As the daughter of East Asian immigrants, I need to recognize that the Canadian government has given me opportunities, thanks to my proximity to Whiteness, that have been stolen from others.

I need to acknowledge that my presence in this land is not disconnected from years of state violence against Black folks.

It is not disconnected from Canada’s War on Drugs.

It is not disconnected from Canada’s oppression of Indigenous peoples.

Even further, my presence as an immigrant settler in this land is not disconnected from Canada’s neocolonial practices in the Global South.

My lifestyle continues to abuse Black and Brown labour and steal Indigenous lands, even if I am not directly aware of these facts.

My privileges have been generated using state violence and oppression.

I need to say this out loud, repeatedly, because the battle against Black and Indigenous oppression and the removal of stolen privileges must be seen as one and the same.