Op-eds
Pope Francis, we don’t accept your hollow apology. Here’s why (Toronto: The Toronto Star, July 26, 2022) | PDF Another pope’s apology isn’t enough when Catholic Church’s cover-ups and hypocrisy continue to this day (Toronto: The Toronto Star, July 24, 2022) | PDF Who do the national Indigenous organizations really represent? (Toronto: The Globe and Mail, July 22, 2022) | PDF AFN’s Toxic Politics Hurts First Nations (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, July 5, 2022)The NDP and Liberals have failed progressive Ontarians (Toronto: TVO, June 3, 2022)On Indigenous issues, Ontario’s big four parties fall short (Toronto: TVO, May 18, 2022)Breaches of Indigenous human rights condemned by UN (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, May 17, 2022)What the parties’ websites reveal about the campaign so far (Toronto: TVO, May 11, 2022)RCMP’s toxic culture of sexualized violence requires external review (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, May 10, 2022)The Siege of Ottawa (Montreal: The Breach, February 7, 2022)RCMP still clearing Indigenous lands for corporate interests (Montreal: The Breach, November 26, 2021)What does the election result mean for Indigenous women and girls? (Toronto: CTV News, September 21, 2021)Federal Election 2021: The PPC got more than 800,000 votes, and that should worry all of us (Toronto: Maclean’s, September 21, 2021)Do federal platforms address needs of women in Canada’s economic recovery? (Toronto: CTV News, September 15, 2021)Federal party platforms on Indigenous human rights show deep divide (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, September 14, 2021)Leaders stumble on Indigenous reconciliation at debates (Toronto: CTV News, September 10, 2021)When politicians squirm, pay close attention (Montreal: The Breach, September 9, 2021)Urgent action on genocide missing from federal party platforms (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, September 7, 2021)How serious are the federal leaders about reconciliation with Indigenous people? (Toronto: CTV News, September 1, 2021)In an era of waning political trust, anything can happen in this election (Toronto: CTV News, August 24, 2021)Bernier is a bust, but O’Toole is not so different (Montreal: The Breach, August 23, 2021)Alberta’s anti-energy inquiry aims to undermine First Nations opposition to Tar Sands (Montreal: The Breach, August 6, 2021)Canada’s government needs to face up to its role in Indigenous children’s deaths (Cindy Blackstock & Pam Palmater | UK: The Guardian, July 8, 2021)The discovery of mass unmarked graves in Canada has Indigenous people asking: how many more? (P. Palmater & C. Blackstock | UK: The Guardian, June 9, 2021).Federal budget ignores Canada’s ongoing genocide against Indigenous peoples (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, May 4, 2021)What Joyce Echaquan Knew (Toronto: Maclean’s, June 3, 2021)Doug Ford’s racism is risking First Nation lives (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, March 12, 2021)Canada still failing to fix water crisis in First Nations communities, says AG (Toronto: Rabble, March 4, 2021).Where’s Trudeau’s pipeline for water to First Nations? (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, February 26, 2021)Canada’s shell game on C-92 funding (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, February 8, 2021) or read article on my blog. At every turn, Canada chooses the path of injustice toward Indigenous peoples (Toronto: Maclean’s, January 29, 2021) Jason Kenney is Tanking Alberta (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, January 29, 2021)The entitlement of Canadian politicians (Toronto: Maclean’s, January 5, 2021)Eastern Door (Mi’kmaw lawyers including P. Palmater), “First Nations have their own legal authority to regulate their fishing rights” (Ottawa: Policy Options, October 22, 2020).
Mi’kmaw treaty rights, reconciliation and the rule of law (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, September 22, 2020)What we’re seeing in 2020 is Idle No More 2.0 (Toronto: Macleans, September 15, 2020)Criminalization of Indigenous journalism contradicts reconciliation (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, September 9, 2020)First Nations still looking for action on child welfare crisis (Toronto: NOW Toronto, July 12, 2020)Brenda Lucki Must Go (Toronto: Maclean’s, June 18, 2020)Canada Should Declassify, Deconstruct and Defund the RCMP (Winnipeg, Canadian Dimension, June 15, 2020)Genocide against Indigenous women and girls continues in Canada (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, June 4, 2020)Gendered Pandemic Response Needed to Address Specific Needs of indigenous Women (Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, June 4, 2020)Yes, Canada Has a Racism Crisis and It’s Killing Black and Indigenous Peoples (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, June 3, 2020)Prisoner death toll will mount without releasing most vulnerable inmates (Ottawa: Policy Options, April 23, 2020)Under Cover of Covid-19, Rule of Law Falters (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, April 23, 2020)Inquiry Needed into Police Violence Against Indigenous Peoples (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, April 22, 2020)Nova Scotia mass shooting lays bare media’s white male bias (Toronto: NOW Toronto, April 21, 2020).Federal Pandemic Funds for First Nations Woefully Inadequate (Toronto: Rabble, March 27, 2020)Canada is Ignoring the Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 on Indigenous Women (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension, March 25, 2020) First Nation elections pose significant health risk (P. Palmater, M. Wente | Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, March 27, 2020)COVID-19 pandemic plan needed for Canada’s jails and prisons (Winnipeg: APTN National News, March 23, 2020)Priority pandemic response needed for First Nations (Ottawa: Policy Options, March 20, 2020)The blockades no one talks about devastate Indigenous economies (Toronto: Macleans, March 4, 2020)Clearing the lands has always been at the heart of Canada’s Indian Policy (Toronto: Globe & Mail, February 27, 2020)Wet’suwet’en: a wake-up call for Canada (Toronto: NOW Toronto, February 27, 2020)Canada does not deserve a seat at UN Security Council (Ottawa: APTN News, Feb.12, 2020)Overincarceration of Indigenous peoples nothing short of genocide (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, January 30, 2020) | Open access versionIdle No More Catches Fire, in Decade in Review: 50 Things that defined Toronto in the 2010’s (Toronto: NOW Magazine, December 4, 2019)Guns and White Supremacists Don’t Mix (Toronto: Maclean’s, November 12, 2019)Time for Justin Trudeau to embrace a radical agenda (Toronto: NOW Toronto, November 4, 2019)Where the parties stand on Indigenous issues (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, October 18, 2019)Indigenous issues slowly disappear from election 2019 (Toronto: Lawyer’s Daily, October 15, 2019 – Open Access Version)Abolishing the Indian Act means eliminating First Nations’ rights (Toronto: Maclean’s, October 10, 2019)The irony of the First Nations’ vote (Toronto: Maclean’s, October 7, 2019)Canada Election 2019: Andrew Scheer and Maxime Bernier are two peas in a pod (Toronto: NOW Toronto, October 4, 2019)Don’t forget the racist Canadians behind the racist systems (Ottawa: Policy Options, October 2, 2019)The Two Questions I want to Ask Federal Leaders (Toronto: Chatelaine, October 1, 2019 [Updated October 8, 2019])First Nations and the Business of Cannabis (Toronto: Lawyer’s Daily, September 25, 2019 – Open Access Version)“Missing and Murdered: Canada’s Genocide Cover-Up” (Toronto: NOW Toronto, June 27, 2019).“Justice system still not protecting Indigenous women and girls” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, May 28, 2019).“RCMP Invasion of Wet’suwet’en Nation territory breaches Canada’s ‘rule of law’” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, April 24, 2019)“Responsibility for Kashechewan’s crises lies with Crown” (Ottawa: Policy Options, April 24, 2019).“Thank you for your donation” (Toronto: Maclean’s, March 29, 2019).“Bill C-92’s Indigenous child welfare act risks continuing the status quo” (Toronto: Rabble.ca, April 5, 2019).“Liberal budget leaves behind Indigenous women and children – again” (Toronto: Rabble.ca, March 21, 2019).“First Nation water problems a crisis of Canada’s own making” (Ottawa: Policy Options, February 6, 2019).“Cannabis legalization Ignores First Nations” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, January 30, 2019).“Will Ottawa heed UN on rights of First Nations women?” (Ottawa: Policy Options, January 22, 2019).“Canada continues to deny sex equality to First Nation women and children” (Toronto: Rabble, January 23, 2019 – originally January 20, 2019).“Will 2019 be the year we make America native again?” (Toronto: Rabble, December 30, 2018).“Trump’s ‘Crazy Town’ Represents a Clear and Present Danger to Canada” (Toronto: Indigenous Nationhood Blog, December 27, 2018).“Land of the Living Skies and Lethal Racism” (Toronto: Indigenous Nationhood Blog, October 28, 2018).“The Indigenous Right to Say No” (Toronto: Lawyer’s Daily, October 12, 2018).“The Supreme Court has just gutted the Crown’s Duty to Consult First Nations” (Toronto: Maclean’s, October 11, 2018).“Restoring the Place of Indigenous Peoples in the GTHA” (Toronto: Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance, 2018).“It’s up to Indigenous, environmental groups to protect the public interest” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, September 17, 2018).“Killer Whales, Trans Mountain Pipeline and the Public Interest” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, September 11, 2018).“Appropriated identities and the new wave of dispossession” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, September 6, 2018).“Respect for First Nations rights could’ve spared us this panic over Trans Mountain” (Toronto: Maclean’s, August 31, 2018).“Justice for Our Stolen Children Camp stands up for Indigenous children” (Toronto: Rabble, August 28, 2018).“Maxime Bernier’s ‘extreme multiculturalism’ Twitter rants sound more like sour grapes” (Toronto: Indigenous Nationhood Blog, August 21, 2018).“Assembly of First Nations election a battle for sovereignty” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, July 18, 2018).“Greyhound Canada’s cuts are a public safety crisis for Indigenous people” (Toronto: Maclean’s, July 11, 2018).“Indigenous Rights are not Conditional on Public Opinion” (Toronto: Maclean’s, June 8, 2018).“The First Nations’ Agenda in the Ontario Election” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, June 4, 2018).“By buying Trans Mountain, the Trudeau government breaks an array of promises” (Toronto: Maclean’s, May 30, 2018).“True Test of Reconciliation: Respect the Indigenous Right to Say No” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, May 19, 2018).“Trans Mountain pipeline crisis is a watershed moment for Trudeau-First Nation relations” (Toronto: NOW Magazine, April 26, 2018).“Toss Bill C-69 overboard and protect our water, Mr. Trudeau” (Ottawa: Ottawa Citizen, April 19, 2018).“Canada’s Criminalization of the Indigenous Tobacco Trade” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, April 4, 2018).“Foster Care system one of the paths to murdered and missing Indigenous women” (Toronto: CBC, February 27, 2018).“Trudeau’s Dance of Deception on Indigenous Rights” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, February 26, 2018).“Why Canada Should Stand Trial for Tina Fontaine’s Murder” (Toronto: NOW Magazine, February 25, 2018).“Resurgence or revelation? White nationalist legacies in Canada” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, December 8, 2017).“Trudeau’s Forked Tongue Reconciliation at UN” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, December 8, 2017).“Equality delayed is equality denied for Indigenous women” (Ottawa: Policy Options, December 5, 2017).“Public Inquiry Needed to Address Sexualized Violence in Policing and Corrections System” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, November 6, 2017).“NAFTA 2.0 Time to Get it Right or Kill It” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, October 10, 2017).“Social Conflict is inevitable in decolonization battle” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, August 24, 2017).“Indigenous inquiry a slow motion implosion” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, August 8, 2017).“The Liberals’ plans for Indigenous reconciliation are just beads and trinkets” (Toronto: Maclean’s, July 24, 2017).“Inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls needs a reset” (Toronto: NOW Magazine, July 5, 2017).“Why is Trudeau Government Opposing Charter Equality for Indigenous Women? (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, June 21, 2017).“The People left behind by Trudeau’s promised nation-to-nation relationship” (Toronto: Maclean’s, June 9, 2017).“Indigenous Women Warriors are the Heart of Indigenous Resistance” (Arlington, Virginia: Counter/Act Magazine: Feminists Bridging Theory and Action Magazine, June 6, 2017).
“Inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls fatally flawed” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, May 15 2017).“Unraveling the Secrets of the National Inquiry” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, May 8 2017).“Nation to nation relations need repeal of paternalistic laws” (Toronto: The Lawyer’s Daily, April 17, 2017).“From foster care to missing or murdered: Canada’s other tragic pipeline” (Toronto: Maclean’s, April 12, 2017).“Canada 150 is a celebration of Indigenous genocide” (Toronto: NOW Magazine, March 29, 2017).“Sexualized Genocide” (Winnipeg: Working it Out Together Magazine, March 28, 2017).“Evidence of good faith lacking in Trudeau’s Indigenous agenda” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, March 15, 2017).“The Lethal Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health” (Winnipeg: WIOT Magazine, 2017).“TPP dead in the water without First Nation consent” (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, November 2016).“Corporate Conquistadors Rape Indigenous Lands and Bodies” (Venezuela: Telesur English, August 2016).“Families, advocates left to fill gaping holes in MMIW inquiry” (Ottawa: Policy Options, August 2016).“Systemic Sexism in Canada Could Derail National Inquiry” (Venezuela: Telesur English, July 2016).“How Canada turned a blind eye to the suicide crises in First Nations” (Ottawa: Policy Options, 3 April 2016).“Trudeau’s empty budget promises on the nation-to-nation relationship” (Ottawa: Policy Options, 23 March 2016).“Blood fiction: belonging, services and status Indians” (Toronto: The Ethnic Aisle, 16 February 2016) The Blood Issue 2016.“The Ongoing Legacies of Genocide in Canada” (Winnipeg: Canadian Dimension Magazine, 2016) vol.50, Issue 1.“Ontario Policing: Gang Rapes, Murders and Child Porn” (Venezuela: Telesur English, February 2016).“Canada: Human Rights Decision a Game Changer for First Nations” (Venezuela: Telesur English, January 2016).“Warriors Rising” (Winnipeg: Red Rising Magazine, February 2016) Issue 2.
“Here’s how you can help new Canadians understand their role in reconciliation” (Toronto: Rabble.ca, December 2015) reprinted in (Vancouver: Asian Pacific Post, 2016) [18 February 2016].“Will We See Real Nation-to-Nation Respect with Trudeau?” (Toronto: NOW Magazine, November 2015).“Canada is in a Crisis of Epic Proportions” (Venezuela: Telesur English, 2015).“Tories will leave lethal legacy for First Nations” (Toronto: The Toronto Star, 15 October, 2015).“Harper’s 10 Year War on First Nations” (Toronto: The Harper Decade, July 2015).“Stephen Harper Continues Canada’s Legacy of Genocide and Denial” (Venezuela: Telesur English, June 2015).“Canadian and Church Officials Must be Accountable for Genocide” (Venezuela: Telesur English, June 2015).“Canada was Killing Indians, Not Cultures” (Venezuela: Telesur English, June 2015).“Canada’s Disappeared Indigenous Women” (Venezuela: Telesur English, May 2015).“International Women’s Day: Indigenous Women still not equal in Canada” (Ottawa: CBC News, 7 March 2015).“Can a new national chief make the AFN relevant?” (Ottawa: CBC News, 9 December 2014).“Stephen Harper and the myth of the crooked Indian” (Toronto: Canadian Dimension Magazine, 7 December 2014) [also published in Rabble.ca].“Indian status: Why Lynn Gehl’s court challenge matters” (Ottawa: CBC News Analysis, 20 October 2014).“Harper’s Assimilatory Agenda just had a head-on collision with Indigenous Resistance” (Ottawa: Hill Times, 12 May 2014).“Assembly of First Nations at Critical Crossroads” (Toronto: Toronto Star, 5 May 2014).“A Movement to Protect the Earth Rises in Canada” (Minnesota, USA: On The Commons: Commons Magazine, 4 February 2013).“Native Winter is Here: Harper Better Buy a Warm Coat” (Winnipeg: Weetamah Newspaper, February 2013).
“Why Idle No More Matters to Us All” (Toronto: NOW Magazine, 10 January 2013) vol.32, no.19.“Why We Are Idle No More” (Ottawa: Ottawa Citizen, 29 December 2012).“Forcing our Hearts: Legislative Oppression of Indigenous Women in Canada” (Toronto: FUSE Magazine, May 2012).
“Unbelievable but Undeniable: Genocide in Canada” (Vancouver: Synergy Magazine, March 2012).“First Nations Fiasco” (Toronto: Precedent Magazine, 14 March 2012).
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