A Wilfred Laurier professor is sounding the alarm on an Ontario bill that would entrench critical race theory as an ideology in schools..Bill 67, the Racial Equity in the Education System Act, requires school boards to implement a plan for “anti-racism and racial equity requirements that apply to every college of applied arts and technology and every university that receives ongoing operating funds from the government…”.The bill defines “anti-racism” as “the policy of opposing racism including anti-indigenous racism, anti-black racism, anti-Asian racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia,” but does not name discrimination against whites..David Haskell, an associate professor of media, religion, and culture, does not welcome the legislation..“It will intensify division and misinformation in our public schools in Ontario directly related to race. And it will encourage racial conflict,” Haskell said in an interview with Western Standard..“The sociological data says we are becoming far less concerned about the race of others. We are becoming far less prejudiced, far less racist. But Bill 67 will enable the inclusion of critical race theory into every classroom from K to 12. Children and students will be told it’s getting worse, and that if you’re a white student, you are the cause, and if you are a student of colour, you are a victim.”.Haskell says the idea of “equity” has problems because it implies that if there is an imbalance in outcomes among certain races, racism is to blame. .“They’ve now redefined the term of systemic racism, and it is any disparity…Well, that’s academically incorrect. There are many reasons why you would see disparities. And none of them have anything to do with racism happening,” Haskell said..“In the NBA, we see that 76% of players are black. And no one in their right mind would say, ‘Yeah, that’s evidence of racism against white players or Asian players.’ Obviously, there are other factors…We don’t look for the racist reason when it goes in the other direction [in favour of a minority].”.Haskell also said the notion of “white privilege” in Canada fails “from an empirical standpoint.”.“In Canada, in terms of success educationally and success in terms of income, it isn’t white families or white individuals, it is Asian individuals who are at the top. And it has nothing to do with race, it has to do with the work that one puts in.”.Some educators disagree. In February, Teneile Warren, an equity and inclusion officer at the Waterloo Region District School Board, tweeted, “WPs are scared right now. History is paved with white-led violence almost always in the name of ‘freedom.’ WPs built a system on the narrative that these acts of violence were well intentioned and necessary. The system…never stops it because this is how it fuels itself.”.Haskell isn’t picking up what Warren is throwing down..“You’re telling me that there was no Asian-led violence? What about the Mongols? What about the Japanese in World War Two? What about indigenous tribes, how the Iroquois attacked other tribes and literally, to the point of extinction — all these examples?” asked Haskell..“Human beings in all of our cultures are prone to violence, but what she has purposely done is she is focused on only one ethnic group.”.Haskell’s children attend school in Warren’s school district, and under Bill 67 similar perspectives would be required for new hires and within the classroom setting across the province. He says teaching “white privilege” and “anti-racism” has proven negative effects..“In the Journal of Experimental Psychology, in April of 2019, they actually did a study to find out what teaching white privilege and anti-racism could do. And what they found was that it did not make any of the participants more sympathetic to poor blacks. But for those people who were already have a liberal or progressive viewpoint, it did make them more hostile or unsympathetic toward poor whites.”.The preferable alternative, according to Haskell, is a society where the same rules apply to everyone. .“You cannot control race, you cannot control gender, but you can control who has more competency, who has more merit. And at least with that, you have an ability to move up or down with the agency of the person.”.Lee Harding is a Western Standard contributor living in Saskatchewan.
