This is my hopeful outlook for 2020 ranging from recognizing the rights of Indigenous children, to having sensible conversations about gun safety.
Indigenous rights and resistance
I would like to see more of this kind of resistance in 2020: In 2019, activists started approaching insurers to drop coverage of certain energy projects. This is an innovative approach. Perhaps, this may call attention to climate change and insurance risks.
Indigenous children and the federal government
I would like to see less of this in 2020: The federal government appealed the Canadian human rights tribunal’s award against Canada for underfunding child welfare services. This underfunding resulted in unnecessary removal of Indigenous children from their homes/communities and/or gaps/delays in services under Jordan’s principles (read more here)
Handguns
I would like to see a more balanced approach to gun policies: The handgun debate (if we can call it that) is not based on any sort of rationality. The federal government has made a commitment to ban already banned guns and work with cities to ban more guns that are already hard to access. While gun violence is an issue, I believe that there should be a balanced and principled approach taken, including one that is based on rationality or connection to the fact that those communities impacted by gun violence need more social and community supports—not more policing.
Consult versus consent
I would like to see conversations around consent in 2020, but around Indigenous rights and consent (other kinds of consent is cool too): The UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racism called for Canada to halt construction in three major energy projects: Trans Mountain Pipeline, Coastal GasLink Pipeline and Site C dam. Consultation is a different question than asking for a community’s consent going forward with a project. Can we all get on the same page about what conversation we are having?
Sex work and sex trafficking
As always, I really wish that we can start having conversations about what is sex work versus what is sex trafficking; they are sex trafficking victims who support decriminalization of sex work and there are sex workers who support sex trafficking victims. I assume this will be my hopeful outlook for many years.
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