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In Canada, Black, Indigenous and other youths of colour often have high aspirations, but many are not sure that they are attainable. Context can signal what is in or out of reach to youths, particularly environments that send repeated and proximal signals, like neighbourhoods. Notably, the Social Identity Approach suggests that in neighbourhoods with people like them doing well socioeconomically or being well represented in leadership, youths may see a place for people similar to them, which in turn could benefit how they view their identities and experience well‐being. In this exploratory research, Black, Indigenous and other youths of colour in Montréal (n = 179) were surveyed about their neighbourhood, social and future identities and well‐being. Regressions suggest that youths' neighbourhoods predict the extent to which they perceive that opportunities are accessible to people like them. Youths who reported more opportunities for people similar to them in their neighbourhood tended to report higher alignment between their racial/ethnic and ideal future identities and higher flourishing. The findings highlight the connection between neighbourhood factors—such as cues about whether similar people are welcomed, valued, and have access to opportunities—and the identities and well‐being of Black, Indigenous and other youths of colour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we discuss the colonial project as an eliminatory structure of indigenous ways of knowing and doing that is built into Canadian social and health institutions. We elaborate on the role nursing plays in maintaining systemic racism, marginalization and discrimination of Indigenous Peoples. Based on historical practices and present‐day circumstances, we argue that changing language in research and school curriculums turns decolonization into what Tuck and Yang call a 'metaphor'. Rather, we propose decolonization as a political project where nurses acknowledge their involvement in colonial harms and disrupt the assumptions that continue to shape how nurses interact with Indigenous people, including knowledge systems that perpetuate colonial interests and privilege. Decolonization requires nurses to understand the colonial practices that led to dispossession of land, erasure of knowledge, culture and identity, while upholding indigenous ways of knowing and doing in health, healing and living. As a political manifesto that liberates indigenous life from oppressive structures of colonialism and capitalism, The Red Deal is presented as a visionary platform for decolonization. The aim of this study is to articulate three dimensions of caretaking within The Red Deal as a framework to decolonize nursing knowledge development and practice. Based on the philosophical dimension embedded in The Red Deal that revoke norms and knowledge assumptions of capitalism that destroy indigenous ways of knowing and doing, we underscore an approach toward decolonizing nursing. Our approach rejects the apolitical nature of nursing as well as the unilateral western scientific knowledge approach to knowledge development and recognition. A critical emancipatory approach that addresses the socio‐political and historical context of health care, recognizes dispossession of land and adopts a 'multilogical' vision of knowledge that gives space for representation and voice is needed for true decolonization of nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substance use has been identified by Indigenous populations as contributing to health disparities facing their communities. Rates of trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder are higher in Indigenous, compared to non-Indigenous, populations and have been linked to substance use. Historical trauma is thought to be one mechanism underlying substance use and related disorders. The purpose of the present study is to summarize the current state of the literature focusing on the association between trauma (historical and lived) and substance use among Indigenous populations in the United States and Canada. Databases were systematically searched using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses statement. The search strategy initially yielded 4,026 articles. After exclusion of ineligible articles, 63 articles remained for synthesis. Results of the present review provide evidence for a positive link between substance use and both historical trauma (i.e., 86.4% of studies) and lived trauma (i.e., 84.7% of studies). Indigenous participants reported that historical trauma and pain related to loss of cultural identity contributed to substance use in their communities. Indigenous participants also consistently described an association between lived trauma and substance use. Despite heterogeneity among Indigenous communities, findings suggest a significant association between trauma and substance use across many different tribes and settings (e.g., reservation/reserve, rural/urban). Indigenous participants identified healing from trauma and reconnecting with culture as necessary components for reducing substance use and maintaining sobriety. With this, the development and implementation of interventions should partner with Indigenous communities in a manner that promotes and enhances cultural values for healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Racism acts as a major barrier to accessing health services for Indigenous communities in Canada, often leading to delayed, avoided or lack of treatment altogether. The Métis population is uniquely positioned in urban settings, as they experience discrimination from both Indigenous and mainstream health and social services due to Canada's long colonial history that is ongoing. Yet, Métis are often left out of discussions regarding racism and health service access. This study explores the experiences of racism and health service access among Métis peoples in Victoria, British Columbia. Methods: We allied a conversational interview method to explore and understand experiences of self-identifying Métis women, Two-Spirit and gender diverse people (n = 24) who access health and social services in Victoria. Data analysis followed Flicker and Nixon's six-stage DEPICT model. Results: In this paper, we share the experiences of racism and discrimination of those who accessed health and social services in Victoria, British Columbia Such experiences include passing as White, experiencing racism following Métis identity disclosure and witnessing racism. Passing as White was viewed as a protective factor against discrimination as well as harming participants' sense of identity. Experiences of racism took the form of discriminatory comments, harassment and mistreatment, which influenced the willingness of disclosing Métis identity. Witnessing racism occurred in participants, personal and professional lives, negatively impacting them in indirect ways. Each experience of racism had a negative influence on participants' wellbeing and shaped their experience of accessing health and social services. Conclusions: Métis people confront racism and discrimination when attempting to access health and social services through first-hand experiences, witnessing and/or avoidance. While this study contributes to the all too often unacknowledged voices of Métis in Canada, there is a continued need for Métis-specific research to accurately inform policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We investigated the contribution of five health domains to self-rated health (SRH) cross-sectionally and longitudinally and whether these contributions differ by gender or age. Methods: Employing dominance analyses, we quantified the contributions of functioning, diseases, pain, mental health, and behavior to both SRH at a point in time and for changes in SRH using data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS, 1994–2011). Results: Cross-sectionally and longitudinally, functioning was the most important health domain, followed by diseases and pain. There were no meaningful differences in the ranking by gender while functioning, diseases, and pain were more relevant in older cohorts. Discussion: Functioning, diseases, and pain systematically were the most important health domains in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. While these results held for women and men, they were more salient for older adults. This points to a gender-invariant but age-graded process, confirming previous research with European data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As Canadian provinces and territories prepare to transition to HPV-based primary screening for cervical cancer, failure to identify and address potential barriers to screening could hinder program implementation. We examined screening-eligible Canadians' attitudes towards and knowledge of cervical screening. A nationally representative sample of screening-eligible Canadians (N = 3724) completed a web-based survey in the summer of 2022. Oversampling ensured that half of the sample were underscreened for cervical cancer (>3 years since previous screening or never screened). The participants completed validated scales of cervical cancer, HPV, and HPV test knowledge and HPV test and self-sampling attitudes and beliefs. Between-group differences (underscreened vs. adequately screened) were calculated for scales and items using independent sample t-tests or chi-square tests. The underscreened participants (n = 1871) demonstrated significantly lower knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV, and the HPV test. The adequately screened participants (n = 1853) scored higher on the Confidence and Worries subscales of the HPV Test Attitudes and Beliefs Scale. The underscreened participants scored higher on the Personal Barriers and Social Norms subscales. The underscreened participants also endorsed greater Autonomy conferred by self-sampling. Our findings suggest important differential patterns of knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs between the underscreened and adequately screened Canadians. These findings highlight the need to develop targeted communication strategies and promote patient-centered, tailored approaches in cervical screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Many medical schools have well‐established admission pathways and programming to support Indigenous medical workforce development. Ideally, these efforts should contribute to attracting highly qualified Indigenous applicants which, in turn, may improve accessible, quality care for Indigenous people. However, it is difficult to evolve and tailor these approaches without a situated understanding of Indigenous learners' experiences. In this paper, we focus on the Canadian context, sharing Indigenous learners' stories about their journey towards and throughout medical training. Methods: The conceptual underpinnings of narrative inquiry and key principles from Indigenous methodologies were drawn upon throughout both data collection and analysis. Participants were Indigenous learners (medical students and residents) and a recently graduated physician (n = 5) from one Canadian medical school. Both spoken (formal recorded interviews) and visual (photographs) texts were used to make meaning of participants' experiences. Results: Participants' experiences during medical training showed a striking resemblance at three points in their transition to, and progression through, medical education: preparing for and applying to medical school, completing undergraduate medical training and determining specialty choice. Participants' stories revealed a tug‐of‐war between their identities as an Indigenous person and as a medical trainee, with these tensions sometimes compromising their perceived sense of belonging within both Indigenous and academic circles, creating, at times, a heavy burden to shoulder. Conclusion: Meaningful representation of Indigenous people in the medical workforce is about more than training additional health care providers; it requires understanding Indigenous learners and recently graduated physicians' experiences as they enter and navigate the medical profession. By amplifying their voices, we stand to gain a more holistic representation of the factors that contribute to and potentially impede the recruitment and retention of Indigenous people into the medical profession. By blending narrative and Indigenous research approaches, the authors explore Indigenous learners' motivations for pursuing a career in medicine, the barriers and enablers they encounter, and their future aspirations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complexities of developing and disclosing multiple, marginalized, minority identities is theoretically recognized by Minority Stress Theory and the concept of intersectionality; however, the experiences of people living at these intersections, such as Asian transgender youth, are under-examined. Consequently, they remain a largely erased community, often excluded from the research and services that are assumed to include them. The present study attempted to ameliorate this erasure by examining the coming out experiences of eight Asian-Canadian transgender youth. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was utilized from Minority Stress Theory and intersectional perspectives to advance understanding of their coming out experiences and the contexts that maintain their marginalization. Semi-structured individual interviews elicited three themes: (a) Maintaining Family Cohesion; (b) Experiencing Adultism; and (c) Creating Community. Implications for service provision and future research are discussed with emphasis on attending to their whole personhood, which necessarily includes the individual, their community, and the systemic structures that perpetuate oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall goal was to synthesize knowledge on actions that need to be taken to promote health equity and the mental health of Black refugees in Canada. Group concept mapping systems were applied to generate and organize action-oriented statements related to the different social determinants of health. A total of 174 participants from the cities of Calgary and Edmonton with experience working with Black Canadians participated in four focus groups: (a) 2 focus groups that engaged 123 participants in brainstorming 84 statements guided by the following focus prompt: 'A specific action that would improve the mental health equity of Black refugees living in Canada is ... ' and (b) 2 focus groups of 51 participants who sorted the generated statements and rated them by order of 'importance' and 'ideas seen in action.' Data was further computed and analysed by the research team and a select advisory group from the participants. A 10-cluster map generated included the following clusters: (1) promoting cultural identity, (2) promoting ways of knowing, (3) addressing discrimination and racism, (4) addressing the criminalization of Black Canadians, (5) investing in employment for equity, (6) promoting equity in housing, (7) facilitating self-determination, (8) improving (public) services, (9) promoting appropriate and culturally relevant mental health services, and (10) working with and addressing faith and belief related issues. Clusters 4 and 9 ranked as the most important clusters in promoting health equity and the mental health of Black Canadians. Addressing the criminalization of Black Canadians through a range of rehumanizing interventions at institutional levels will provide a platform from which they can participate and engage others in developing appropriate and culturally relevant mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A short form version of the Ethno-Cultural Identity Conflict Scale (ECIS-SF) was developed and validated to address item redundancy in the original scale and to increase its utility in comparative studies and applied settings. Construct, discriminant, nomological, and predictive validity of the EICS-SF was tested and supported with five samples in three countries. In Study 1, the EICS-SF was derived and validated using data from Chinese (n = 232) and Greek (n = 139) New Zealanders. Study 2 confirmed the factor structure, measurement equivalence and discriminant validity of the EICS-SF with Chinese Canadians (n = 199) and British Indians (n = 190). Study 3 provided additional evidence for the test–retest reliability and temporal consistency of the EICS-SF's association with criterion measures in Indian New Zealanders (n = 147). The EICS-SF is psychometrically sound and easy to administer with diverse populations. Potential for application in clinical settings is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed method study explored the attitudes and wishes of Arab first-generation immigrants (n = 86) in Canada regarding marital therapy. Results suggested positive attitudes toward seeking marital therapy, and overall attitudes significantly related to the likelihood of seeking marital therapy. Orientation to Canadian or Arab culture was associated with positive or negative attitudes toward marital therapy. Thematic analysis suggested participants wished counselors understood cultural norms and its impact on marriage, religious beliefs, native language, and shame and stigma toward counseling, while using a straightforward counseling style. Participants wished to improve communication, resolve marital conflict, have a supportive third-party, and acculturation support. Recommendations from this study for clinicians include building foundational understanding of the Arab culture, challenging bias, updating knowledge, assessing couple's acculturation, and connecting with communities and religious leaders to inform them of counseling services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma of mental illness contributes to silence, denial and delayed help seeking. Existing stigma reduction strategies seldom consider gender and cultural contexts. The Strengths in Unity study was a multi-site Canadian study that engaged Asian men in three stigma reduction interventions (ACT, CEE, psychoeducation) and mobilized them as Community Mental Health Ambassadors. Our participants included both men living with or affected by mental illness (LWA) as well as community leaders (CL). This paper will: (1) describe the baseline characteristics of the Toronto participants including their sociodemographic information, mental illness stigma (CAMI and ISMI), attitudes towards social change (SJS), and intervention-related process variables (AAQ-II, VLQ, FMI, Empowerment); (2) compare the differences among these variables between LWA and CL; and (3) explore factors that may correlate with socio-economic status and mental health stigma. A total of 609 Asian men were recruited in Toronto, Canada. Both CL and LWA had similar scores on measures of external and internalized stigma and social change attitudes, except that LWA had more positive views about the acceptance and integration of those with mental illness into the community on the CAMI, while CL had a higher level of perceived behavioral control on the SJS. Group differences were also observed between LWA and CL in some process-related variables. Exploratory analysis suggests that younger and more educated participants had lower stigma. Our findings underscore the importance of engaging both community leaders and people with lived experience as mental health advocates to address stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal children are chronically overrepresented across all points in the child welfare system in Canada. Parallels between the racialized migrant experience and the injustices experienced by Aboriginal peoples are reviewed, starting with the development of Canada as a nation and reviewing colonialism and racism as it relates to Aboriginal peoples' and racialized migrants' experiences with child welfare. This comparative analysis will illuminate how injustices continue to be reproduced, focusing on the child welfare system, as part of the devastating effects that colonization has on Aboriginal peoples, but also as evidence of colonization being reproduced through current discriminatory legislation and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous cultures have been under significant attack in Canada since first contact with Europeans. This has resulted in significant harm to Indigenous Peoples and particularly to youth in state care, who often struggle with their identity when they are placed in non-Indigenous out-of-home settings. Developing protective ways of countering this is compounded by the lack of understanding of identity development amongst Indigenous youth. This article reviews theories of Indigenous identity development and their implications for Indigenous children, particularly those caught in the nexus of two cultures, as is the case with those in state care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the study is to investigate whether positive mental health complements mental illness within a theoretically informed (the dual-continua model) and psychometrically tested (the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form) framework. National-level, population-based data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey on Mental Health (CCHS-MH) was used, with comparisons between sexual minority and heterosexual adults. Results show that gay, lesbian, and bisexual Canadians have substantially lower rates of positive mental health and are more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness, with the disparities between health and illness being the most pronounced among lesbians and bisexual females. Results show considerable support for the dual-continua model, which posits that the absence of health does not automatically translate into the presence of illness, and vice versa. Suggestions are made for practitioners and researchers toward the use of the dual-continua model as a surveillance tool, especially among sexual minority individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prairie cities have large and growing Indigenous populations. The great resurgence of strong Indigenous cultures in Canada should foretell the impact Indigeneity will have over coming years across the full spectrum of urban geography. The study uses original 2014 survey data collected from seven prairie cities to examine the following question: What does the non-Indigenous majority public think about increasing the role of Indigeneity in the procedural and material approaches to urbanism in prairie cities? Based on our findings we suggest that public attitudes among the non-Indigenous populations of prairie cities are changing and becoming more positive towards trying new approaches to enabling Indigenous urbanism. Support is somewhat greater for municipal-Indigenous governance options than for specific actions to infuse Indigeneity into the design and naming of public spaces. L'attitude du public face à l'indigénisme dans l'urbanisme des Prairies canadiennes La population indigène qui habite dans les villes des Prairies est nombreuse et grandissante. La forte recrudescence des cultures indigènes au Canada permettrait d'anticiper l'impact que l'indigénisme aura au cours des prochaines années sur l'ensemble de la géographie urbaine. Cet article propose d'explorer la question qui suit à partir des données originales d'enquête recueillies dans sept villes des Prairies en 2014: qu'est-ce que les personnes de la majorité non indigène pensent de l'augmentation du rôle de l'indigénisme dans les démarches opérationnelles et substantielles de l'urbanisme des villes des Prairies? Les constats qui se dégagent de nos travaux montrent que l'attitude du public chez les populations non autochtones des villes des Prairies évolue et devient plus encline à essayer de nouvelles approches en matière d'urbanisme indigène. On est plutôt partisan des modes de gouvernance municipale indigène que des actions spécifiques visant à incorporer l'indigénisme dans la conception et la toponymie des espaces publics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fi ndings and recommendations of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC, 2008-2015) off er Canadians and their public institutions an opportunity to better confront the ongoing injustice of their colonial relationship with Indigenous peoples, but this task requires also assessing the specific contributions of the TRC. The specific contribution in which this article is interested is the discourse of reconciliation that the commission has made Canada's master keyword for debating Indigenous-settler relations. The article analyzes representations of reconciliation in the mainstream Canadian print media before and over the life of the commission, concluding that the commission during its national events did much to promote a relatively quiescent notion of reconciliation that in fact displaced conceptions with more substantive connotations of the return of land, jurisdiction, and resources. This fi nding has implications for how Canadians discuss reconciliation in the future and for the broader literature interested in the role of reconciliation discourse in truth commissions and other enterprises of transitional justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we examine how injection drug users who do not attribute their HIV infection to engaging in HIV risk behaviours take up and critique discourses of individual responsibility and citizenship relating to HIV risk and HIV prevention. We draw on data from a study in Vancouver, Canada (2006–2009) in which we interviewed individuals living with HIV who had a history of injection drug use. In this paper, we focus on six cases studies of participants whodid notattribute their HIV infection to engaging in HIV risk behaviours. We found that in striving to present themselves as responsible HIV citizens who did not engage in HIV risk behaviours, these participants drew on individually focused HIV prevention discourses. By identifying themselves in these ways, they were able to present themselves as ‘deserving’ HIV citizens and avoid the blame associated with being HIV positive. However, in rejecting the view that they and their risk behaviours were to blame for their HIV infection and by developing an explanation that drew on broader social, structural and historical factors, these individuals were developing a tentative critique of focus on individual responsibility in HIV transmission as opposed to dangers of infection arising from the socio-economic environment. By framing the risk of infection in environmental rather than individual risk-behaviour terms, these individuals redistributed responsibility to reflect the social-structural realities of their lives. In this article, we reflect on the implications of these findings for public health measures such as risk prevention messages. We argue that it is important that such messages are not restricted to individual risk prevention but also include a focus of broader shared responsibilities of HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Socioeconomically marginalized people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) often engage in alternative income generating activities to meet their basic needs. These activities commonly carry a number of health and social risks, which may prompt some PWUD to consider addiction treatment to reduce their drug use or drug-related expenses. We sought to determine whether engaging in certain forms of income generation was independently associated with self-reported need for addiction treatment among a cohort of PWUD in Vancouver, Canada.Methods: Data from two prospective cohorts of PWUD in Vancouver were used in generalized estimating equations to identify factors associated with self-reported need for addiction treatment, with a focus on income generating activities.Results: Between June 2013 and May 2014, 1285 respondents participated in the study of whom 483 (34.1%) were female and 396 (30.8%) indicated that they needed addiction treatment. In final multivariate analyses, key factors significantly and positively associated with self-reported need for addiction treatment included engaging in illegal income generating activities (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI}: 1.11-3.46); sex work (AOR=1.61, 95% CI: 1.05-2.47), homelessness (AOR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.22-2.25); and recent engagement in counselling (AOR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.40-2.44).Discussion: Our results suggest that key markers of socioeconomic marginalization are strongly linked with a stated need for addiction treatment. These findings underscore the need to provide appropriate and accessible addiction treatment access to marginalized PWUD and to consider alternative approaches to reduce socioeconomic disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses Canada's 2008 General Social Survey to assess ethnoracial variations in political trust. Patterns differ substantially among Canada's three major minority communities. While French and visible minority Canadians exhibit the highest political trust of all groups in the study, Indigenous Peoples express the lowest trust. The British, Other Europeans, and Mixed-Origins Canadians also indicate below-average trust. Multivariate analyses show certain "ethno-cultural markers" -- religion, language, immigration status -- are important for understanding the trust levels of the French and visible minorities. However, controlling for socioeconomic factors -- education, income -- and social engagement influences -- voluntary association activity, ethnic diversity of friendships -- has little impact for these two groups. None of the control variables explains the lower trust among Indigenous Peoples. The latter results underscore the unique position of Indigenous Peoples and their longstanding negative experiences with Canada's political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People may choose to receive vaccines in response to pressures that outweigh any concerns that they have. We explored Racialized minority and Indigenous Peoples' motivations for, perceptions of choice in, and concerns about, COVID-19 vaccination. We used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach, including a national survey administered around the time vaccines were first authorized (Dec 2020) followed by qualitative interviews when vaccines were becoming more readily available to adults (May–June 2021). We analyzed survey data using descriptive statistics and interviews using critical feminist methodologies. Survey respondents self-identified as a Racialized minority (n = 1488) or Indigenous (n = 342), of which 71.4% and 64.6%, respectively, intended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Quantitative results indicated perceptions of COVID-19 disease were associated with vaccination intention. For instance, intention was associated with agreement that COVID-19 disease is severe, risk of becoming sick is great, COVID-19 vaccination is necessary, and vaccines available in Canada will be safe (p < 0.001). COVID-19 vaccines were in short supply in Canada when we subsequently completed qualitative interviews with a subset of Racialized minority (n = 17) and Indigenous (n = 10) survey respondents. We coded interview transcripts around three emergent themes relating to governmentality and cultural approaches to intersectional risk theories: feelings of collective responsibility, choice as privilege, and remaining uncertainties about COVID-19 vaccines. For example, some mentioned the responsibility and privilege to receive a vaccine earlier than those living outside of Canada. Some felt constraints on their freedom to choose to receive or refuse a vaccine from intersecting oppressions or their health status. Although all participants intended to get vaccinated, many mentioned uncertainties about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination. Survey respondents and interview participants demonstrated nuanced associations of vaccine acceptance and hesitancy shaped by perspectives of vaccine-related risks, symbolic associations of vaccines with hope, and intersecting social privileges and inequities (including racialization). • Mixed methods exploration of social privileges and inequities in vaccine intentions. • Explored acceptance of new COVID-19 vaccines instead of framing refusal as abnormal. • Theoretical insights into vaccines from intersectional approaches to risk governance. • Practical need to support those intending to be vaccinated despite uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research finds that non-indigenous peoples often hold negative racial attitudes towards indigenous peoples. Contact theory suggests that interpersonal contact can positively influence majority group members' attitudes regarding minority group members, raising the question of whether indigenous population growth in cities will alter non-indigenous peoples' attitudes. Using original 2014 survey data, this paper examines the relationship between interpersonal contact and racial attitudes in Canadian prairie cities. The analysis finds that while personal ties to aboriginal peoples are correlated with lower new and old-fashioned racism scores, general contact with aboriginal peoples only correlates with old-fashioned racism scores. As such, growing urban indigenous populations -- and thus increased aboriginal-non-aboriginal general contact -- alone should not be expected to result in positive racial attitudes. This research advances understanding of contact theory by considering how education interacts with interpersonal contact, and informs on-going dialogue about current racial relations between non-indigenous and indigenous peoples in Canadian prairie cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicultural policy is an increasingly salient, and contested, topic in both academic and public debate about how to manage increasing ethnic diversity. In spite of the longstanding commitment to multiculturalism policy in Canada, however, we have only a partial understanding of public attitudes on this issue. Current research tends to look at general attitudes regarding diversity and accommodation–rarely at attitudes towards specific multicultural policies. We seek to (partly) fill this gap. In particular, we focus on how support for multiculturalism policy varies across benefit types (for example, financial and other) and the ethnicity/religiosity of recipient groups. Using a unique survey experiment conducted within the 2011 Canadian Election Study (CES), we examine how ethnic origin (Portuguese vs. Turkish) and religious symbols (absence and presence of the hijab) influence support for funding of ethno-religious group activities and their access to public spaces. We also explore whether citizens’ general attitudes toward cultural diversity moderate this effect. Results provide important information about the state of Canadian public opinion on multiculturalism, and more general evidence about the nature, authenticity and limits of public support for this policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Employment equity initiatives - redressing past inequities or discrimination by promoting the hiring of members of underrepresented groups - are controversial and divisive. Although a national Gallup poll (1993) indicated 74 % of Canadians felt a person's qualifications should solely determine hiring decisions, many have little knowledge and understanding of the issue. Adopting a discourse analytic framework, this research explores employees' understandings and perceptions of an employment equity initiative in a mid-sized Canadian organization. Employment equity was seen as problematic and not well understood, and individuals eligible for employment equity initiatives were marginalized. This study contributes to identifying the misunderstandings and underlying sources of tensions with employment equity principles, legislation and administrative regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an influential 2002 study, John Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse make the provocative argument that high numbers of Americans seek "stealth democracy," that is, processes that discover the will of the people without requiring substantial citizen effort. This article applies the concept in a Canadian province and argues that the stealth democracy measure represents an ambiguous amalgam of attitudes that are only loosely related to one another, and which do not appear to represent a single, underlying concept. We draw on 2011 Saskatchewan Election Study data and find that Saskatchewan responses to the stealth democracy items generally parallel the responses gathered in previous studies conducted in the United States, Finland, Britain, and Australia. We move beyond these studies by examining the components of the stealth democracy index. We conclude by suggesting that the concept of stealth democracy be rebuilt to better distinguish among attitudes toward democracy, politics, and governing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a qualitative research of adoptions from China to Canada, this article analyses changing attitudes and approaches to racial and ethnic differences in adoptive kinship in the last few decades. I argue that culture celebration labour over children adopted from China is shaped by the contemporary Canadian culturalist ethos, the Orientalist imagination, and the Asian model minority stereotype. The cultural identity imperative, a core component of multicultural governmentality, perceives culture as an object, demands non‐white Canadian subjects with rooted belongings, and operates in ways that sanctions and incorporates, as it depoliticises and subordinates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethno-cultural disparities in blood and tissue donation patterns have been described as an emergent challenge in the context of the transfusion medicine literature (Boulware et al. in Med Care 40(2):85-95, ; Molzahn et al. in Nephrol Nurs J 30(1):17-26, , Can J Nurs Res 36(4):110-128, ). In the North American context, much has been written about blood and tissue donation patterns among different religious and cultural groups within the United States. However, there are few available statistics or descriptive research that discusses blood donation decisions among Aboriginal Canadians. In 2001, Aboriginal Canadians represented approximately 4.1 % of the total Canadian population, or 1.1 million persons (Birn et al., in Textbook of international health: global health in a dynamic world. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, ). Comparatively, Canada Blood Services reports that Aboriginal Canadians represent only 0.9% of registered donors (Canadian Blood Services ). These low donation patterns suggest that blood donation choice among Aboriginal Canadians requires better understanding. This paper discusses several factors that may influence Aboriginal health choices, specifically those associated with blood donation decision-making. Several influential factors will be discussed, including: the meaning of the body and its parts in relationship to the interconnectedness of all things (religio-cultural), the reflexivity of choice and control (political), and relationships with others (social). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Efforts are underway in many parts of the world to develop medical education curricula that address the health care issues of indigenous populations. The topic of stereotypes and their impact on such peoples' health, however, has received little attention. An examination of stereotypes will shed light on dominant cultural attitudes toward Aboriginal people that can affect quality of care and health outcomes in Aboriginal patients. Objectives This study examines the views of undergraduate medical students regarding Canadian Aboriginal stereotypes and how they potentially affect Aboriginal people's health. The goal of this study was to gain insight into how medical learners perceive issues related to racism, discrimination and social stereotypes and to draw attention to gaps in Aboriginal health curricula. Methods This study involved a convenience sample of medical learners drawn from one undergraduate medical programme in western Canada. Using a semi-structured interview guide, we conducted a total of seven focus group interviews with 38 first- and second-year undergraduate medical students. Data were analysed using a thematic content analysis approach. Results Medical students recognise that stereotypes are closely related to processes of racism and discrimination. However, they generally feel that stereotypes of Aboriginal people are rooted in reality. Students also identified medical school as one of the environments in which they are commonly exposed to negative views of Aboriginal people. Student responses suggest they see the cultural gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people as being both a cause and a consequence of discrimination against Aboriginal people. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that teaching medical students about the realities and impacts of stereotypes on Aboriginal peoples is a good starting point from which to address issues of racism and health inequities affecting the health of Aboriginal people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does national identity necessarily have exclusionary effects when it comes to immigration attitudes or is it possible that some national identities act as inclusive forces? While research in Europe and in the US points to the former, one of the long-standing explanations for Canada's success with immigration has been the central place played by immigration and multiculturalism in its national identity. Using the Canadian case, this research tests the possibility that some national identities might represent an inclusive force. It does so through a nationally representative survey experiment (N = 1500) where respondents' national identity was primed before answering questions on immigration and multiculturalism. The analysis shows that contrary to previous results obtained in the Netherlands, priming Canadian identity does not increase anti-immigration attitudes. A new prime designed to isolate the effect of national identity even decreased these exclusionary attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a considerable amount of research about racial affinity effects, that voters are likely to support a candidate of the same race. However, it is unclear it this applies only to candidates of the voters' specific ethnocultural group or to racialized candidates in general. Previous research suggests that the prospects for "rainbow coalitions" on the basis of group identities are poor; indeed, findings of inter-minority conflict are common. This study uses new data from a web-based survey experiment with a large panel of racialized respondents. Respondents evaluated fictional candidates with the ethnicity of the candidates experimentally manipulated. While respondents show strong affinity for their own ethnocultural group, they also show some affinity for other minority candidates and certainly no inter-minority conflict. Effects are strongly conditional on the degree of ethnic self-identity. "Rainbow coalitions" may be more likely than previous research suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines public attitudes towards aboriginal policy in Canada, focusing on evidence from two surveys conducted in Saskatchewan, a province with a large and growing Aboriginal population. We show that although non-Aboriginals are collectively divided on Aboriginal public policies, expressing considerable support for some, but strong reservations when it comes to others; the individual-level evidence indicates that there is a single Aboriginal policy agenda in the minds of non-Aboriginal Canadians. Support for, and opposition to, the privileging of Aboriginal claims is structured in part by prejudice toward outgroups but also by non- Aboriginal people's more general position on the role of government in society. Moreover, the impact of positions about the role of government in society on attitudes toward Aboriginal policies is moderated by people's level of political sophistication: the more educated and politically interested they are, the greater the impact of those ideological views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The longstanding debate between the homology and omnivorism approaches to the class bases of cultural tastes and practices rages on in cultural sociology. The homology thesis claims that class positions throughout the class hierarchy are accompanied by specified cultural tastes and specialized modes of appreciating them while the cultural omnivorism thesis contends that elites are (increasingly) characterized by a breadth of cultural tastes of any and all kinds. This study tests the applicability of these theses to musical tastes in Canada through the application of multiple correspondence analysis, latent class analysis, and logistic regression modeling to original telephone survey data ( n = 1,595) from Toronto and Vancouver. I find that musical omnivorism, an appreciation for diverse musical styles, is not dispersed along class lines. Instead I find a homology between class position and musical tastes that designates blues, choral, classical, jazz, musical theater, opera, pop, reggae, rock, and world/international as relatively highbrow and country, disco, easy listening, golden oldies, heavy metal, and rap as relatively lowbrow. Of the highbrow tastes, all but jazz are disliked by lower class people, and of the lowbrow tastes, country, easy listening, and golden oldies are concurrently disliked by higher class people. Consistent with the homology thesis, it appears that class position is aligned with specific musical likes and dislikes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Environment Canada is responsible for monitoring weather conditions and developing associated forecast products for millions of Canadians. Although it is clear that these forecasts are reaching many different end-users, it is less certain how these products are perceived or used by the Canadian public. This research investigated the way(s) in which individual end-users in southern Ontario obtained, interpreted, and used weather forecasts in their every-day decision-making. Semi-structured interviews ( n = 35) and close-ended questionnaires ( n = 268) were conducted with residents from Huron and Perth Counties in Ontario, Canada, between October 2011 and March 2012 as part of a larger research project. It was found that most respondents used weather products for pragmatic reasons (e.g. deciding appropriate clothing or planning a trip). These individuals typically did not pay attention to ambient weather conditions unless they were inconvenient or threatening. Despite this, many respondents displayed relatively high levels of weather salience, in terms of familiarity with and awareness of local weather patterns. While most participants had a general understanding of the difference between a weather watch and a weather warning, a substantial portion of the sample were unable to differentiate between the two products. Lastly, many respondents also indicated that they trusted and valued Environment Canada weather forecasts, and they sought this information actively to help in their decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Canadian Election Study data, we explore the relationship between income inequality and popular support for redistribution in Canada between 1993 and 2008. We demonstrate that the relationship between inequality and attitudes toward redistribution tends to be positive within provinces but negative across them. We argue that two markedly different mechanisms explain this discrepancy. First, within any particular political and economic context, people are more likely to benefit from redistribution, and hence support it, when inequality is high. Second, both inequality and attitudes toward redistribution are affected by characteristics unique to provincial political cultures, which results in attitudes toward redistribution having a different baseline depending on the province. We end with a discussion of the policy implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article endeavours to explain why English Canadians and Quebeckers differ in their opinions about private healthcare options. Data indicates that respondents in the nine predominantly English-speaking provinces are more likely to oppose private hospitals than Quebeckers. No one province or region in “English Canada” drives these results: aversion to private hospitals is consistent across the nine provinces. Research on welfare states slots Canada into the “liberal” category, which is indicative of a preference for market solutions to welfare problems, which makes this finding perplexing. The argument presented here is that universal healthcare has become bound up with the national identity of English Canada, resulting in a general aversion to private healthcare initiatives outside of Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Despite more than a decade of heightened defence spending and active fighting in the War in Afghanistan, the longest combat operation in the history of the Canadian Forces, scholars know precious little about how the socio-demographic characteristics and attitudes of Canadians may influence their views about taking part in overseas combat operations and funding the institution charged with carrying out these dangerous activities. By testing a range of hypotheses, which purport to explain the influence of multiple socio-demographic and attitudinal factors on Canadians' attitudes toward defence spending and the participation of the Canadian Forces in overseas combat operations, against data from the 2004 and 2011 Canadian Election Study, this article ascertains the most important determinants of Canadians' preferences about defence spending and the use of military force by the Government of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article, we contribute to a growing body of literature that explores how risk discourse functions in the (globalised) neoliberal era of ‘intensive mothering’. A comparison of traditional Chinese medicine and Western biomedicine indicates that in these two approaches to medicine, pregnancy-related risks are derived from different sources and seen in different ways. In this article, we examine how women with a Chinese background living in North America negotiate these differences. More specifically, we use data from a qualitative research study to examine how 15 pregnant Chinese Canadian women living in Vancouver, British Columbia, understand and experience pregnancy-related risk and lifestyle directives. Examining data from a Foucauldian perspective that views ‘risk’ as a biopolitical technique of governance, we show that the ways in which the majority of the participants use traditional Chinese medicine and Western biomedicine – and identify risk – change as they move through the stages of pregnancy. While many of them integrated aspects of both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine prior to pregnancy (using Western medicine for acute issues and traditional Chinese medicine to restore bodily balance and strength), once pregnant the majority of the women in the study used biomedical ‘proof’ to guide them through a healthy pregnancy. They tended to avoid traditional Chinese remedies due to the ‘risk’ of teratogenic effects, and also avoided family advice intended to ensure bodily balance. Once the child was born, the participants viewed the (maternal) body in a different way: as a body out of balance in the yin-yang sense – and in need of traditionally ordained practices (typically called ‘doing the month’). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we contribute to a growing body of literature that explores how risk discourse functions in the (globalised) neoliberal era of ‘intensive mothering’. A comparison of traditional Chinese medicine and Western biomedicine indicates that in these two approaches to medicine, pregnancy-related risks are derived from different sources and seen in different ways. In this article, we examine how women with a Chinese background living in North America negotiate these differences. More specifically, we use data from a qualitative research study to examine how 15 pregnant Chinese Canadian women living in Vancouver, British Columbia, understand and experience pregnancy-related risk and lifestyle directives. Examining data from a Foucauldian perspective that views ‘risk’ as a biopolitical technique of governance, we show that the ways in which the majority of the participants use traditional Chinese medicine and Western biomedicine – and identify risk – change as they move through the stages of pregnancy. While many of them integrated aspects of both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine prior to pregnancy (using Western medicine for acute issues and traditional Chinese medicine to restore bodily balance and strength), once pregnant the majority of the women in the study used biomedical ‘proof’ to guide them through a healthy pregnancy. They tended to avoid traditional Chinese remedies due to the ‘risk’ of teratogenic effects, and also avoided family advice intended to ensure bodily balance. Once the child was born, the participants viewed the (maternal) body in a different way: as a body out of balance in the yin-yang sense – and in need of traditionally ordained practices (typically called ‘doing the month’). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

I CMAJ i has in recent years published much research highlighting health disparities for racialized groups compared with White people in Canada. We would welcome submissions of innovative research on interventions to reduce both racism in the health space and the effects of racism on health. In early 2021, I CMAJ i published articles calling for dismantling racism in Canadian health care and medical academia.[1]-[3] We've had encouraging feedback on these articles. [Extracted from the article]

For the past decade, debates over the issue of immigration have been a central feature of political life in Quebec. They have underscored the cultural insecurity of Quebecers and the sense that, for many Quebec citizens, immigration is a threat to Quebec culture. These debates have also left the impression that there are regional disparities in the way immigration is perceived. But what is the actual situation? Is cultural insecurity really stronger outside the main urban centers? Are there really significant regional variations in perceptions about immigration, and if so, what accounts for them? This article addresses these questions with the help of a public opinion survey conducted with close to 30 000 Francophone Quebecers during the spring of 2011. Our findings show that there are indeed important regional variations but that, contrary to common assumptions, Francophones living outside major urban centers are not the ones most inclined to perceive immigration as a threat to Quebec culture. In fact, Francophones living in the immediate periphery of the city of Montreal are more likely to view immigration negatively, suggesting a kind of “halo” effect. Our findings also indicate that regional differences are strongest among the younger generations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: As part of a larger project to determine if there are animal-welfare-related values shared by some commercial food–animal producers and non-producers in Canada, open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit opinions about animal welfare among 24 urban and rural residents not involved in commercial animal production. All participants possessed a self-described interest in food animal well-being and were therefore assumed to represent the views of Canadian non-producers most apt to engage in efforts to shape the animal welfare policies of governments and businesses. Participants described animal welfare in moral or ethical terms, expressed virtually unanimous support for animals having access to “natural” living conditions, and (somewhat less often) linked animal welfare to positive affective states. Maintaining reasonable health and biological functioning was seen as important but was not to take precedence over the benefits of natural living. Participants favoured small family farms and unanimously objected to confinement housing. Participants did, however, offer qualified support for intensive practices and were unanimous in not assigning blame to producers, whom they regarded sympathetically. Predictably perhaps, given our sample, most were critical of industries preoccupied with profits and of consumers who unthinkingly seek cheap food. Recommended ways of improving welfare included instilling in consumers a greater appreciation for the intrinsic value of humanely reared animals, and better education of children regarding the connection between animals and food. Disagreements arose over the welfare implications of organic production and approaches to animal advocacy. Differing demographic backgrounds, experiential involvement with food animals and knowledge of food animal production practices may have influenced the nature or specificity of welfare concerns. Many participants admitted a lack of knowledge about contemporary production practices and some expressed an interest in obtaining additional knowledge. These findings contribute to a broader effort to identify shared values among different stakeholder groups as a basis for formulating widely acceptable, farm animal care and handling polices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article uses the 2006 World Values Survey data to examine which Canadians are most concerned about the environment. The results show that those individuals who have more education and greater knowledge of global environmental degradation are more likely to be concerned about the environment. Environmental concern in Canada is also politicized in that liberals are more concerned about the environment than conservatives. The results also show that environmental concern is multidimensional. Although some Canadians show more awareness of environmental threat and more willingness to pay for environmental protection, others are more likely to directly participate in environmental organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do citizens have meaningful attitudes – i.e. enduring, subjectively important and psychologically consequential evaluative orientations – regarding the relative roles of courts and legislatures in resolving contentious issues of public policy? If so, what explains these preferences? Using data from the Canadian Election Study, the authors find that Canadians possess meaningful attitudes on what they term the ‘courts/parliament trade-off’. They also find significant heterogeneity across levels of political knowledge in the nature of these attitudes. Further, most determinants of attitudes on the courts/parliament trade-off can be understood to reflect evaluations of political outcomes under the courts or Parliament, rather than assessments of processes within these institutions. Attitudes on the trade-off are largely interpretable as responses to dynamic features of party politics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]