelphia Inquirer</em> in 2016</a> to ensure the newspaper would remain locally owned. Lenfest also created the <a href="https://www.lenfestinstitute.org/">Lenfest Institute for Journalism</a> that same year to fund local journalism.</p>
<p>This non-profit has contributed to what is one of the most vibrant news ecosystems in the United States, a goal that all newspapers should strive for. Anyone talking about bringing a chain newspaper local would do well to examine the history of <em>The Philadelphia Inquirer</em>.</p>
<h2>News media sustainability</h2>
<p>Postmedia is perhaps doing us all a service by putting the brakes on Garber’s offer. <a href="https://www.postmedia.com/2023/02/16/postmedia-announces-gazette-community-advisory-council/">The chain has put together an advisory council</a> to work on promoting the sustainability of the newspaper. </p>
<p>While a little late, this might be a move in the right direction for what should be a community-focused organization. If we’re serious about it, Montréalers would do well to put together our own process to figure out what we want and need from the <em>Gazette</em>. Perhaps this could even lead to a standing community advisory board, a check that a new owner would do well to encourage and listen to.</p>
<p>In any case, we can expect little from Postmedia, especially while Chatham Asset Management is involved. Local ownership seems worth a try. Garber seems like a good candidate, and he would do well to read up on what’s worked elsewhere so that he can ensure the <em>Gazette</em> remains an important local asset.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201131/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Magda Konieczna does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Local media ownership brings a level of accountability to the news business and offers benefits to communities by increasing voter turnout, reducing polarization and saving communities money.Magda Konieczna, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1973682023-01-15T14:37:15Z2023-01-15T14:37:15ZBasquiat: A multidisciplinary artist who denounced violence against African Americans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503457/original/file-20230106-25-uqa0a0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6255%2C2982&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jean-Michel Basquiat's _Toxic_, pictured right, is inspired by the American cartoon and denounces the violence of American society.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(MMFA)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The exhibition <a href="https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/jean-michel-basquiat/">Seeing Loud: Basquiat and Music</a>, currently running at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, demonstrates that the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, which is usually associated with painting, also calls upon other media, including music — the main theme of this exhibition — literature, comic strips, cinema and animation, a much lesser-known aspect of his work.</p>
<p>Basquiat was born in New York in 1960 to a Haitian father and a mother of Puerto Rican descent. In the late 1970s, in collaboration with Al Diaz, he drew enigmatic graffiti <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520383340/reading-basquiat">under the pseudonym SAMO</a>. The artist quickly made a name for himself in the New York art world (becoming friends with Andy Warhol and Madonna, among others). He then produced solo paintings and achieved international fame that continued to grow until his death in 1988.</p>
<p>At the time of the Black Lives Matter movement, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work is more relevant than ever. It highlights racial inequalities and the lack of representation of racialized people in the media, but also the violence suffered by African Americans.</p>
<p>This is what I propose to explore in this article. As a PhD student in literature and performing and screen arts, my research focuses on the interactions between animated film and the visual arts (comics, painting) as well as on the American cartoon.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503146/original/file-20230104-129855-7kcpz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jean-Michel Basquiat with his <em>Klaunstance</em> installation, at the Area, in 1985.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Photo: Ben Buchanan)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Love/hate for the cartoon</h2>
<p>As a child, Basquiat <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520305168/the-jean-michel-basquiat-reader">dreamed of becoming a cartoon animator</a>. When he became a painter, the television was always on while he worked in his studio, <a href="https://niuarts.com/2021/02/tvs-influence-on-the-work-of-jean-michael-basquiat-is-the-subject-of-the-next-elizabeth-allen-visiting-scholars-in-art-history-series/">and regularly ran cartoons</a>. These programmes and films were a great source of inspiration for the artist, who integrated several references to animation and comic strips into his paintings.</p>
<p>One of these works, which can be seen in the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts exhibition, is called <em>Toxic</em> (1984). The painting depicts a Black man with his arms in the air, with a collage in the background that mentions several titles of animated shorts made between 1938 and 1948.</p>
<p>The character is in fact a friend of Basquiat’s, the artist Torrick “Toxic” Ablack. So the <a href="https://www.widewalls.ch/artists/toxic">title of the painting refers to him</a>. However, knowing that Basquiat <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520305168/the-jean-michel-basquiat-reader">played with words and their meanings</a>, “Toxic” could also refer to the relationship he had with the animated films that are mentioned behind the character.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=348&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503155/original/file-20230104-129650-l0k73w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A multidisciplinary artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat was also a musician. The exhibition devoted to him at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts illustrates this aspect of his work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(MMFA)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Could we say that the films are considered toxic by Jean-Michel Basquiat, despite his admiration for them? In fact, I think there is a certain duality in this picture: the artist loves the cartoon, but he hates it at the same time. The dictionary definition of the word <a href="https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/toxic">“toxic”</a> can mean someone or something that likes “to control and influence other people in a dishonest way.” The term therefore implies that the toxic element (the cartoon in this case) is dangerous in a way that isn’t apparent.</p>
<h2>The violence of cartoons</h2>
<p>The cartoon is often associated with childhood, pleasure, eccentricity.</p>
<p>This is a universe where anything is possible: in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-fpqSdSnD0"><em>Gorilla My Dreams</em></a>, directed by Robert McKimson in 1948, for example, the character Bugs Bunny talks, dresses up as a baby and imitates a monkey. It appears innocent. However, the cartoon can also represent the worst of humanity in a very sneaky way through the incredible violence it contains: the characters hunt each other, chase each other, hit each other, cut each other, kill each other and then start again.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G-fpqSdSnD0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Robert McKimson, <em>Gorilla My Dreams</em>, Warner Bros., 1948.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <em>Porky’s Hare Hunt</em>, a film directed by Ben Hardaway in 1938 and quoted in <em>Toxic</em>, the character of Porky is injured by dynamite, abused even though he is in his hospital bed and tries to kill a rabbit. Basquiat, who consumed cartoons every day on television, knew that they were a reflection of 20<sup>th</sup> century American society.</p>
<p>This is an interpretation that could be supported by the title of another of his paintings, which also uses iconography from animation or comics: <em>Television and Cruelty to Animals</em> (1983). This cruelty is also denounced and reproduced in <em>An Opera</em> (1985), which shows Popeye being beaten with the words “ senseless violence ” above his head, as well as in <a href="https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/oeuvres/14684/"><em>A Panel of Experts</em></a> (1982), where we see matchstick men hitting each other right next to an enormous revolver.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503115/original/file-20230104-14-ck5io.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=720&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The painting <em>A Panel of Experts</em>, produced in 1982, denounces cruelty and violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(MMFA, gift of Ira Young. Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Douglas M. Parker)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The violence that Basquiat denounces is so present in the cartoon that it seems, to a certain extent, to have become commonplace, like the violence seen on television newscasts (which he probably watched while he was painting).</p>
<h2>Denouncing racial stereotypes</h2>
<p>These cartoons are also violent because they often perpetuate racial stereotypes (not to mention the many stereotypes related to sexual orientation, gender, sex, body appearance, etc.).</p>
<p>Bob Clampett’s 1940 film <em>Patient Porky</em>, which is also mentioned in <em>Toxic</em>, features a scene in which a elevator attendant grossly and monstrously parodies a Black character. In <em>Untitled (All Stars)</em> (1983), Basquiat cites Max Fleischer’s 1920 film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WXrrOIWZKo"><em>The Chinaman</em></a>, which features a highly caricatured Asian character and Koko the Clown putting makeup on to impersonate him.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_WXrrOIWZKo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Max Fleischer, <em>The Chinaman</em>, Bray Studios, 1920.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By placing elements referring to animation in his compositions, Basquiat attempts to denounce a stereotypical and unfair worldview where <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520305168/the-jean-michel-basquiat-reader">racialized people are portrayed in an unrealistic way</a>. Basquiat said that if he had not been a painter, he would have been a filmmaker and would have told stories where Black people <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520305168/the-jean-michel-basquiat-reader">were portrayed as human beings, not negatively</a>.</p>
<p>So, the title of the painting <em>Toxic</em> carries several meanings. It refers both to the main subject (Torrick “Toxic” Ablack), but also to its relationship to popular culture and to animation, in this case.</p>
<p>The <em>Toxic</em> character has his arms in the air and his hands coloured red. Could it be that this toxic relationship has made his hands dirty? Or, specifically, that the character — because the cartoon has continually portrayed Black people in a pejorative manner — is now being portrayed as a criminal? Indeed, his position indicates that he appears to be under arrest.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503154/original/file-20230104-105026-uxktgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Dog Bite/Ax to Grind</em> (1983).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Licensed by Artestar, New York)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This hypothesis is very likely since Basquiat produced several works denouncing police brutality against African Americans, including <em>The Death of Michael Stewart (Defacement)</em> (1983).</p>
<p>Basquiat died prematurely in 1988 at the age of 27. Other artists from the Black community, such as Montréal painters <a href="https://helloteenadultt.com/">Kezna Dalz, aka Teenadult</a>, <a href="https://www.manuelmathieu.com/">Manuel Mathieu</a>, and animation filmmaker <a href="http://www.martinechartrand.net/">Martine Chartrand</a> have, in their own way, taken up his struggle and continue to fight for greater visibility of Black people in the arts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197368/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Harbour's doctoral research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).</span></em></p>In the age of the Black Lives Matter movement, Basquiat’s work is more relevant than ever. It highlights racial inequality and violence against racialized people.John Harbour, Doctorant en littérature et arts de la scène et de l'écran (concentration cinéma), Université LavalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1958982023-01-09T18:41:38Z2023-01-09T18:41:38ZTwo years after the defund the police movement, police budgets increase across Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503298/original/file-20230105-18-om6zv4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3589%2C2629&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman carries an umbrella outside a protest to defund the police in front of Toronto Police Service headquarters in July 2020. Police budgets have increased, not decreased, since then. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/two-years-after-the-defund-the-police-movement--police-budgets-increase-across-canada" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/15/defund-police-movement-us-victories-what-next">worldwide protests against police racism and violence in the summer of 2020</a> brought greater public attention to police spending. </p>
<p>In city after city, activists and other residents demanded that governments defund the police and reinvest in communities. Public support for this demand was evident in the streets, as well as in public opinion polls that registered <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-and-polls/Canadians-Divided-On-Whether-To-Defund-Police">significant support for defunding the police</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thin-skinned-blue-line-police-fight-against-defunding-showing-their-true-colours-183784">Thin-skinned blue line: Police fight against defunding, showing their true colours</a>
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<p>Despite that support, the demand to defund the police and reinvest in communities has not been implemented in any Canadian city. </p>
<p>In fact, my research shows police budgets have continued to increase in all major cities. A proposal to increase Toronto’s police budget by nearly $50 million, for example, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-police-board-budget-review-1.6707656">has been passed unanimously by the force’s board.</a></p>
<p>There are, however, big differences in the ways cities have addressed spending on policing since 2020, and there are small signs of change that could be built upon in the future.</p>
<h2>Policing spending before and after 2020</h2>
<p>As the illustration below shows, police spending in Canada increased both before and after the 2020 protests. No city, in other words, defunded their police. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph below lists police spending before and after 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503334/original/file-20230105-22-7azblc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A graph shows police spending before and after 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are differences, however, in the amount of the budget increases. Some cities increased police spending at roughly the same rate before and after 2020. Ottawa, Calgary, Durham Region, York Region, Vancouver and Winnipeg fall into this category. </p>
<p>The protests, it seems, had little effect on these cities’ spending decisions. </p>
<p>Two cities, Toronto and Peel Region, increased policing spending at a much lower rate after the 2020 protests. The change is particularly apparent in the case of Toronto, which increased police spending by 11.4 per cent in 2018-2020 and 2.3 per cent in 2020-2022. </p>
<p>Only one city moved in the opposite direction. Montréal, rather than either defunding the police or reducing the rate of budget increases, increased police spending at a much greater rate after 2020 — much more than in the earlier period and more than any other city in Canada. </p>
<h2>Unbudgeted police spending</h2>
<p>While public debates tend to focus on budgeted spending, there are sometimes important differences between police budgets and actual spending. Below, we see the difference between budgeted and actual police spending for the 10 police forces in 2017-2021. As we can see, half of the police forces spent slightly under their allocated budget, while the other half spent more than their budget.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graph shows unbudgeted police spending." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=251&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503335/original/file-20230105-18-31gd4y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A graph shows unbudgeted police spending.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As we can see, half of the police forces spent slightly under their allocated budget, while the other half spent more than their budget.</p>
<p>The major outlier, again, is Montréal. The city went over budget by an average of $29.7 million per year. No other police force came anywhere close to this level of overspending. Vancouver and Peel Region, the closest comparisons, overspent by an average of $2.45 million and $3 million, respectively.</p>
<p>One important source of police overspending is overtime, a normal part of police operations. In some cases, however, police forces incur significantly more overtime than budgeted. </p>
<p>As we can see above, most cities go over budget on overtime. Vancouver, Durham Region, and Ottawa go over budget by over 25 per cent each year, while Montréal more than doubles this rate of overspending. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A police officer is seen from behind outside a convention centre. Police is written on the back of his jacket." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503293/original/file-20230105-16-9diaja.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Montréal police patrol outside the fenced off perimeter of the city’s convention centre ahead of the COP15 UN conference on biodiversity in December 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We can also see, finally, that overtime does not always fully explain police overspending. In the case of Vancouver, Durham Region, Ottawa and Toronto, excess spending on overtime is greater than their overall excess spending. In these cases, then, overtime can be considered a significant reason for their pattern of overspending. </p>
<p>In the case of Montréal, however, excess overtime accounts for just over half of overall excess spending. If the city eliminated excess overtime spending, it would still exceed its overall budget by the largest amount of any Canadian police force.</p>
<h2>Broken promises and pathways forward</h2>
<p>In the midst of the 2020 protests, many elected officials promised to address longstanding problems of police violence and systemic racism. </p>
<p>In various ways, as <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2021/12/13/after-the-2020-protests-we-were-told-things-would-be-different-so-why-are-police-budgets-and-powers-still-expanding.html">Robyn Maynard, author of <em>Policing Black Lives</em>, explains</a>, they promised a “racial reckoning.” Political leaders, Maynard argues, “assured the public that they had heard the demands that drew tens of thousands into the streets for weeks and months.” </p>
<p>My research shows these promises were broken. Despite the protests and strong public support for defunding the police and reinvesting in communities, no such change has occurred in Canada. The promised “racial reckoning” has yet to occur.</p>
<p>It is worth taking notice, however, of the police forces that did implement smaller increases after 2020 and how they did so. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A police officer runs with his gun drawn. A police cruiser and Canadian flags are behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=548%2C0%2C1954%2C1440&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503296/original/file-20230105-20-j0nxbs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Ottawa police officer runs with his weapon drawn in Ottawa in the midst of the Parliament Hill shootings in October 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton all passed smaller police spending increases after 2020, while also channelling funding toward non-police emergency response teams. This involves alternative responses to emergency 911 calls of a social rather than criminal nature. </p>
<p>It’s no surprise to find that the cities that invested in non-police response teams were also the cities that passed the lowest police spending increases since 2020. The potential of non-police response teams to respond to certain categories of emergency calls is enormous. </p>
<h2>Emergency calls diverted</h2>
<p>The city of Seattle found that <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21018129/idt-report-on-reimagining-policing-and-community-safety-in-seattle.pdf">50 to 80 per cent of 911 calls</a> could be diverted to a non-police team, while Canadian police forces have suggested that <a href="https://www.edmonton.ca/public-files/assets/document?path=PDF/SaferForAll-CSWBTaskForce-Report-March30_2021.pdf">between 32 per cent</a> <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/montreal/772079/fady-dagher-promet-un-equilibre-entre-la-repression-et-la-prevention">and 80 per cent</a> of calls could be so diverted. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large crowd of people, some carrying Black Lives Matter signs, approach a line of police officers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503295/original/file-20230105-24-lndl6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this July 2020 photo, police clash with Black Lives Matter protesters in Seattle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other pathways, however, need to be pursued as well. It’s not enough, for example, to respond better to emergency calls pertaining to social issues. The social issues themselves need to be addressed beyond and before any emergency call.</p>
<p>Reinvesting in communities means investing in social housing, mental health care, safe drug consumption sites and other forms of harm reduction. Because these interventions reduce the need for police work, there is a clear case for redirecting police funding toward them. </p>
<p>As cities across Canada evaluate budget priorities for 2023, the broken promises of the last two years and tiny steps toward a different future need to be part of the discussion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195898/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Rutland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows police budgets have continued to increase in all major Canadian cities in the aftermath of the defund the police movement.Ted Rutland, Associate professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1940062023-01-02T12:40:34Z2023-01-02T12:40:34ZStudent and teacher involvement in reforming schooling matters — how Montréal schools are tackling this<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501691/original/file-20221218-11243-y0enmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C206%2C2752%2C1738&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Schooling models designed for the industrial revolution need to change.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you could redesign high school, what might you change? How could the schedule be more flexible? What if teachers worked together as teams? What if groups of students were combined based on interest and given the opportunity to connect learning to their everyday lives? </p>
<p>Noel Burke, the founder of an educational reform initiative in Québec called NEXTschool, has been asking these questions for years. </p>
<p>After working as a teacher, administrator and government official, Burke travelled to innovative high schools in <a href="https://ojc.school.nz/">New Zealand</a> and <a href="https://www.designtechhighschool.org/">Southern California</a> and met with educators throughout Canada with the goal of figuring out how he might help empower schools in Québec to “<a href="http://www.nextschoolquebec.com">better align with the learning needs of students in the 21st century</a>.” </p>
<h2>Designed for industrial revolution</h2>
<p>Like most educational institutions across Canada, Québec English high schools <a href="https://www.edweek.org/education/opinion-theres-nothing-especially-educational-about-factory-style-management/2014/04">retain structures designed for the industrial revolution to support shift work and a culture of management</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Lockers seen in a hallway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501690/original/file-20221218-22-n4klx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High schools need to adapt to today’s challenges and what students need to know for their futures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today though, the realities of students’ lives have transformed, and schools are slowly adapting to a <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=6864">knowledge-based economy</a> and <a href="https://www.cmec.ca/682/global_competencies.html">unpredictable ecological and social challenges</a>.</p>
<p>As part of a <a href="https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/about-au_sujet/index-eng.aspx">Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council</a> funded research project, we belong to a team of researchers from <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/dise/">McGill’s Department of Integrated Studies in Education</a> studying educational change. </p>
<p>Working alongside Burke, we examined new models of education that emphasize learning opportunities that connect to what high school students care about and what they need to know for our future.</p>
<h2>New models for schooling</h2>
<p>These new models often feature <a href="https://www.amle.org/is-your-school-schedule-flexible/">flexible timetabling</a>, <a href="https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl">project-based learning</a>, <a href="https://www.overlake.org/students/policies/cocurricular">co-curricular crediting</a> where students
earn credits for participating in extracurricular activities, and <a href="https://edpolicyinca.org/publications/learning-hubs">learning hubs</a> that offer small groups of students academic and other holistic supports.</p>
<p>To date, we have worked alongside teachers from several local Québec English high schools to consider their creative, context-specific responses to how they’d redesign school. We have also been engaging students in activities to ensure that teachers and administrators know what students really want and need from school. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/machines-cant-personalize-education-only-people-can-154339">Machines can't 'personalize' education, only people can</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Teachers discussed concerns such as replacing homeroom with flexible blocks where students can access academic support and turning campus green spaces into shared instructional areas.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P1uo-7DY9-I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vanessa Gold, part of the research team examining NEXTschool asks ‘Would it all go to hell if we got rid of the bell?’ in a song about the reform initiative.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We adapted a participatory visual research method called <a href="https://participatorycultureslab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee-facilitators-guide-pdf.pdf">photovoice</a> to invite student input. Students explored their educational problems and aspirations by taking photographs around their school, displaying them and then gathering with classmates and teachers to discuss what their photos mean to them. </p>
<p>Teachers have consistently been surprised by students’ concerns and suggestions — highlighting the importance of finding ways to involve genuine student input into educational change.</p>
<h2>Teachers as agents of change</h2>
<p>For a reform like NEXTschool to be successful, Burke agrees that students must be involved more authentically and more often. But he believes teachers are the ones who need to be positioned as the “project implementors” and “agents of change.” He shared this with us over the course of several interviews we held with him in summer 2022.</p>
<p>Burke is aiming to empower teachers as the frontline workers best able to facilitate the changes needed for lasting educational reform. He suggested schoolboards have to follow teachers on the path they want to go rather than showing them the path based on top-down policy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/teachers-are-on-the-front-lines-with-students-in-the-coronavirus-pandemic-149896">Teachers are on the front lines with students in the coronavirus pandemic</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>Research has shown that conventional reforms driven from the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721715614828">top down are rarely aligned with the path teachers believe best for their classes</a>. </p>
<p>NEXTschool aims to centre teachers’ understanding of their teaching and school while balancing the voices of students in expressing their learning needs.</p>
<p>The project engages teachers around the key features of space, time and learning in ways that function more like a menu as opposed to a recipe. Burke’s position is that educational partners benefit from having options laid out with the repercussions of choices unpacked. For example, if teachers choose to <a href="https://www.enrichingstudents.com/flexible-high-school-schedule-examples">pursue flexible timetabling</a>, they benefit from understanding how it impacts teacher planning time. </p>
<h2>‘How can we make this happen?’</h2>
<p>Burke believes educational change is more likely when teachers are trusted in determining what changes are needed and how to go about them. </p>
<p>This means that, as Burke explained, NEXTschool is an evolving model amenable to a variety of settings, where local control and student engagement drive the reform.</p>
<p>Burke conceded that even with his confidence in teachers, he is aware of the vital role administrators play in supporting teachers to take the necessary risks to innovate schools. </p>
<p>Burke suggests administrators’ primary role is helping mitigate the risk teachers take when trying <a href="https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/taking-beautiful-risks-in-education">new things in the classroom</a>. Administrators must ask teachers: “How can we make this happen and how can I help you with this?” </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-serve-school-communities-and-address-inequities-after-covid-19-principals-must-become-activists-175491">To serve school communities and address inequities after COVID-19, principals must become activists</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher seen in a hallway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501694/original/file-20221218-25-t8sc5p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Engaging teachers at the local level matters with schooling reform.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>System now intolerant of risk-taking</h2>
<p>Teachers often <a href="https://www.k12dive.com/news/risk-taking-adds-value-for-both-educators-students/517390">feel unable to take risks</a> because, as Burke described, they feel the system is intolerant of risk-taking. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://crowleym.com/2018/03/22/education-in-a-world-of-compliance/">compliance culture common to educational institutions</a>, teachers and students have to navigate the top-down management that prescribes rigid scheduling requirements, discrete subject area focuses, standardized ministerial exams and so on.</p>
<p>One of the significant promises Burke has made about NEXTschool is that “it liberates” teachers from the conventionally rigid structures and expectations of a Canadian high school.</p>
<p>Yet, a more malleable and open structure can be discomforting when schools have only known a <a href="https://theconversation.com/6-actions-school-systems-can-take-to-support-childrens-outdoor-learning-167745">system characterized by quite the opposite</a>.</p>
<p>For educational change to be achieved, the NEXTschool approach of identifying context-specific features to reform can provide the structure that teachers and students are accustomed to while promoting flexible, meaningful innovations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aron Rosenberg is research assistant at McGill University, investigating and supporting the NEXTschool initiative. His research team receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Starr receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p>A schooling reform project is taking lessons from innovative high schools and educators in New Zealand, Southern California and Canada to make schooling more relevant for students today.Aron Lee Rosenberg, PhD Candidate, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill UniversityLisa Starr, Associate Professor, Department of Integrated Studies, Faculty of Education, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968602022-12-21T20:49:19Z2022-12-21T20:49:19ZTo attain global climate and biodiversity goals, we must reclaim nature in our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502471/original/file-20221221-23-etpc0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C370%2C5673%2C3138&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Conserving nature in cities can help protect the biodiversity within them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The climate and biodiversity crises we have been experiencing for the past few decades are <a href="https://www.unep-wcmc.org/en/news/in-the-eye-of-the-climate-nature-storm-from-cop27-to-cop15">inseparable</a>. The scientific research presented at the back-to-back international summits on climate and biodiversity held in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt and in Montréal, Canada, respectively, has made this abundantly clear. </p>
<p>Addressing these crises requires real transformative action and commitments — including plans that call for the conservation of 30 per cent of global land and sea areas within the decade — have been made to <a href="https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-cbd-press-release-final-19dec2022">halt biodiversity loss by 2030</a>. But where do we start implementing these targets?</p>
<p>At the 7th Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities, an official parallel event to the COP15 biodiversity conference, <a href="https://cbc.iclei.org/7thsummitandpavilion/">cities were brought to the forefront of conversations</a> on how to protect life on Earth. </p>
<p>As a researcher of terrestrial ecosystems, I believe that we cannot think of nature as something set aside in wildernesses, far from human activity. We need to conserve some elements of nature everywhere, including in the cities we live in.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cop15s-global-biodiversity-framework-must-advance-indigenous-led-conservation-to-halt-biodiversity-loss-by-2030-195188">COP15's Global Biodiversity Framework must advance Indigenous-led conservation to halt biodiversity loss by 2030</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cities need nature</h2>
<p>Cities are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0436-6">growing rapidly</a> and covering more and more land. They are often built on the most fertile land, near rivers or coastlines. This is also where most of the biodiversity lives. It is, therefore, crucial to conserve nature in cities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A firetruck drives through a flooded street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502274/original/file-20221221-25-kzutvn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Healthy soils and wetlands absorb rainwater and snowmelt to buffer floods.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Bruce Smith)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To add to this, some ecosystem services that humans rely on only operate within short geographical limits. Healthy soils and wetlands absorb rainwater and snowmelt to buffer <a href="https://en.habitat-nature.com/nosprojets/la-fondation-david-suzuki">floods</a>, while trees filter <a href="https://montreal.ca/en/articles/greening-montreal-to-adapt-to-climate-change">pollutants</a> from the air and alleviate <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-warm-cool-places-interactive-1.3669639">heat waves</a>. All these services are most effective when nature is close to where people live, making it crucial for cities to preserve their nature.</p>
<p>In Canada, the richest ecosystems and the highest numbers of species are <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-biodiversity-doesnt-stop-at-the-city-limits-and-conservation-needs/">found in the south</a>, and this is also where most of the cities and farms are, leaving little land available for wilderness.</p>
<p>To protect healthy population sizes of species native to this region, we need to preserve green spaces in cities. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYnD-rPmm_M">Research</a> has shown that small protected areas can have disproportionately large effects in protecting biodiversity. </p>
<p>Contact with nature also brings tremendous physical and mental <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/wellness-benefits-great-outdoors">health benefits</a> as seen during the pandemic when spending time outdoors became very valuable to people suffering from stress and isolation. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2052474435747">Equitable distribution</a> of natural areas around a city is also important. Public green spaces can be especially valuable to people who do not own country cottages or backyards. </p>
<h2>Montréal leads the way</h2>
<p>Montréal, the host city of the COP15 biodiversity conference, is a perfect case in point for how cities are both succeeding at and struggling with conserving nature.</p>
<p>The City of Montréal committed to <a href="https://projetmontreal.org/nouvelles/en-route-vers-la-cop-15-la-ville-adopte-le-plan-montr%C3%A9al-territoire-de-biodiversit%C3%A9-par-la-protection-des-pollinisateurs">protecting 10 per cent</a> of its territory in November 2022. This commitment was reaffirmed at COP15, along with the launch of the <a href="https://montreal.ca/en/articles/montreal-pledge-call-cop15-launched-to-worlds-cities-39529">Montréal Pledge</a>, which called on cities around the world to protect biodiversity on their territories and provided practical steps on how to do so. So far, <a href="https://twitter.com/Val_Plante/status/1602418468976005143">47 cities</a> from all five continents have committed to the pledge.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qt0LNlF0g2E?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Falaise St-Jacques green space boasts of 83 species of birds including some threatened species.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Meeting this target includes the creation of new parks like Montréal’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-park-st-jacques-falaise-escarpment-1.6278864">Falaise St-Jacques</a> escarpment and <a href="https://champdespossibles.org/">Champ des Possibles</a>. </p>
<p>The Falaise St-Jacques, long used as a <a href="https://www.realisonsmtl.ca/14902/widgets/59422/documents/40299">dumping ground</a> by businesses nearby was revitalized by a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sauvonslafalaise/">community group</a>. They organized <a href="https://www.thesuburban.com/news/city_news/falaise-cleanup/article_86645ec9-0de2-514e-9625-d064d1a0cdd0.html">clean-ups</a>, removed hundreds of tires and other debris, <a href="https://www.urbanature.org/single-post/explore-montreal-forest-activity">built trails</a> and transformed the site into an urban oasis enjoyed by local residents, human, feathered and furry. Home to <a href="https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4654593">83 bird species</a>, including two species at risk, the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/chimney-swift-2018.html">Chimney Swift</a> and the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/cosewic-assessments-status-reports/wood-thrush-2012.html">Wood Thrush</a>, Falaise St-Jacques has become an important habitat for migratory birds. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://wwf.ca/biopolis-projects/champ-des-possibles-2/">Champ des Possibles</a> — a railway triage site turned industrial wasteland — was saved by a group of local residents, who planted gardens, installed beehives and held concerts, creating a de-facto park that is now <a href="https://journalmetro.com/actualites/montreal/524896/champ-des-possibles-un-plan-de-rehabilitation-dans-moins-de-deux-mois/">co-managed</a> by the community organization and the city. This area now boasts of a <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/champ-des-possibles-mile-end-montreal">wealth of biodiversity too</a>.</p>
<p>However, the island of Montréal continues to include many other unprotected green spaces, including the <a href="https://www.technoparcoiseaux.org/">Technoparc</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/resisteretfleurir/">Parc-Nature Mercier Hochelaga Maisonneuve</a>, which are threatened by industrial expansion. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="community of birdwatchers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1097&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1378&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502442/original/file-20221221-15-c5godu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1378&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Technoparc attracts thousands of nature enthusiasts and bird watchers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Technoparc Oiseaux)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Technoparc, which comprises a mature forest, marshes and meadows and is a <a href="https://ebird.org/hotspot/L4886900">birding hotspot</a> in Montréal (216 birds including 14 species-at-risk), is attracting thousands of nature enthusiasts to document the ecological value of the site, to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/TechnoparcOiseaux/permalink/1218099725213025/">tag endangered Monarch butterflies</a> and to chart the cooling effects of the meadows and forests in the surrounding <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.6411883">industrial heat island</a>. </p>
<p>Despite numerous pressures exerted on the space, efforts like citizen-science documentation, gained notably through <a href="https://inaturalist.ca/projects/technoparc-oiseaux-les-milieux-humides-de-montreal-technoparc">iNaturalist observations</a> and <a href="https://inaturalist.ca/projects/c-n-c-defi-nature-urbaine-2022-montreal-quebec-canada">City Nature Challenge bioblitzes</a>, have succeeded in <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8507106/environmentalists-claim-victory-technoparc-development/">dissuading developers</a> from moving into the site so far. </p>
<p>Politicians at all levels of government — from the municipal to the provincial to the <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/environnement/774052/steven-guilbeault-promet-de-proteger-le-champ-des-monarques">federal</a> — have now started to <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zRgZmd3iXvTGLitf81cwdnqNSSlI8qd8/view">call for the site’s protection</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://fr.davidsuzuki.org/publication-scientifique/ceinture-verte-grandeur-nature-grand-projet-mobilisateur-montreal/">Researchers</a> here have also mapped remaining green spaces around the island of Montréal and calculated the ecosystem services they can provide to help communities better plan for the future.</p>
<h2>Community efforts can go a long way</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/main/stories/2022/07/18/concordia-biology-interns-make-a-difference-through-urbanature-education.html?c=/news">Researchers and students at Concordia University</a> have been working with community organizations to study and educate about biodiversity in these spaces. </p>
<p>We use citizen-science tools like <a href="https://inaturalist.ca/">iNaturalist.ca</a> to welcome people from all walks of life to the community of biodiversity scientists, help them identify the fauna and flora around them and share the collected data with scientists around the world. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People standing in a forest." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502441/original/file-20221221-12-odi8qn.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Community members identify trees in an urban forest at an event organized by Concordia University in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Emma Despland)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Building a relationship with nature around us can help foster human engagement with the natural world and a desire to learn more and to protect, restore and steward the living ecosystems around us.</p>
<p>At the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WCXFoDsjcQ">all hands on deck</a>” to address the climate and biodiversity crises. He said, “<a href="https://unfccc.int/news/un-secretary-general-making-peace-with-nature-is-the-defining-task-of-the-21st-century">Making peace with nature is the defining task of the 21st century. It must be the top, top priority for everyone, everywhere</a>”. </p>
<p>What better place to start than in a park or green space near our homes?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Despland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We cannot think of nature as something set aside in wildernesses, far from human activity. We need to conserve some elements of nature everywhere, including in the cities we live in.Emma Despland, Professor, Biology Department, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968352022-12-20T16:26:16Z2022-12-20T16:26:16ZFive options for restoring global biodiversity after the UN agreement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502146/original/file-20221220-6047-pj31jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3557%2C2082&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EDGAR PHOTOSAPIENS / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To slow and reverse the fastest loss of Earth’s living things since the dinosaurs, almost 200 countries have <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64019324">signed an agreement</a> in Montreal, Canada, promising to live in harmony with nature by 2050. The <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/e6d3/cd1d/daf663719a03902a9b116c34/cop-15-l-25-en.pdf">Kunming-Montreal agreement</a> is not legally binding but it will require signatories to report their progress towards meeting targets such as the protection of 30% of Earth’s surface by 2030 and the restoration of degraded habitats.</p>
<p>Not everyone is happy with the settlement, or convinced enough has been promised to avert mass extinctions. Thankfully, research has revealed a lot about the best ways to revive and strengthen biodiversity – the variety of life forms, from microbes to whales, found on Earth. </p>
<p>Here are five suggestions:</p>
<h2>1. Scrap subsidies</h2>
<p>The first thing countries should do is stop paying for the destruction of ecosystems. The Montreal pact calls for reducing incentives for environmentally harmful practices by $US500 billion (£410 billion) each year by 2030.</p>
<p>Research published in 2020 showed that ending fuel and maintenance subsidies would <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00523/full">reduce excess fishing</a>. Less fishing means more fish at sea and higher catches for the remaining fleet with less effort. The world’s fisheries could cut emissions and become more profitable.</p>
<p>Scrapping policies which subsidise overexploitation in all sorts of industries – fisheries, agriculture, forestry, and of course, fossil fuels – are in many cases the lowest fruit to be picked in order to save biodiversity.</p>
<h2>2. Protect the high seas</h2>
<p>Almost half of the surface of the Earth is outside national jurisdiction. The high seas belong to no one. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502153/original/file-20221220-22-q8azuu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most of the world’s oceans are owned by no one. (light blue = exclusive economic zones; dark blue = high seas)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">B1mbo / wiki (data: VLIZ)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the twilight zone of the ocean, between 200 and 1,000 metres down, fish and krill migrate upwards to feed at night and downwards to digest and rest during the day. This is the ocean’s biological pump, which draws carbon from near the ocean’s surface to its depths, storing it far from the atmosphere and so reducing climate change.</p>
<p>The total mass of fish living in the open ocean is much greater than in overfished coastal seas. Though not exploited to any large extent yet, the high seas and the remote ocean around the Antarctic need <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07183-6">binding international agreements</a> to protect them and the important planetary function they serve, which ultimately benefits all life by helping maintain a stable climate.</p>
<h2>3. Ban clear-cutting and bottom trawling</h2>
<p>Certain methods of extracting natural resources, such as clear-cutting forests (chopping down all the trees) and bottom trawling (tugging a big fishing net close to the seafloor) devastate biodiversity and should be phased out. </p>
<p>Clear-cutting removes large quantities of living matter that will not be replenished before the forest has regenerated, which may take hundreds of years, particularly for forests in Earth’s higher latitudes. Many species which are adapted to live in fully grown forests are subsequently doomed by clear-cutting.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial shot of rainforest and deforested land" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502152/original/file-20221220-6053-8riogv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bad for biodiversity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Richard Whitcombe / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Bottom trawling catches fish and shellfish indiscriminately, disturbing or even eradicating animals which live on the seafloor, such as certain types of coral and oysters. It also throws plumes of sediment into the water above, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03371-z">emitting greenhouse gases</a> which had been locked away. Seafloors that have been trawled continuously for a long time may appear to be devoid of life, or trivialised with fewer species and less complex ecosystems.</p>
<h2>4. Empower indigenous land defenders</h2>
<p>Indigenous people are the vanguard of many of the best-preserved ecosystems in the world. Their struggle to protect their land and waters and traditional ways of using ecosystems and biodiversity for livelihoods are often the primary reason such important environments still exist. </p>
<p>Such examples are found around the world, for example <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.abn2927">more primates are found on indigenous land</a> than in surrounding areas.</p>
<h2>5. No more production targets</h2>
<p>Many management practices will have to change, since they are based on unrealistic assumptions. Fisheries, for instance, target a maximum sustainable yield (MSY), a concept developed in the mid 20th century which means taking the largest catch from a fish stock without diminishing the stock in the future. Something similar is also used in forestry, though it involves more economic considerations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Fishing boat with lots of seagulls" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502151/original/file-20221220-12-i0dd8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fishing for herring near Norway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alessandro De Maddalena / shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These models were <a href="https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.ucsc.edu/dist/9/678/files/2018/09/Larkin-1977.-Transactions-American-Fish-Soc_An-Epitaph-for-the-Concept-of-Maximum-Sustained-Yield-1rnsupk.pdf">heavily criticised</a> in the subsequent decades for oversimplifying how nature works. For instance species often contain several local populations which live separately and reproduce only with each other, yet some of these “substocks” could still become overfished if just one production target was applied for all of them. However, the idea of a maximum sustainable yield has come back into fashion this century as a means to curtail overfishing.</p>
<p>Herring is a good example here. The species forms <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/61076">many different substocks</a> across the North Atlantic, yet one maximum yield was adopted over vast areas. In the Baltic Sea for instance, Swedish fishing rights were given to the largest shipowners as a part of a neoliberal economic policy to achieve a more effective fishing fleet. Local stocks of herring are now declining, and with them local adaptations (genetic diversity) could eventually disappear. </p>
<p>Heading for more robust strategies than elusive optimal targets for extracting the most fish or trees while maintaining the stock or the forest may lead to a more resilient pathway regarding biodiversity and climate mitigation. It could involve lower fishing quotas, but also change from industrial fishing to more local fishing with smaller fishing vessels. </p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henrik Svedäng does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The UN biodiversity summit COP15 in Montreal is over. Here’s what should happen next.Henrik Svedäng, Researcher, Marine Ecology, Stockholm UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1953472022-12-07T22:40:02Z2022-12-07T22:40:02ZCOP15 biodiversity summit in Montréal: Canada failed to meet its 2020 conservation targets. Will 2030 be any better?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499647/original/file-20221207-12015-1ktm1o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C62%2C2977%2C1922&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Fulford Harbour sea garden clam bed was built by First Nations in the Salish Sea near Salt Spring Island, B.C. Despite growing recognition that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples are, on average, more biodiverse, biodiversity conservation has typically marginalized Indigenous Peoples.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cbd.int/meetings/COP-15">15th Conference of the Parties (COP15</a>) of the United Nations <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/">Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)</a> is underway in Montréal. Like the COP27 climate conference held in Egypt last month, the goal of this conference is to get member nations to make agreements that can help reverse or slow down the damage being done to our planet.</p>
<p>One of the largest challenges in Canada and across the world is that <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315439488-1/introduction-sharlene-mollett-thembela-kepe">biodiversity conservation has typically marginalized Indigenous Peoples</a> and their knowledge systems. And yet, there is growing recognition that <a href="https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03341800/document">lands managed by Indigenous Peoples are, on average, more biodiverse</a>. </p>
<p>It is, therefore, vital that conservation practices are planned and conducted in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples. <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/cop15-indigenous-led-conservation/">The targets set at COP15 cannot be met without Indigenous leadership</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, efforts to meet the 2020 targets intentionally <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/ipcas">engaged both Indigenous and Western governance frameworks</a> in national conservation policy formulation for the first time. But was that enough? As we move on to setting new conservation goals for the next decade, we need to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in our efforts so far.</p>
<h2>Canada embraces the 2020 Aichi targets</h2>
<p>The Conference of the Parties of the CBD held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in 2010, set 20 <a href="https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/">targets</a> for the conservation of the world’s biodiversity. These targets aimed at addressing the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by “mainstreaming biodiversity conservation across government and society.” </p>
<p>This meant <a href="https://trondheimconference.org/assets/Files/TC9%20Background%20documents/Mainstreaming-reference-document-SCBD-TRONDHEIM-CONF.pdf">integrating actions or policies related to biodiversity</a> into broader
development policies such as those aimed at poverty reduction or tackling climate change.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1189859754648252416"}"></div></p>
<p>As a member of the COP, Canada adopted these 20 targets, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/land8010010">focused on target 11</a>, which states that at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas will be conserved in protected areas by 2020. </p>
<p>The Aichi target 11 became Canada’s primary biodiversity target (target 1) and was adopted as a policy by the Canadian Parliament. A policy process called the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/the-pathway">Pathway to Canada Target 1</a> — or the Pathway process — was put in place in 2017 to help Canada meet its 2020 biodiversity targets. </p>
<p>To achieve these targets, the government of Canada engaged several state and non-state institutions. The coastal and marine target of 10 per cent conserved areas was in the custody of the federal <a href="https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/conservation/plan/index-eng.html">Department of Fisheries and Oceans</a> (DFO). This target was met by the DFO, arguably because marine areas are void of human habitation and consequently have less political and social resistance to conservation. </p>
<p>The achievement of the 17 per cent of terrestrial areas and inland water target was to be managed by <a href="https://parks.canada.ca/agence-agency/bib-lib/rapports-reports/core-2018/min">Parks Canada Agency</a> and the <a href="https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/40c2fab1-e757-49f1-b403-e42c0239158a/resource/d50a12fa-15b3-4471-a6be-6b41bc6361d1/download/aep-annual-report-2017-2018.pdf">government of Alberta</a>. This target was, however, not met. Only <a href="https://cpawsmb.org/news-release-manitoba-is-failing-to-safeguard-nature/">13.8 per cent of terrestrial and inland waters was protected</a> by the end of 2020.</p>
<p>The Pathway process engaged a wide diversity of conservation and industry stakeholders and Indigenous People to meet this goal. The <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are#ICE">Indigenous Circle of Experts</a> showed how Indigenous People could help Canada meet its targets, by playing the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems through Indigenous laws, governance and knowledge systems, while working towards nation-to-nation reconciliation. </p>
<p>But this ended in <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e007452e69cf9a7af0a033/t/5ab94aca6d2a7338ecb1d05e/1522092766605/PA234-ICE_Report_2018_Mar_22_web.pdf">March 2018 when the Circle’s report — We Rise Together —</a> was transferred to the Ministry of Environment.</p>
<h2>The Pathway to reconciliation</h2>
<p>According to some members of the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are#NSC">National Steering Committee</a> of the Pathway and the <a href="https://www.conservation2020canada.ca/who-we-are#NAP">National Advisory Panel</a>, the intent of the Pathway was more than just carving out protected areas to meet Canada’s international commitment on conservation. It was also about relationship building.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e007452e69cf9a7af0a033/t/626014ba9d13361f3f41bb15/1650463944847/Compressed_3750+-+Gov+of+Canada+-++The+Pathway+Journey+-+FINAL+-+WEB.pdf">Pathway</a> was an opportunity to advance nation-to-nation reconciliation and to reconcile Canadians with the land. The Indigenous Circle of Experts made great progress in relationship building and in engaging members of the federal, provincial and territorial governments. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zvw5djVRjE0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Indigenous Circle of Experts advised the government on how Indigenous Peoples could help Canada meet its targets while working towards nation-to-nation reconciliation.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Its <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57e007452e69cf9a7af0a033/t/5ab94aca6d2a7338ecb1d05e/1522092766605/PA234-ICE_Report_2018_Mar_22_web.pdf">2018 report</a> laid out a path for greater reconciliation in the conservation sector that focused on the creation and management of <a href="https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/about-ipcas">Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://conservation-reconciliation.ca/">federal government remains enthusiastic about supporting IPCAs and Indigenous-led conservation</a> as seen in its support for the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-funding/indigenous-guardians.html">Indigenous guardians</a> program and the recent allocation of <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2022/09/up-to-40-million-in-indigenous-led-area-based-conservation-funding-now-available.html">$40 million for Indigenous-led conservation</a>.</p>
<p>But some <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/newsletter-ontario-indigenous-conservation-resistance/">provinces, like Ontario</a>, are resistant to IPCAs as they don’t recognize Indigenous jurisdictions under the Crown law. These tensions have been exacerbated during the implementation process which began after the submission of the reports in March 2018 when the implementing agency of the Pathway switched from Parks Canada to Environment and Climate Change Canada. This disrupted some of the relationships that made the pathway a success, including no longer seeking advice from the Indigenous Circle of Experts.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, the growing numbers of IPCAs can be presented as an indication of success of the Pathway. </p>
<h2>New targets for the new decade</h2>
<p>Canada needs to build on the work of the Pathway initiative to prepare for better outcomes of the conservation of biodiversity targets by 2030. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of protestors" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499510/original/file-20221207-12015-7qtkic.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters urge governments to stop invading Indigenous land in the process of biodiversity conservation during the opening ceremony of the COP15 UN conference on biodiversity in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Canadian government and various national organizations including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) have been championing the <a href="https://www.hacfornatureandpeople.org/home">30 per cent target</a>, which urges nations to commit to protecting 30 per cent of the world’s land and sea by 2030, including key ecosystems around the world.</p>
<p>To do so, Canada needs to continue to support Indigenous-led conservation to meet its new targets. The Dec. 7 announcement <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/indigenous-conservation-protetion-cree-inuit-firstnations-1.6677350">of the allocation of an $800 million fund for Indigenous-led conservation initiatives is a great start</a> toward this goal. But viable conservation-based economies are critical. Money alone isn’t the answer. </p>
<p>We need to embrace the facets of the Pathway that went right — including the support of and collaboration with Indigenous experts — and focus on relationships to help steer us to success by 2030.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin J. Roth receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmanuel Tamufor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As we set conservation goals for the next decade, we need to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in our efforts to meet the 2020 biodiversity conservation targets.Emmanuel Tamufor, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics / Guelph Institute of Development Studies, University of GuelphRobin J. Roth, Professor, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1936812022-11-29T13:34:23Z2022-11-29T13:34:23ZIs China ready to lead on protecting nature? At the upcoming UN biodiversity conference, it will preside and set the tone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497108/original/file-20221123-12-d0smj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C2977%2C2070&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Four Père David's deer (_Elaphurus davidianus_), also known as milu deer, on a wetland near the Dafeng Milu National Nature Reserve in Jiangsu Province, China. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/herd-of-milu-deer-are-seen-on-a-wetland-near-the-dafeng-news-photo/1269804369">He Jinghua/VCG via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the world parses what was achieved at the U.N. climate change conference in Egypt, negotiators are convening in Montreal to set goals for curbing Earth’s other crisis: loss of living species.</p>
<p>Starting on Dec. 7, 2022, 196 nations that have ratified the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity will hold their 15th <a href="https://www.cbd.int/cop/">Conference of the Parties</a>, or COP15. The convention, which was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/guide/">designed to promote sustainable development</a> by protecting <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity">biodiversity</a> – the variety of life on Earth, from genes up to entire ecosystems. </p>
<p>Today, experts widely agree that biodiversity is at risk. Because of human activities – especially overhunting, overfishing and altering land – species are disappearing from the planet at <a href="https://www.cbd.int/convention/guide/?id=changing">50 to 100 times the historic rate</a>. The United Nations calls this decline a “<a href="https://www.unep.org/facts-about-nature-crisis">nature crisis</a>.”</p>
<p>This meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Kunming, China, in 2020 but was rescheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some negotiations held online. China will lead the deliberations in Montreal and will set the agenda and tone. This is the first time that Beijing has presided over a major intergovernmental meeting on the environment. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2TJfBOgAAAAJ">wildlife ecologist</a>, I am eager to see China step into a global leadership role.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GK_vRtHJZu4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Biodiversity matters, because having more ecosystems, species and genes makes nature more resilient and able to weather stresses like diseases and climate change.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Biodiversity in China</h2>
<p>If you ask people where on Earth the greatest concentrations of wild species are found, many will assume it’s in rainforests or tropical coral reefs. In fact, China also is rich in nature. It is home to nearly <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17520/biods.2022397">38,000</a> <a href="http://chertnews.de/Higher_Plants.html">higher plant</a> species – essentially, trees, shrubs and ferns; more than <a href="http://dx.doi.org/%2010.17520/biods.2021214">8,100</a> species of vertebrate animals; over 1,400 bird species; and 20% of the world’s fish species. </p>
<p>Many of China’s wild species are <a href="https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/endemic">endemic</a>, meaning that they are found nowhere else in the world. China contains parts of four of the world’s <a href="https://www.conservation.org/priorities/biodiversity-hotspots">global biodiversity hot spots</a> – places that have large numbers of endemic species and also are seriously at risk. <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/indo-burma">Indo-Burma</a>, the <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mountains-southwest-china">Mountains of Southwest China</a>, <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/himalaya">Eastern Himalaya</a> and the <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/mountains-central-asia">Mountains of Central Asia</a> are home to species such as the giant panda, Asiatic black bear, the endangered Sichuan partridge, Xizang alpine toad, Sichuan lancehead and golden pheasant.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A panda walks on all fours through snow" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497728/original/file-20221128-11895-tbc86t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Giant panda in southwest China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vanessa Hull</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>China’s conservation record</h2>
<p>Western media coverage of environmental issues in China often focuses on the nation’s severe urban air pollution and its role as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57018837">world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter</a>. But China has a vision for protecting nature, and it has made progress since the last global biodiversity conference in 2018. </p>
<p>In that year, Chinese leaders coined the term “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aar3760">ecological civilization</a>” and wrote it into the nation’s constitution. This signaled a recognition that development should consider environmental impacts as well as economic goals.</p>
<p>At that point, China had already created <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01307-6">over 2,750 protected areas</a>, covering nearly 15% of its total land area. Protected areas are places where there is dedicated funding and management in place to conserve ecosystems, while also allowing for some human activities in designated zones within them. </p>
<p>In 2021 President Xi Jinping announced that China was formally augmenting this system with a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-12-11/inside-china-s-new-massive-national-park-system">network of five national parks</a> covering 88,000 square miles (227,000 square kilometers) – the largest such system in the world. </p>
<p>China also has the fastest-expanding forest area in the world. From 2013 to 2017 alone, China reforested <a href="https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=241353">825 million acres</a> (334 million hectares) of bare or cultivated land – an area <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/by-the-numbers">four times as large</a> as the entire U.S. national forest system.</p>
<p>At least <a href="https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=241353">10 of China’s notable endangered species</a> are on the path to recovery, including the <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/712/121745669">giant panda</a>, <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/fr/species/22697548/132069229">Asian crested ibis</a> and <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22679325/92810598">Elliot’s pheasant</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1574051936285908993"}"></div></p>
<h2>More to do</h2>
<p>Still, China has major areas for improvement. It has <a href="https://chm.cbd.int/database/record?documentID=241353">underperformed</a> on four of the original Aichi Targets – goals that members of the Convention on Biodiversity adopted for 2011-2020 – including promoting sustainable fisheries, preventing extinctions, controlling invasive alien species and protecting vulnerable ecosystems. </p>
<p>For example, nearly <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ddi.12961">50% of amphibians in China</a> are threatened. Notable species have been declared extinct, including the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/science/china-dugong-sea-cow-extinct.html">Chinese dugong</a>, the <a href="https://chinadialogue.net/en/digest/chinese-paddlefish-and-sturgeon-officially-extinct">Chinese paddlefish and Yangtze sturgeon</a>, and the <a href="http://www.primate-sg.org/whitehand_gibbon_extinct_china/">white-handed gibbon</a>. </p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted China’s central role in legal and illegal wildlife trade, which threatens many endangered <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/10/a-fast-growing-pipeline-the-amazon-to-southeast-asia-wildlife-trade/">mammals, fish, reptiles and birds</a>. In response, China updated its <a href="http://www.npc.gov.cn/zgrdw/englishnpc/Law/2007-12/12/content_1383926.htm">Wildlife Protection Law</a>, originally enacted in 1989. </p>
<p>On Feb. 24, 2020, the law was expanded to impose a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00677-0">near-total ban</a> on trading wildlife for use as food. Now, however, the ban is <a href="https://chinadialogue.net/en/nature/second-draft-revision-of-chinas-wildlife-protection-law-a-big-step-backwards/">being revised</a> in ways that could weaken it, such as easing restrictions on captive breeding. </p>
<p>Around <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.08.019">90% of China’s grasslands </a>are degraded, as are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.06.003">53% of its coastal wetlands</a>. China has lost 80% of its coral reefs and 73% of its mangroves <a href="https://cdn.chinadialogue.net/content/uploads/2020/10/29175445/Sustainable-seafood-report-29-Oct-2020.pdf">since 1950</a>. These challenges highlight the need for aggressive action to protect the nation’s remaining biodiversity strongholds.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Satellite image of the Three Gorges Dam in 2009." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497111/original/file-20221123-24-zrsld9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Three Gorges Dam on China’s Yangtze River, visible at lower right, was built to supply electricity and help control flooding. It altered habitats for thousands of plants, animals and fish, including endangered species.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/38000/38879/ISS019-E-07720_lrg.jpg">NASA Earth Observatory</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Goals for COP15</h2>
<p>The central goal of the Montreal conference is adopting a <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/2021-20220">post-2020 global biodiversity framework</a>. This road map expands on frameworks put forth in past meetings, including the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/">2010 Aichi Targets</a>. As the U.N. has reported, nations <a href="https://www.cbd.int/gbo5">failed to meet any of the Aichi Targets</a> by 2020, although six goals were partially achieved. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/c/abb5/591f/2e46096d3f0330b08ce87a45/wg2020-03-03-en.pdf">The proposed new framework</a> includes 22 targets to meet by 2030 and four key long-term goals to meet by 2050. They include conserving ecosystems; enhancing the variety of benefits that nature provides to people; ensuring fairness in the sharing of genetic resources, such as digital DNA sequencing data; and solidifying funding commitments. </p>
<p>Many people will be watching to see whether China can successfully lead the negotiations and promote collaboration and consensus. One central challenge is how to pay for the ambitious efforts that the new framework lays out. Environmental advocates are urging wealthy countries to provide up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01430-7">US$60 billion annually</a> to help lower-income nations pay for conservation projects and curb illegal wildlife trafficking.</p>
<p>China moved in this direction in 2021 when it launched the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2021/pr-2021-10-13-cop15-hls-en.pdf">Kunming Biodiversity Fund</a> and contributed $230 million to it. Pledges from other countries currently total some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01430-7">$5.2 billion per year</a>, mainly from France, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union. </p>
<p>China is likely to face questions about its <a href="https://www.oecd.org/finance/Chinas-Belt-and-Road-Initiative-in-the-global-trade-investment-and-finance-landscape.pdf">Belt and Road Initiative</a>, a massive infrastructure project that is building railways, pipelines and highways across more than 60 countries. Critics say it is causing deforestation, flooding and other <a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-financing-infrastructure-projects-around-the-world-many-could-harm-nature-and-indigenous-communities-168060">harmful environmental impacts</a> – including in global biodiversity hot spots like Southeast Asia’s <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/what-is-the-coral-triangle/">Coral Triangle</a>, which contains one of the world’s most important reef systems.</p>
<p>China has pledged to “<a href="https://green-bri.org/">green” the Belt and Road Initiative</a> going forward, and in 2021, Xi announced <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/24/chinas-pledge-to-stop-building-coal-plants-abroad-helps-bri-aiib.html">a ban</a> on financing new coal power plants overseas, which so far has led to cancellation of <a href="https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/china-coal-ban-anniversary/?module=inline&pgtype=article">26 plants</a>. This is a start, but China has more to do in addressing Belt and Road’s global impacts.</p>
<p>As home to <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=CN">18% of Earth’s population</a> and the producer of <a href="https://www.worldeconomics.com/Share-of-Global-GDP/China.aspx#:%7E:text=China's%20share%20of%20Global%20GDP%20in%202021%20was%2018.4%25%20once,year%20and%20informal%20economy%20size.">18.4% of global GDP</a>, China has a key role to play in protecting nature. I hope to see it provide bold leadership in Montreal and in the years ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vanessa Hull receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>China has rich natural resources and is seeking to play a leadership role in global conservation, but its economic goals often take priority over protecting lands and wildlife.Vanessa Hull, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1878632022-09-26T20:32:50Z2022-09-26T20:32:50ZDebate: How to stop our cities from being turned into AI jungles<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486555/original/file-20220926-12-8kztvd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C383%2C3464%2C2359&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the city of London, security cameras can even be found in cemeteries. In 2021 the mayor's office launched an effort to establish guidelines for research around emerging technology.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/City_of_London_Cemetery_Columbarium_security_camera_2_lighter.jpg">Acabashi/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As artificial intelligence grows more ubiquitous, its potential and the challenges it presents are coming increasingly into focus. How we balance the risks and opportunities is shaping up as one of the defining questions of our era. In much the same way that cities have emerged as hubs of innovation in culture, politics, and commerce, so they are defining the frontiers of AI governance.</p>
<p>Some examples of how cities have been taking the lead include the <a href="https://citiesfordigitalrights.org/">Cities Coalition for Digital Rights</a>, the <a href="https://recherche.umontreal.ca/english/strategic-initiatives/montreal-declaration-for-a-responsible-ai/">Montreal Declaration for Responsible AI</a>, and the <a href="https://opendialogueonai.com/">Open Dialogue on AI Ethics</a>. Others can be found in San Francisco’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/facial-recognition-ban-san-francisco.html">ban of facial-recognition technology</a>, and New York City’s push for <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-york-city-artificial-intelligence-hiring-restriction/">regulating the sale of automated hiring systems</a> and creation of an <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/ampo/index.page">algorithms management and policy officer</a>. Urban institutes, universities and other educational centres have also been forging ahead with a range of <a href="https://fari.brussels/">AI ethics initiatives</a>.</p>
<p>These efforts point to an emerging paradigm that has been referred to as <a href="https://ailocalism.org/">AI Localism</a>. It’s a part of a larger phenomenon often called <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-new-localism/">New Localism</a>, which involves cities taking the lead in regulation and policymaking to develop context-specific approaches to a variety of problems and challenges. We have also seen an increased uptake of city-centric approaches <a href="https://china.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781788973274/9781788973274.xml">within international law frameworks</a>. </p>
<p>In so doing, municipal authorities are filling gaps left by insufficient state, national or global governance frameworks related to AI and other complex issues. Recent years, for example, have seen the emergence of <a href="https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/611/">“broadband localism”</a>, in which local governments address the digital divide; and <a href="https://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/upload_documents/Rubinstein%20Privacy%20Localism.pdf">“privacy localism”</a>, both in response to challenges posed by the increased use of data for law enforcement or recruitment.</p>
<p>AI localism encompasses a wide variety of issues, stakeholders, and contexts. In addition to bans on AI-powered facial recognition, local governments and institutions are looking at procurement rules pertaining to AI use by public entities, public registries of local governments’ AI systems, and public education programs on AI. But even as initiatives and case studies multiply, we still lack a systematic method to assess their effectiveness – or even the very need for them. This limits policymakers’ ability to develop appropriate regulation and more generally stunts the growth of the field.</p>
<h2>Building an AI Localism framework</h2>
<p>Below are ten principles to help systematise our approach to AI Localism. Considered together, they add up to an incipient framework for implementing and assessing initiatives around the world:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Principles provide a North Star for governance:</strong> Establishing and articulating a clear set of guiding principles is an essential starting point. For example, the <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/publications/emerging-technology-charter-london">Emerging Technology Charter for London</a>, launched by the mayoral office in 2021 to outline “practical and ethical guidelines” for research around emerging technology and smart-city technology pilots, is one example. Similar projects exist in Nantes, France, which rolled out a <a href="https://metropole.nantes.fr/files/pdf/numerique-innovation/Charte-donnee.pdf">data charter</a> to underscore the local government’s commitment to data sovereignty, protection, transparency, and innovation. Such efforts help interested parties chart a course that effectively balances the potential and challenges posed by AI while affirming a commitment to openness and transparency on data use for the public.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Public engagement provides a social license:</strong> Establishing trust is essential to fostering responsible use of technology as well as broader acceptance and uptake by the public. Forms of public engagement – crowdsourcing, awareness campaigns, mini-assemblies, and more – can help to build trust, and should be part of a deliberative process undertaken by policymakers. For example, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing held their <a href="http://celavoice.org/">first virtual public hearing</a> with citizens and worker advocacy groups on the growing use of AI in hiring and human resources, and the potential for technological bias in procurement.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>AI literacy enables meaningful engagement:</strong> The goal of AI literacy is to encourage familiarity with the technology itself as well as with associated ethical, political, economic and cultural issues. For example, the <a href="https://montrealethics.ai/">Montreal AI Ethics Institute</a>, a non-profit focused on advancing AI literacy, provides free, timely, and digestible information about AI and AI-related happenings from across the world.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Security cameras on a pole in New York City." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/486554/original/file-20220926-19-b72ydd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In New York City, the city has established an Algorithms Management and Policy Officer to govern the use of how data captured by security cameras and other devices is managed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/NYPD_Surveillance_Tech_2.jpg">Cyprian Latewood/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Tap into local expertise:</strong> Policymakers should tap into cities’ AI expertise by establishing or supporting research centres. Two examples are the <a href="https://claire-ai.org/">Confederation of Laboratories for Artificial Intelligence Research in Europe</a> (CLAIRE), a pan-European project that takes a European focus to AI uses in cities and <a href="https://howbusyistoon.com/">“How Busy Is Toon”</a>, a website developed by Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University to provide real-time transit information about the city centre.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Innovate in how transparency is provided:</strong> To build trust and foster engagement, AI Localism should encompass time-tested transparency principles and practices. For example, Amsterdam and Helsinki <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2020/09/28/amsterdam-and-helsinki-launch-algorithm-registries-to-bring-transparency-to-public-deployments-of-ai/">disclose AI use</a> and explain <a href="https://www.antibes-juanlespins.com/administration/acces-aux-documents-administratifs">how algorithms are employed</a> for specific purposes. In addition, AI Localism can innovate in how transparency is provided, instilling awareness and systems to identify and overcome <a href="https://aiblindspot.media.mit.edu/">“AI blind spots”</a> and other forms of unconscious bias.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Establish means for accountability and oversight:</strong> One of the signal features of AI Localism is a recognition of the need for accountability and oversight to ensure that principles of responsive governance are being adhered to. Examples include New York City’s <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/554-19/mayor-de-blasio-signs-executive-order-establish-algorithms-management-policy-officer">Algorithms Management and Policy Officer</a>, Singapore’s <a href="https://oecd.ai/en/dashboards/policy-initiatives/2019-data-policyInitiatives-24364">Advisory Council on the Ethical Use of AI and Data</a>, and Seattle’s <a href="https://www.seattle.gov/tech/initiatives/privacy/surveillance-technologies/surveillance-advisory-working-group">Surveillance Advisory Working Group</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Signal boundaries through binding laws and policies:</strong> Principles are only as good as they are implemented or enforced. Ratifying legislation, such as New York City’s <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/09/new-york-city-biometrics-law/">Biometrics Privacy Law</a>, which requires clear notices that biometric data is being collected by businesses, limits how businesses can use such data. It also prohibits selling and profiting from the data. Such regulation sends a clear message to consumers that their data rights and protections are upheld and holds corporations accountable to respecting privacy privileges.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Use procurement to shape responsible AI markets:</strong> As municipal and other governments have done in other areas of public life, cities should use procurement policies to encourage responsible AI initiatives. For instance, the Berkeley, California Council passed an <a href="https://berkeley.municipal.codes/BMC/2.99.010">ordinance</a> requiring that public departments justify the use of new surveillance technologies and that the benefits of these tools outweigh the harms prior to procurement.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Establish data collaboratives to tackle asymmetries:</strong> Data collaboratives are an emerging form of intersectoral partnership, in which private data is reused and deployed toward the public good. In addition to yielding new insights and innovations, such partnerships can also be powerful tools for breaking down the data asymmetries that both underlie and drive so many wider socio-economic inequalities. Encouraging data collaboratives, by identifying possible partnerships and matching supply and demand, is thus an important component of AI Localism. Initial efforts include the <a href="https://amdex.eu/">Amsterdam Data Exchange</a>, which allows for data to be securely shared to address local issues.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Make good governance strategic:</strong> Too many AI strategies don’t include governance and too many governance approaches are not strategic. It is thus imperative that cities have a clear vision on how they see data and AI being used to improve local wellbeing. Charting an <a href="https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/digital/sites/default/files/mesura_de_govern_intel_ligencia_artificial_eng.pdf">AI strategy</a>, as was undertaken by the Barcelona City Council in 2021, can create avenues to embed smart AI use across agencies and open up AI awareness to residents to make responsible data use and considerations a common thread rather than a siloed exercise within local government.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>AI Localism is an emergent area, and both its practice and research remain in flux. The technology itself continues to change rapidly, offering something of a moving target for governance and regulation. Its state of flux highlights the need for the type of framework outlined above. Rather than playing catch-up, responding reactively to successive waves of technological innovation, policymakers can respond more consistently, and responsibly, from a principled bedrock that takes into account, the often competing needs of various stakeholders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefaan G. Verhulst ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>As states and nations struggle to regulate growing AI use, municipal authorities are often leading the way. An emerging paradigm known as AI Localism can help us better define the way forward.Stefaan G. Verhulst, Co-Founder and Chief Research and Development Officer of the Governance Laboratory (GovLab), New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1874702022-08-14T13:14:50Z2022-08-14T13:14:50ZStreet performers in Montréal are being displaced and excluded<p>Like many cities around the world, Montréal has embraced <a href="https://doi.org/10.3384/cu.2000.1525.20200609a%22%22">busking to generate a sense of friendliness and cultural vibrancy in the city</a>. </p>
<p>Once a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241616657873%22%22">marginal practice that thrived on the urban fringes</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2016.06.002">busking now lends identity to places</a> like public squares, street corners and subways. It is often argued <a href="https://busk.co/blog/busking-beat/positive-impact-busking-cities/">that it creates safe, fun and inclusive spaces</a> in the city.</p>
<p>But how do buskers see themselves in this new political economy where <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7185(00)00004-X">culture is expected to drive economic growth</a>?</p>
<p>In oral history interviews done for my doctoral research, longtime street performers in Old Montréal — a popular site for busking — reflected on their sense of displacement and exclusion from urban spaces at a time when Montréal is branding itself as a <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/teoros/1451">cultural metropolis</a>.</p>
<h2>‘We have always been here’</h2>
<p>The first time I met Eric Girard, he was standing atop an ornamental watering trough for horses in the middle of Place Jacques-Cartier in Old Montréal. He said he was getting a feel for the crowd to decide whether it was time to start the show.</p>
<p>But now the city determines where, when and how often Girard can perform in the square. In Montréal, where busking season lasts roughly 10 to 12 weeks, these measures are hurting buskers’ ability to earn a decent income.</p>
<p>Girard, a sword juggler and fire breather, told me Place Jacques-Cartier has long been a place for busking. “We have always been here,” he said.</p>
<p>Musicians, circle performers, street artists and artisans regularly jostle for space in summer at the square. Lined with restaurants, ice cream parlours, historical monuments, 19th-century buildings, cobbled streets and open spaces for sauntering, it’s an ideal place to be. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Eric Girard performs in Place Jacques-Cartier.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://montreal.ca/en/how-to/get-musician-public-entertainer-or-balloon-sculptor-permit?arrondissement=VM">borough of Ville Marie issues permits for buskers</a> to perform at specific spots. With the latest regulations and the emergence of spaces such as <a href="https://www.quartierdesspectacles.com/en/?gclid=CjwKCAjwlqOXBhBqEiwA-hhitFHbvATv_vCSuwGxZ1AWTUkXoGOQvEqA9dL17OWYD2_gnETdMwer7hoCmNcQAvD_BwE">Quartier des spectacles</a> and open-air event venues, Girard feels the city is “getting rid of the proper busker.” </p>
<p>“There’s always a festival, or something. And when there’s nothing, they’ll put like a wall or something,” he said, while talking about the city’s new cultural district. He also pointed out that events such as the Jazz Festival organize and hire their own street performers.</p>
<p>On a fairly good day, Girard’s circle show would see a couple hundred people in attendance. Once a regular performer in Old Montréal, Girard now spends very little time at the square.</p>
<h2>‘I make small money’</h2>
<p>“Real street performing is ‘go stand in the corner right there, now,’ and I do a little something and I get a little bit of money,” says Peter Snow, a magician and escape artist. </p>
<p>After over 30 years of street performing, a disappointing 2019 season and <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/with-no-gigs-on-the-horizon-montreal-street-musicians-ponder-a-career-change-1.5252252?cache=zviomxnayn%3FclipId%3D89830">the COVID-19 pandemic</a>, Snow decided not to return to busking in Old Montréal.</p>
<p>The larger festivals where buskers were hired and made “five times more” than him, wouldn’t accept him, he asserted. “Me, I make small money,” he said, also noting that they didn’t get invited to festivals “because we are considered a bit wild, OK, and they want safe people.”</p>
<p>While Snow did not appear to be too upset about being excluded from festivals, he was annoyed by the online platform and lottery system at Place Jacques-Cartier. It took away his autonomy in determining time of performance, which he thought was central to the practice.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Peter Snow performs his magic show.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘Ma vie va être dure’</h2>
<p>As much a spatial practice as creative, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/6/3/67/htm">busking depends on improvisation in place</a>, and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5511338/old-montreal-busking-rules-street-performers/">regulating it too much can prove to be discouraging</a>. Susana Martinez, a flamenco dancer at the square, explained that if a weekend was particularly unlucky due to weather, she could lose her only spot because of the new regulations. </p>
<p>Martinez expected that the crackdown and the rules were going to make her life difficult. <em>“Avec la répression, avec ces règlements, ma vie va être dure,”</em> she said. </p>
<p>In the early 2000s, Martinez worked in the Old Port until the port authority decided to ban entertainers and musicians. She said some of the noise complaints made against buskers were actually the fault of festivals with large stage speakers pointed towards the city. Martinez also spoke at length about how she and other local buskers were mistreated while the city welcomed new and outside talent.</p>
<p>Beyond a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-street-performers-feel-forced-out-of-old-montreal-1.5200666">sense of exclusion and displacement</a> and shrinking spaces for busking in the city, the imposition of city regulatory practices disrupt community at the square. </p>
<p>Montréal’s logic is to draw new and outside talent to the city in hopes of encouraging economic revitalization. But these <a href="https://theconversation.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage-buskers-can-make-it-big-in-a-connected-world-131914">“digital solutions” and flexibility</a> can negatively impact those who find themselves relatively less mobile, without professional training and who have been performing in the same space for years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piyusha Chatterjee received a doctoral scholarship between 2018-2020 from Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture for this research. </span></em></p>Longtime street performers in Old Montréal, a popular site for busking, feel as though the city is getting rid of them.Piyusha Chatterjee, PhD candidate, Individualized program, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1828322022-08-04T19:31:41Z2022-08-04T19:31:41ZCommunity and school gardens don’t magically sprout bountiful benefits<p>While it is widely understood that <a href="https://www.perlego.com/book/1620745/learning-gardens-and-sustainability-education-bringing-life-to-schools-and-schools-to-life-pdf?">community and</a> and school <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/2047-2382-3-20">gardening have innumerable health, well-being and educational benefits</a>, it’s important to realize these benefits don’t <a href="https://www.hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-88-number-4/herarticle/beyond-magic-carrots">magically </a>appear when gardens take root.</p>
<p>Over the past six years, I’ve worked closely with educators, community workers, activists and community members in <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/indigenous/land-and-peoples/learn-about-land-and-peoples-tiohtiake-montreal">Tio’tia:ke/Montréal</a> as we created, funded and sustained gardens and garden teams at schools and community organizations. </p>
<p>We set up adult education internships to provide practical gardening and teaching support to explore the extent to which gardens act as forums where people address social and environmental justice. Some participants experienced barriers to employment, food insecurity and homelessness.</p>
<p>This research and community work demonstrated how critical it is to advocate for broader social, urban and educational structural changes to support community garden work — and to understand the importance of having realistic expectations about what people can accomplish in and through gardens. </p>
<h2>Who do benefits reach?</h2>
<p>In Tio’tia:ke/Montréal, community gardening unfolds in many different ways that might include gardening efforts at community-based organizations and city-run gardens. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-community-gardens-1.5351635">significant wait lists</a> to access a garden plot in the city, exacerbated by community gardens being historically <a href="https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/9880vx03d">more accessible to property-owning individuals</a>. </p>
<p>According to the mayor of Montréal, “<a href="http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5977,43117560&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&id=32606">for many people, community gardens are more than just a hobby. They allow them to feed their families and to obtain fresh produce at a low cost</a>.” </p>
<p>Such statements obscure more complex issues <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/impacts-green-gentrification-homelessness-urban-greening-and-displacement-parc-extension">around who controls and accesses community gardens and deeper entrenched social inequities relating to land rights</a> in a capitalist <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2514848619868110">settler-colonial society</a> that privileges ownership, whiteness and hierarchical modes of relating.</p>
<h2>Relationship to food insecurity</h2>
<p>My findings contest claims that suggest community gardening <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/video-how-community-gardens-can-increase-food-security/">is inherently an activity</a> that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10900-011-9522-z">reduces under-served communities’ food insecurity</a>. </p>
<p>Reflecting on my efforts to grow food for organizations that work with people experiencing food insecurity, as part of a project called “Gardening for Food Security,” I cannot claim gardening helped to alleviate the concerns of people experiencing food insecurity in any quantifiable way. </p>
<p>This is despite producing an immense amount of food harvested on a weekly/bi-weekly basis from late June to early November in 2018 and 2019. </p>
<p>Although the gardens were thriving, the organization never reduced their food order to Montréal’s largest food bank. This may be because while participants ate from the garden harvest, their reliance upon it did not reduce their need for other food. The Gardening for Food Security project did, however, modestly support a food bank and a once-a-week meal service.</p>
<h2>Mixed effects for communities, individuals</h2>
<p>As we gardened and invested in gardens for different social, educational and environmental reasons in rapidly gentrifying neighbourhoods, we contributed to increasing land values in a process described as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2009.00860.x">green gentrification</a>. </p>
<p>Despite these critical observations, some benefits of the project included: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>offering relevant paid employment for young adults experiencing barriers to employment, food insecurity and homelessness; </p></li>
<li><p>providing mentorship and opportunities for under-served young adults and students to express themselves (through art, photography, <a href="https://internationalcellphilmfestival.com/2018/11/13/congratulations-to-this-years-winners/">music, film</a>, gardening); </p></li>
<li><p>facilitating partnerships between schools and organizations with mandates of social and environmental justice for mutual benefit; </p></li>
<li><p>acquiring prolonged financial, learning and human resource support to educators, learners, community workers and community members, while developing ethical relationships and collaborating to accomplish shared objectives. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The latter three types of benefits are difficult to quantify to funders. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TeaipZkaWrc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Video created in collaboration with some ‘Gardening for Food Security’ team members with music by one team member, Sven ‘7ven’ Creese.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Problems with schools gardens</h2>
<p>Gardening as part of environmental education is not <a href="https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2005.3.3.5">mandatory core curriculum in Québec</a>. School gardening often occurs outside of formal class time, during lunch hour or after school. Taken together, organizing gardening experiences for students within most public schools adds additional labour to already overworked and under-supported educators. </p>
<p>For gardening to be relevant and add educational value for both teachers and learners, gardens need to be incorporated into each core curricular area (French, English, Math and so on) and not only used before or after school hours and during lunchtime. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/school-community-gardens-plant-the-seeds-of-change-to-address-global-warming-134776">School-community gardens plant the seeds of change to address global warming</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Many of my teacher collaborators stated that they are fully committed and interested in creating garden-based learning experiences for their students. But securing permissions translates to administrative labour. This can detract from arranging other important aspects of garden creation like establishing funding, building relationships with collaborators or drawing curricular connections and so on. </p>
<h2>Small community change</h2>
<p>Tio’tia:ke/Montréal, like many Canadian cities, has a long winter and a short intense summer. For school gardens to work, the planning and administrative labour and permissions for a spring garden need to happen early in the school year to account for inevitable delays. </p>
<p>If educators or outside parties wish to support school gardens with funding and labour, I strongly recommend that students lead the creation, development and importantly the evaluation of the garden as a project.</p>
<p>When gardens are prematurely <a href="https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-88.4.516">celebrated for producing anticipated outcomes</a> such as health and well-being and food security, without a larger acknowledgement of how these complex issues are affected by systemic barriers, much can be lost. </p>
<p>This includes the well-being of teachers who invest immense labour in something they believe in with limited institutional support, and affordable spaces for people to live who get dispossessed of their homes, communities and networks through green gentrification.</p>
<h2>No easy solutions</h2>
<p>There are no easy solutions to the social and environmental problems of school, community gardening or greening.</p>
<p>Often, teachers and community members want and need a garden, but they are more in need of: financial support, teaching support, human resource support, more time, fewer students, curricular freedom, relevant professional development and land that isn’t part of a bigger capitalist system of private ownership or tied up in red tape. </p>
<p>Even small community change takes time and needs ongoing collective effort. </p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of a story originally published Aug. 4, 2022. The earlier story said gardens were reserved for property-owning individuals instead of more accessible to them.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mitchell McLarnon receives funding from Employment and Social Development Canada</span></em></p>Gardens require huge labour, and outcomes like health, well-being or food security are affected by systemic barriers people face in cities and schools.Mitchell McLarnon, Assistant Professor, Adult Education, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1879492022-08-03T19:50:30Z2022-08-03T19:50:30ZHow the St. Lawrence Seaway will continue to become more important to the economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477243/original/file-20220802-15851-lfo9gp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C2%2C986%2C744&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A container ship moves up through the winter ice in the St. Lawrence River, near the Port of Montréal. Approximately 8,000 merchant vessels travel the St. Lawrence annually. The importance of the river in all aspects of the economy is enormous and is expected to increase in the years to come.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The St. Lawrence Seaway is made up of a broad network of interconnected infrastructures. Channels, canals, port facilities and fleets illustrate the connections between transportation equipment, industrial production and the artificial, human-made environment.</p>
<p>This valuable infrastructure represents significant capital investments that have already been amortized. The maintenance, modernization and adaptation of the sea-river network make it possible to meet the demands for capacity, fluidity and reliability imposed by the transport industry.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469058/original/file-20220615-9549-jj1phn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This article is part of our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr/topics/fleuve-saint-laurent-116908">The St. Lawrence River: In depth</a>.
Don’t miss new articles on this mythical river of remarkable beauty. Our experts look at its fauna, flora and history, and the issues it faces. This series is brought to you by <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr">La Conversation</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>From their position as supply chain nodes, the St. Lawrence ports have become the catalysts that link trade, development and industrial innovations. The importance of the river in all aspects of the Québec economy is enormous, and it is expected to increase even more in the coming years. </p>
<p>I am a Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Montréal and an academic advisor to the Montréal Port Authority. I have been interested in maritime transport issues for 30 years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Un navire chargé de conteneurs glisse sur une vaste étendue d’eau" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475207/original/file-20220720-11760-bud0gi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ship loaded with containers heads up the St. Lawrence River towards the Port of Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ships and cargo</h2>
<p>The St. Lawrence River has <a href="https://www.st-laurent.org/bim/en/get-to-know-the-marine-industry/economy/ports-and-terminals/">20 commercial ports and 14 port infrastructures (marine terminal, wharf, fishing port)</a>. In 2021, these 34 marine infrastructures of the “St. Lawrence system” handled nearly 150 million tonnes of cargo. </p>
<p>The most important ports are Montréal (34 Metric ton), Sept-Îles (30.7 Mt), Québec City (28.5 Mt) and Port-Cartier (25 Mt). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Des quais glacés dans une mer en glace" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475204/original/file-20220720-11077-e6hcmj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sept-Îles harbour, the second largest on the St. Lawrence, in winter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Approximately 8,000 merchant vessels operate on the St. Lawrence system annually, including dry bulk carriers, oil tankers, general cargo carriers, container ships and roll-on/roll-off vessels.</p>
<p>The delivery of raw materials is essential. The St. Lawrence ports handle approximately 70 Mt of minerals, mainly for export. Between 25 and 32 Mt of hydrocarbons circulate through the river each year. </p>
<p>The grain trade accounts for about 18 Mt. Grain from the prairies is first transported by rail to Thunder Bay and then transferred to the ports of Montréal, Québec City, Sorel, Trois-Rivières, Baie-Comeau and Port-Cartier through the St. Lawrence Seaway for shipment to markets in Europe and Africa.</p>
<p>About 15 per cent of the export is generated by from Québec’s agriculture fields, including soybean and corn producers in the Montérégie region, who ship part of their harvest through the Port of Montréal. The St. Lawrence river-maritime system is heavily solicited to meet the supply and distribution demands of container goods.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Champ de maïs, avec une forêt boréale en arrière-plan" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475231/original/file-20220720-11760-rpcw2k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Corn field near Bromont. Soybean and corn producers in the Montérégie region ship part of their harvest from the Port of Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Montréal is the only container port on the St. Lawrence. Its estimated turnover at 15 Mt is primarily composed of manufactured goods, forestry products, pulp and paper, cereals and agri-food, machinery and metal products. </p>
<p>Montréal’s weight in the handling of <a href="https://www.ttnews.com/articles/montreal-ports-pitch-shippers-no-waiting">container traffic is increasingly expected to grow</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475201/original/file-20220720-9429-owvnq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Containers being unloaded at the Port of Montréal in April 2021. Montréal is the only container port on the river.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The St. Lawrence, strongly rooted in east-west trade</h2>
<p>Québec’s economy is dependent on foreign trade. Its prosperity depends fundamentally on its ability to succeed in international markets. </p>
<p>The ports of the St. Lawrence therefore have a significant role in supporting the province’s economy and trade, both imports and exports. They continue to grow and are <a href="https://www.investquebec.com/international/en/why-quebec/transportation-infrastructure.html">projected to do so at a steady pace in the coming years</a>.</p>
<p>The economic importance of the St. Lawrence system is apparent on several levels.</p>
<p>Ships calling at St. Lawrence ports are <a href="https://www.st-laurent.org/en/publications-2/sodes-publications/maritime-information-system-newsletter/">getting bigger and bigger</a>, requiring investments in the renovation and expansion of existing port infrastructure.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Un navire transportant des conteneurs glisse sur l’eau" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475203/original/file-20220720-16-one94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ships calling at St. Lawrence ports are getting larger and larger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Moreover, the <a href="https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/rmt2021_en_0.pdf">tonne-kilometres associated with maritime trade are growing faster than tonnages</a>, indicating that the industry is moving into increasingly distant trans-ocean markets.</p>
<p>Indeed, the St. Lawrence port system is firmly anchored in east-west trade. The economic response of the St. Lawrence system to global processes has been to consolidate trade with the European market and to align itself with the economies of the Pacific Basin, particularly China.</p>
<p>Another aspect is the ongoing of north-south ties with African economies (especially natural resources) and the development of trade with Middle Eastern markets.</p>
<p>Intercontinental trade represents more than half of the St. Lawrence ports’ marine activity. The continental market accounts for approximatey 15 per cent. This commerce involves ports along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf Coast in the United States. The St. Lawrence ports also benefit from the economic markets of Central and South America.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475202/original/file-20220720-9429-shfe09.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ship docks in the Port of Montréal in February 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The importance of regional trade</h2>
<p>Regional trade, that is, trade between the ports of the St. Lawrence system and those of the Great Lakes, is also significant. It accounts for a third of the total traffic of the river’s ports. </p>
<p>The volume of traffic between Québec ports and Ontario markets is relatively balanced in terms of exports and imports. Iron and coal, however, are on a <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-lawrence-seaway">downward trend due to the decline of traditional industrial sectors</a>. More than 60 per cent of this traffic is made up of exports from Québec to the Midwest of the United States. Trade with the Atlantic provinces, on the other hand, consists mainly of imports from the latter.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Un navire glisse sur un large cours d’eau" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475205/original/file-20220720-21-ktb2un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A merchant ship approaches the port of Québec.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Also of note is a moderate growth in trade with the Canadian Arctic, which <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Marine-Infrastructures-in-Nunavik-and-Climate-Ropars-Guimond/630aea85587b33e11f4f5f709f99f0a1aeb1c020">reflects an interest in developing mining sites</a> in northern areas.</p>
<p>An analysis of marine transit within the St. Lawrence system <a href="https://www.st-laurent.org/en/files-and-accomplishments/marine-industry-consensus-seeking-and-positioning/systeme-dinformation-maritime-sim/">shows substantial short-distance shipping</a>. Domestic trade between Québec ports is driven by the transfer of minerals and fuels.</p>
<h2>The need for investment</h2>
<p>St. Lawrence ports provide reliable, efficient and environmentally friendly logistics linking marine freight to land shippers.</p>
<p>Considering the importance of the port sector for Québec, investment is necessary. Its future plans and needs include ongoing infrastructure maintenance, replacement of existing port assets, and new marine, land and intermodal development projects. According to the <a href="https://acpa-aapc.ca">Association of Canadian Port Authorities</a>, these are estimated at $6 billion by 2025.</p>
<p>Québec’s continuted economic growth and trade activities depend on adequate capacity at its ports. They are critical to securing Québec’s competitiveness in international trade and to seizing new market opportunities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187949/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claude Comtois has received funding from several federal and provincial ministries (Transport Canada, Ministère des Transports du Québec, Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et des Exportations), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Nature et technologie (FRQNT) and the Réseau Québec Maritime (RQM).</span></em></p>Approximately 8,000 merchant vessels travel the St. Lawrence each year. Its ports have become the catalysts that link trade, development and industrial innovation.Claude Comtois, Professeur émérite de géographie, Université de MontréalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.