'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Sunday marked Canada’s first federally recognized Emancipation Day -- the day on which the British Empire ended the practice of slavery for close to a million African people and their descendants across the former colonies.
The recognition of the day follows years of campaigning by Black lawmakers and community advocates, all of which culminated in March, when the federal government unanimously voted to recognize Emancipation Day.
Aug. 1, 1834 was the date an act came into effect that ended slavery in the former British colonies, including Upper and Lower Canada. The act freed about 800,000 enslaved people of African descent across the colonies nearly 200 years ago.
In-person and virtual ceremonies and events were held to commemorate Emancipation Day in different cities and provinces, including Nova Scotia, home to a historic Black community.
In a statement online, Nova Scotia Independent Senator Wanda Thomas Bernard – a leading figure in the push to recognize Emancipation Day -- called the day a “monumental milestone for Black people in Canada.”
“In 2021, African Canadians continue to experience systemic anti-Black racism and substantial economic inequalities. Understanding our full history provides a critical perspective of the persisting condition of poverty and violence within Black communities, acknowledging these as systemic issues, not individual issues,” she said.
She added that “federal recognition of the day highlights that Black history is Canadian history” and extends beyond simply the month of February -- echoing how many educators across the country hammered home that same idea last Black History Month.
At an online event on Saturday held by the Delmore Buddy Daye Learning Institute, Bernard also noted how apologies and topics such as reparations need to be discussed seriously.
Natasha Henry, president of Ontario Black History Society which is hosting its own virtual celebration at 6 p.m EST, explained long-standing events such as Caribana festivities in Toronto were created specifically to honour Emancipation Day.
So with the federal recognition, the government is simply following the “long tradition in Canada and in the Americas,” she told CTVNews.ca in a phone call on Sunday.
“I see it as a great opportunity for more Canadians to … join in understanding that this is also a call to action,” Henry said, attributing the unanimous vote directly to last year’s social uprising following the murder of George Floyd.
“I think it affords an opportunity for people to also not see Emancipation Day as one day, but connected to the wider movement for Black lives around the issues that Black Canadians have raised forever around education, around employment, [and] around the justice of the criminal justice system.”
And in a blog post last week, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO echoed the call for genuine action.
“For real progress to continue, we need more than just a tacit acknowledgement from Canadians and our government,” the commission wrote. “Observing a shameful historical moment in our history is one thing. Doing something proactive to address its legacy is another.”
Michelle Williams, assistant professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University told The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which has been promoting several different online events, that today marks simply “one step toward righting the historical wrongs and resulting harms that African Nova Scotians continue to experience.”
In a statement on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “Emancipation Day is a representation of social activism, justice, and our commitment to an equitable future.
“Today, we recommit ourselves to fighting anti-Black racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination, and related intolerance faced by people of African descent in Canada,” he said.
The federal government’s webpage about the day states that “Emancipation Day celebrates the strength and perseverance of Black communities in Canada. After British colonial settlers established Upper Canada, the number of enslaved Africans and their descendants increased significantly. It is estimated that 3,000 enslaved men, women and children of African descent were brought into British North America and eventually outnumbered enslaved Indigenous Peoples."
With files from The Canadian Press
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.