Injustices in Canada Today

Although contemporary Canadian society is both technologically sophisticated and pluralistically tolerant, it is also unjust. In this course, we are going to identify some of the major injustices in our present culture, examine how they came to be, whether Canadian law combats or perpetuates these injustices, and how we might rectify them. We will focus on three main areas: the environment, refugees and aboriginal people. That is the objective pole of the course; but there is also a subjective pole. Students will be asked to consider not only social injustices but also their own identities as individuals, neighbours, citizens and Christians. And so this course aims not only at acquiring new knowledge, but also at self-transformation. To this end, we will examine the dominant narratives concerning the environment, refugees and aboriginal people; we will then test the accuracy of these narratives against reality; and finally, we will see how our changed perception affects both our responses to these injustices and our own self-understanding.