CanadianHistory

Memoirs | Brian Mulroney

Our 18th Prime Minister passed away yesterday. He was known for making the free trade agreement with the US. He had a good friendship with a lot of foreign leaders, including President Ronald Reagan.

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deliasson

The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America | Thomas King

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This book is a must read for Canadians and those living in the U.S.A.

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Purpleness

Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains | Jack Brink

“The past is the ultimate abyss.”

bibliothecarivs I have always loved this quote from Simon Schama: 'Historians are left forever chasing shadows, painfully aware of their inability ever to reconstruct a dead world in its completeness however thorough or revealing their documentation. We are doomed to be forever hailing someone who has just gone around the corner and out of earshot.' 4mo

Purpleness @bibliothecarivs I love that! 4mo

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Purpleness

Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern Plains | Jack Brink

Last book of 2023: Persuasion, the last in my Jane Austen reread.
First book started in 2024: Finally getting around to Imagining Head-Smashed-In, which I think I bought in 2018.
#lastfirst @BookNAround

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rabbitprincess

The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum and the Day That Almost Was | Chantal Hebert, Jean Lapierre

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This was an interesting exercise, discussing what the various players in the Quebec sovereignty referendum of 1995 thought might have happened or were prepared to have happen if the referendum had been in favour of Quebec separating. This was a key moment in Canadian politics for me, so a lot of familiar faces here. It's a short, breezy read. Recommended if you're interested in Canadian political history.

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Robotswithpersonality

The Canadian Labour Movement | Craig Heron, Charles Smith

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Happy Labour Day!
Ever since I participated in my first union strike earlier this year, I've felt like I was missing some important history and knowledge; this seemed like the ideal time and material to begin filling in that gap.
Not gonna lie, pretty enraging and dispiriting read.
You would also be correct in assuming this was a fairly dry read. That does not make its contents any less important. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 I'm glad my library had the latest edition of this book, I was pleased to see a consistent acknowledgement and discussion of how minorities (genders, sexualities, ethnicities) were affected by and affected the course of the labour movement.

My greatest takeaways:

1) Workers have had to fight for rights, for less shitty circumstances since they've had employers paying them wages. There are no good old days in labour history. 8mo

Robotswithpersonality 2) History of labour movement/formation and achievements of unions in Canada seems to be a pattern of ' that worked, that didn't work, let's try again' which feels hopeful even in the face of the recognition that capitalist employers are never going to give an inch if they aren't forced to, and all too often the government is on the employer's side and also has to be pushed into making changes that benefit workers and provide a social support system. 3/? 8mo

Robotswithpersonality 3)Government also has a filthy history beyond manipulating existing law towards the capitalist employer's benefit, going further toward unethical/illegal activity the courts have to smack down, and using police/military force to break strikes?! Just fully realizing the depths of my naivete. 🤦🏼‍♂️4/? 8mo

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Robotswithpersonality 4) Getting together to fight for something only works if you agree on what you're fighting for, and how to do so. Solidarity! Time and again reading this history is a replay of what happens when different group are at odds, about how to do things, what is most important. Unions faded as often because of internal sabotage/inconsistencies , as they did because economic down turn weakened their positions. Works the same for the political parties allegedly on their side, voted into power and then not able or unwilling to move forwards with actions that workers who supported them prioritized. 🤷🏼‍♂️ 5/? 8mo

Robotswithpersonality 5) How changes in society, politics and economy affect the labour movement, workers rights, case in point:
I should probably do more reading on the subject, but based on the perspective and history detailed here: Fuck NAFTA! 6/? 8mo

Robotswithpersonality 6) U.S. influence and support a curse and a blessing. Their unions provided power, finances, paved the way in lending early support to union efforts, but also wanted control without much compromise, and really diverged later in political perspective/goals. 7/8 8mo

Robotswithpersonality So, yes, I will be continuing my education, but I think I can solidly recommend this as a good starting point.

P.S. It is a 200 page 'short' history, FYI.😮‍💨. I'd probably be less bitter about that if I hadn't basically assigned myself homework during a long weekend. 🥴 8/8 8mo

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Robotswithpersonality

The Canadian Labour Movement | Craig Heron, Charles Smith

A better way forward.

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Robotswithpersonality

The Canadian Labour Movement | Craig Heron, Charles Smith

In conclusion...💪🏻👊🏻

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Robotswithpersonality

The Canadian Labour Movement | Craig Heron, Charles Smith

Okay, you get points for that one. It's catchy! 😈

Singout I had a six month gig with StatsCan many years ago (worst job I‘ve ever had) and at one point went on a quest to find the union organizer because I‘d never been part of a union before. She was nowhere to be found because nobody was interested. 8mo

6 likes1 comment

Robotswithpersonality

The Canadian Labour Movement | Craig Heron, Charles Smith

👍🏻

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