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This week, the RCMP stood by while white settlers in NS terrorized Mi’kmaq fishers, an escalation of settler violence brewing for months. Mi’kmaq fishers have broken none of Canada’s laws, while settler vigilantes have broken several. This fits a very, very old pattern. (1/27) https://twitter.com/hannahmaltay/status/1317434687229407232
Canada, before it was even Canada, made laws to control and contain Indigenous people - and later immigrant and settler labour (on occasion) - while allowing the colonial elite, settlers, and vigilantes who shared their interests to break the law with impunity. (2)
Targets of such vigilantism have included indigenous people, striking workers, officials from socialist countries, immigrants, opponents of Canadian policies; anyone who posed a threat to ruling class interests or who could be a suitable surrogate for working class anger. (3)
This thread offers a few examples from across Canada’s history, though many others could have been chosen. As always, details and citations available in Canada in the World. (4) https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/canada-in-the-world
An obvious starting point here is to note that much of what became ‘Canadian’ land was stolen by settlers against the official letter of both the treaties Britain signed and Britain’s own laws. Authorities were happy to claim they were powerless to enforce the rules. (5)
