Some People Are "Special"

Almost too special:

For Tara Martinez, this is the most important federal election in her lifetime — especially for First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada.

"You can't ignore us anymore. We're here. And when we vote, we can swing the vote," she said.

Yes, about that ...

Canada has a population of 37 million, only 1,673,785 of which are aboriginal or part thereof, or 4.9% of the total population (as of 2016). Of that number, only 2.8% are voting age and willing to vote. That is nearly 47,000 (46,865.98, precisely). As of this writing, Elections Canada has 27 million registered voters, the largest and most important ridings being in Ontario (with seats being allotted by some weird and unfair system). What could Miss Martinez swing?

 

Further:

Martinez, from Little Saskatchewan First Nation, says the momentum behind Cancel Canada Day events is fuelling that feeling of urgency.

On July 1, thousands of people across the country walked in city streets to protest Canada Day. Instead of celebrating confederation, the crowds were calling attention to the unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools.

 

Well, about that:

Sarah Beaulieu, an anthropologist at B.C.’s  University of the Fraser Valley, who did the research, told reporters that ground-penetrating radar had found 200 anomalous spots in the ground over a two-acre space that were “probable” burial sites, given size and depth and east-west directions of the graves, consistent with Christian burials.

“We can never say definitively that they are human remains until you excavate, which is why we need to pull back a little bit and say that they are probable burials,” Beaulieu said.

 

Oh, my ... 

Also:

The Alberta government is not considering legislation to formally enshrine the recently created federal National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — Sept. 30 — as a statutory holiday.

Instead, the United Conservative government will leave it to provincially regulated industries to determine if they wish to grant a holiday on that day, "unless an employee's employment contract or collective bargaining agreement specifically grants federally-regulated holidays," Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson said in a statement through his press secretary Wednesday.

** 

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said Thursday Canadians “should be proud to put our flag back up” after it has remained at half-mast on the Peace Tower and other federal buildings for nearly three months to mark the finding of unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools.

 

 

Because transparency:

The Prime Minister’s policy director in an internal email referred to an Indigenous group as “a friendly” and urged staff to answer their complaints to prevent them “from popping off at us.” The remarks concerned a confidential text from the Métis Nation of Alberta: “This is completely unacceptable.”

 

 

Also special, Quebec:

In the video, the Prime Minister says in French that the government has always been there for Canadians, but particularly for the Quebecois, and has "put eight out of every ten dollars of the federal government for pandemic help for the people, and has promised to keep being there for the people."

Trudeau has also commented in the recent past that he feels that the French language isn't sufficiently supported by the federal government, both within Quebec and in other parts of the Canadian territory.

 

A man of the people:

Singh’s family faced an initial struggle while his father was getting his Canadian medical certification. But after he qualified the family became very wealthy very quickly. A psychiatrist in a government-funded fee-for-service system has a very high earnings potential.

The family relocated to Windsor, Ont., and the young Jagmeet was sent to a private school in Beverly Hills, Mich. Current annual tuition at Detroit Country Day School is US$26,000 for the elementary grades and $34,000 for high school (books and uniforms not included).

I'm sure that will work:

In a recent submission to the United Nations Security Council, the Canadian government advocated for a “gendered and intersectional” approach to preventing terrorism and violent extremism.

 

I'm sure men who throw acid in women's faces can be reasoned with.