Menu
Log in
  • Home
  • News
  • Speaker Series: Building a Future/Reparations in Canada

Speaker Series: Building a Future/Reparations in Canada

4 Feb 2025 9:27 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

From the Museum of Surrey:

"Many Canadians take pride in the history of the Underground Railroad. They celebrate that Canada, specifically what is now Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes, was the destination for freedom‐seeking enslaved Africans fleeing slavery in America. But Canada also has its own untold, dark history of slavery. 

The Transatlantic Slave Trade spanned 400 years with more than 12 million African people held in bondage. In Canada, the system of racial chattel slavery was introduced by the French in the 17th century. The term “chattel slavery” relates to the fact that enslaved people are treated as commodities or resources to be traded and/or sold. This chattel slavery was a dehumanizing and violent system of abuse and subjugation. Importantly, Europeans viewed slavery in racist terms. Indigenous and African peoples were seen as less than human. White supremacy justified the violence of slavery for hundreds of years. 

Canada’s economy and infrastructure was built using chattel slavery; and the fruits of this unpaid, brutal labour are still enjoyed across the nation today. Reparations is a term which signifies righting a wrong and undoing harms of the past. While this is an expansive effort in the U.S., Canada falls far behind. In this conversation we are asking: Why isn’t making reparations a wide-spread effort in Canada? What reparations, if any, are being made in Canada to Black communities? How would reparations support Black communities? Could these reparations build equity and bolster the economy as a whole? Start the conversation with Dominique Jacobs regarding Reparations in Canada. 

When: Wednesday, February 19, 2025 – 12:00-1:00pm 
Where: Online via Microsoft Teams  
Cost: Free 
How to Register: Call/Email the Museum of Surrey: 604-592-6956 or museum@surrey.ca  

More About our Speaker: Dominique Jacobs 

Dominique Jacobs (she/her) was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Her family fled persecution from the apartheid regime to migrate to Canada in the 80s. She holds a degree in Professional Communications and has over 20 years of vast experience as a Communications Professional, having worked in both Canada and South Africa.  

Dominique contributes to community non-profits, particularly expanding engagement by developing a strong brand voice and identity. Through her Communications consulting business, she supports organizations interested in social and climate justice, anti-racism and anti-oppression practices.  

In collaboration with AACCCS (African Arts and Culture Community Contributor Society), Dominique facilitated anti-racism engagement sessions for BC Black communities. The report she wrote for the Ministry of the Attorney General, based on the sessions, was used to build BC’s new Anti-Racism legislation. At present, she is leading the communications strategy for the Black in BC Leadership Summit through AACCCS and is building an environmental steering committee for bioregional cooperation in the Westshore communities."

British Columbia Historical Federation
PO Box 448, Fort Langley, BC, Canada, V1M 2R7

Information: info@bchistory.ca  


The Secretariat of the BCHF is located on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish speaking Peoples. 

Follow us on Facebook.

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software