I compare the Canadian government’s multiculturalism and Aboriginal policies. I see similarities between Western University political science professor Salim Mansur’s concerns about multiculturalism and the pro-Palestinian/anti-Jewish elements elements of the Caledonia, Ontario land claims dispute.
Western University political science professor Salim Mansur’s book Delectable Lie: a liberal repudiation of multiculturalism (2011) argues that “identity politics” and collectivism are eroding Canadian liberal democracy and freedom of speech. Canadians need to uphold the importance of a unifying Canadian culture “embedded in the values of the West and shaped by the Enlightenment.”
My first name Leith has been a mixed blessing. I examine the history of the name and its various meanings. In 2003 and 2004, I had two articles published about this topic. In 2005, a 10-minute staged reading of my play “Leithal Knocks” was produced by the Grand’s Playwrights Cabaret.
In 1968-1969, Louise Wyatt was my Central Secondary School Grade 12 English teacher. She encouraged me to become a writer, but I did not follow her advice until the mid-1990s. In 1998, I let Miss Wyatt know I was finally getting into my writing and she was glad to hear it.
Peter Sutton worked as an anthropologist and linguist with Australian Aborigines. He grew more and more disillusioned with the situation there and penned the book The Politics of Suffering: Indigenous Australia and the end of the liberal consensus (2009). I see numerous parallels between what he says and the Indigenous situation here in Canada.