A year ago a friend of mine sent me a simple email with just as simple a request. The gist of it was to add another name to a list of names; it asked me to sign a petition. The petition was a complaint against the “graduation portfolio,” a program meant to help students build themselves a mandatory collage of recorded interests and skills. It sounded a meaningful project. Well, at least I thought so.

Not too far in being implemented, this program was branded to be pointless; some of the written responses required sentences such as “I have knowledge of basic computer skills such as word processing” for full marks. Confusion also didn’t help it much, and then the employers that the portfolio would be meant for probably would want to read a clear, concise résumé rather than dig through some binders full of assorted sheets, unreadable signatures, pathetic questions and elementary answers.

At the time, I had absolute confidence that the petition wouldn’t even budge the steering wheel that was guiding the course of graduation. After all, it was by high school students for high school students. Adding one name is about as meaningful as taking a grain of sand from my backyard and putting it on a beach. So I hesitated to sign, made faces at the screen staring me down, and rolled the pointer over that ever so familiar delete button.

Then I entertained the thought that portfolio might actually be altered or, better yet, defenestrated, in other words, thrown out the window. However, this was more a “What if pigs could take flight” than any glimmer of optimism. I signed. I took that grain of sand and watched it fall into the beach, lost. There was a voice in myself that said there wasn’t any harm to do it, and in the event of its unlikely success, I would be ‘most pleasantly surprised.’

Months passed as did my memory of the email. It sank to the bottom of my memories like dirt in water, until a piece of golden news stirred it back up. I found out a month ago portfolio was pretty much pulled apart, and would undergo even more alterations. Fortunately, like the grade ahead of us, my grade will probably never have to see that mutant cousin of the portfolio since it is somewhat late to add to our graduation requirements.

The moral of this short story was that while individuals may not always turn the tide of history, each person can add something. And while I myself have only participated in this one successful group in high school, I know that only together can those difficult goals be achieved. Lastly, and most importantly is that being young or old, one ethnicity or another, short or tall, as long as one can make the right decisions he or she has the same opportunity to better society here.

I remember that my dad often told me how living in his hometown was like, where the adults dismissed kids and their questions or acted in ways to make them feel inferior. I feel truly fortunate that there is much more social justice in Canada, but sometimes I take such privileges for granted, just like how I didn’t think the School Board would listen to a petition from high school students. All those ‘student councils’ and other school-sponsored student-run groups were one thing, but stopping portfolio was something else.

Also, my mom has been working ever since I was small, so I never thought twice about it. I quite recently came to understand that in many other countries women cannot do much more than housework. It’s so strange how some can have so much and others so little. And yet, in class I learned that even in Canada the right for women to work only came during and after the catastrophe that was World War I.

In one signature, my eyes were wrenched open to see that indeed I and others can take a stand be it in education, social equality, or the economy. Even an acquaintance of mine took the time to express his civil rights in the classroom because of one small false accusation against him from the teacher. The result changed his fate from a trip to the office to an embarrassing silence that served as a non-verbal pardon. From a small decision last year to a big relief this year, the choice I made that day may lead me to better choose my path in the many years to come.

Is there as much social justice as social injustice in our world? In truth, there is probably the same amount of social justice as social injustice. It is impossible that everything be completely socially just because then it would be a perfect world, and as we all know, there is no such thing as a perfect world. That is not to say however, that social justice does not exist at all. In our society, there is a balance between social justice and social injustice.

There are numerous examples of social justice in our everyday lives. For instance, many people would assist an elderly man or woman if they observed that he or she was struggling with some sort of heavy load; they would help regardless of gender, race, or any other distinguishing characteristics. In certain clubs or groups, for the most part everybody is let in and everybody is equal. In our society there is equal opportunity for all people regardless of whom they are or where they come from. Social justice to a certain degree helps to keep society functional, and all those in it content.

On the other hand, there are also examples of social injustice in our everyday lives. Social injustice is far easier to pin-point than social justice and in many cases, receives more attention as well. That is the way humans behave – people scarcely get recognition for the things they do well, but then receive a lot of negative attention when they make an error. Even though society disapproves of those who act socially unjust, often these people are not reprimanded for their actions.

I myself have personally witnessed acts of social injustice. One of these instances occurred one afternoon when I was on a bus heading downtown. Seated at the front of the bus was an elderly Chinese man who had set his small grocery cart upright on the baggage platform of the bus. As the bus moved, the cart would slowly wheel forwards and backwards. The bus driver noticed this and requested twice that the elderly man remove his cart. The elderly man did not notice that the bus driver was speaking to him, and left his cart as it was. At the next stop the bus driver rose from his seat and aggressively slammed the man’s cart down onto its side. The elderly Chinese man began to tell the bus driver that he had been very rude and had no right to touch his personal belongings. Unfortunately, because of his limited vocabulary, the elderly Chinese man could not express himself very well. All he could manage to say was that the bus driver was a bad man and a bad driver. The bus driver then began shout furiously at him and both their voices got louder and louder until the bus driver bellowed “SHUT UP!” He then opened the doors, grabbed the cart, and slammed it onto the sidewalk. As the elderly Chinese man began to react, the bus driver grasped his arm and coerced him off the bus. The bus driver yelled a last remark or two, shut the doors, and began to drive.

Throughout the whole dispute the passengers in the bus seemed alarmed and disturbed, but nobody spoke up. I admit that by not acting in the elderly man’s defence I had contributed to social injustice. This is the way it always seems to go, everybody is responsible for contributing to social justice as well as social injustice.

Thus we return to the statement that in our society there is a balance of social justice and social injustice – it is what maintains our society. People contribute to this balance as well as experience its effects. One day somebody might discriminate against you because of reasons of gender, age, or race and another day somebody might give you an opportunity to despite gender, age, or race.

The balance of social justice and social injustice is very similar to karma – what goes around comes around. In fact, many people who are treated unjustly will protest about it and soon afterwards they themselves will complete an act of social injustice.

In conclusion, there has to be a balance between social justice and social injustice - there has to be the good along with the bad. If everything was sunshine and daisies all the time, then nobody would truly appreciate the good times in life. Though people complain about bad situations and how they have been affected by bad experiences, it is exactly those bad times that make the good times in life that much better.

On the whiteboard, a single quote adorned its glistening surface: “Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudice – just recognize them.” - Edward R. Murrow. The participants of Historica Encounters are baffled by this strange, irrelevant quote. We stood amongst ourselves in small, tight-knit groups inside the activity room of Terry Fox Youth Center in Ottawa. I leaned against Sarah with folded arms, waiting uncomfortably and impatiently.

Then with a remarkable amount of uncertainty, she stepped into the room. She busied herself by scrutinizing the tiles, and tugging on a loose strand of hair partially hidden behind her shawl. Upon her arrival, a soft incredulous murmur filled the chilly February air that leaked into the room. “Did she find out?” a bewildering thought trickled into our minds. “Did someone betray us?” The previous annoyance and curiosity transformed into doubt and apprehension.

“Hush girls. Quiet down Sarah, nobody is accusing you yet.” The co-coordinator glared at us from behind her thick spectacles. Sarah, who was shifting nervously next to me, flinched self-consciously. “Now Camellia, how do you feel about this?”

She glanced nervously around the room, searching for a sympathetic soul. Her eyes settled down on a girl with soft brown eyes named Helene. Their eyes met for the fraction of a second, and Helene smiled reassuringly. As if a sudden stream of courage had rushed through Camellia, she stopped fidgeting, and began with a renewed air of calmness: “I was shocked, when Helene informed me of what happened while I was away. I honestly didn’t think you guys would disrespect my culture like that. There are many religious symbols behind these mere pieces of clothing, and it shouldn’t be taken so lightly. I don’t know what more to say. I juts wish I was invisible sometimes,” Camellia tilted her head to the side dejectedly, and stared at us with a defeated gaze. I grimaced. The look in her eyes reflected that of an experienced old man - a man who had endured too much hardship, and witnessed too much discrimination that corrupted his once optimistic view of the society. Guilt pricked its needles into my skin, stabbing my numb conscious until it reawakened. “Why didn’t I do something?” I questioned myself, “Why did I stand there and pretend to look away when the girls were putting on the shawl, giggling and laughing in front of me? Why didn’t I speak up when they were snapping away with their digital cameras, flashing on and off? Did it perhaps blind my sense of justice and judgment? Or did I simply lack . . .”

“Courage,” Sarah spoke quietly. Her voice was heavy and apologetic with guilt. She was the one who suggested trying on Camellia’s shawls in the first place. There’s no more hint laughter left in her clouded eyes now. “You have a lot of courage Camellia, and I respect that. It must be difficult for you to approach us like this. Honestly, I never meant for it to hurt you so much. I guess that’s a foolish thing to say, because it’s obvious that it did hurt you. I should have thought of your feelings beforehand. I’m sorry Cam. I was a jerk to you.”

“Yeah you were,” said Camellia. Sarah was about to open her mouth again. Then Camellia smiled forgivingly, and added, “It’s okay, Sarah. You don’t have to say anything. Apology accepted.”

So I guess this is a story with a happy ending. All it took to stop prejudice was a teaspoon of courage, and a sprinkle of understanding. Although I didn’t participate in acts of prejudice, I wasn’t able to summon up enough courage to prevent it. So maybe it’s time for us to step up and reawaken the courage hidden within us. Maybe it’s time to defeat, extinguish, and exterminate the very presence of prejudice in our society. After all, we are not defined by our race, skin colour, religion, or even appearances. Those qualities do not symbolize who we are, because we are the soulful human beings underneath the obvious. We all desire respect, understanding, and equality, regardless of race or religion. So instead of prejudging and stereotyping different individuals, why not take the time to understand them first? In the end, you just might acquire one more friend. I know Sarah and I did. We also acquired something else – a picture of us smiling brightly at the camera, wearing matching shawls. Yes, we all wore it right this time.

Do we see social justice daily in our great country, Canada? We are treated fairly everyday by people around us. Also, we have the same chance as everyone else to do what we want, because it is easy to compromise with the people around us. The chance to know and believe in a religion is the same for everybody in Canada. Medical treatment is also given to all the citizens of Canada, even if we are not wealthy. We can have great opportunities to learn any skills that we want and to have a good education. We are living in a country, where we can see social justice happening everywhere.

One of the experiences I have had of someone treating me fairly was at Air Cadets. It started on a Thursday night in October, when I told my leader that I could not go to the camp at the end of the month. The Thursday after camp, an officer asked me why I did not go even though I signed up. My leader, who stood beside me, immediately explained to the officer that I had notified him that I could not go to camp already. My leader at Air Cadets had shown me social justice that night, when he explained to the officer, so that I will not be scolded for not keeping my promise.

Two weeks later, I experienced social justice again, when my family and I went swimming. My brother and sister wanted to stay longer, but I wanted to go, because I have a project due the next day. My father justly resolved the problem by having my mother watching my siblings while he drove me home first. My father’s action showed me that social justice could also be seen in a very small action.

During the time I was experiencing social justice from the above examples, I was experiencing social justice of having a fair chance to believe in Christianity, when my father decided my sibling and I should go to another school. Even though he wanted us to go to another school to have a better education, he also wants us to know more about Christianity and have a chance to choose to believe in this religion. After a year at the new school, I started believing in Christianity. This could not have happened if my father did not give me a chance to be a Christian. My dad’s decision to have my siblings and I go to another school changed my life forever.

Social justice also affects our life another way, when we go see the doctor. I experienced this, when I had to go to the hospital to get stitches. It was not very serious, but what the doctor did gave me a chance to live and not “bleed to death”. The government is also part of this deed, because they give us free medical care, so even if we are not wealthy, we have the same chance to live longer as the richer people. Social justice can be part our lives, because it can save our lives.

We can also see social justice in our life, when we get to choose what skills we want to learn, which I am experiencing, when I go to do extracurricular activities and go to the library. The government is doing this deed indirectly by building the facilities that are needed to learn the skills. I am affected by this, because I have a chance to learn how to swim and to improve my English through the facilities the government builds. I improve my English by reading library books, which gives me a chance to catch up to my peers, since I was in ESL. Also the opportunity to learn how to swim in the aquatic centre gives me a higher chance to survive in the water. Without these public facilities, we may not have a fair chance to improve ourselves and survive.

Another act the Canadian government also did is giving all Canadian children free education. This is social justice, because everybody will have a chance to have at least a high school education, so that we can get a job easier and have a better chance to support. This affects me, because I am attending J.N. Burnett Secondary, a public school, where I am getting my high school education. This act of social justice can affect people’s lives, because it may mean getting a job that can sustain life necessities or not.

Every day in our life, we experience social justice. We are fairly treated by the members of our society. We have a chance to do what we want, because we can compromise easily. The opportunities to know more about a religion and the chance to believe it are also around all the time. Free medical treatments by doctors also show social justice by giving us a chance to live longer. We have many choices of skills we can choose to learn. Our Canadian government also gives free education to us. We experience social justice every day of our life in Canada.

Everyone in society has at least one thing in common — the right to certain privileges and an equal opportunity to use them. This belief is based upon the idea that each and every individual or group in society has the equal right to do things of their interest. One thing that has really affected my life because of social justice begins with the birth of my little sister.

My little sister, Jodi, was born diagnosed with Down’s syndrome. Although genetically different from typical children, she still has the right to receive proper education. From the time she was first diagnosed to the time she entered kindergarten, there have been endless social workers, therapists and others to help my parents and Jodi to go through the first few years.
The first ones in the act was the Infant Development Program (IDP) of BC. The IDP is a family centered service that is designed to support families with young children (0 to 3 years of age) who have disabilities or are at risk of having developmental delays. The IDP sent out a case manager, who was the person who took care of all Jodi’s needs, giving referrals when needed and making sure everything was going smoothly. When Jodi was not quite one year old, her case manager referred Jodi to BC Centre of Ability, where she received even more support.

The BC Centre of Ability provided physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy for Jodi up until she turned five years old. Physiotherapy was the first to be introduced, to build up Jodi’s muscle tone and gross motor skills. When she was a little older, Jodi was then introduced to the occupational therapist. This therapist looked after her fine motor skills, such as beading and eating with a spoon. Eventually, Jodi’s mental stage was ready for the speech therapist. The speech therapist worked with her and tried to help her recognize objects and form words. Each of these sessions with any of the therapists are usually one hour long, in which the therapist would “play” with Jodi at home and then leave with a page full of suggestions that we, as family, can do to help Jodi.

The moment Jodi hit the age of five; the ball was taken out of the BC Centre for Ability’s hands and was placed in the school districts’ hands. Once kindergarten started, all the support for Jodi came from the school district. The team at the school district who is in charge of special needs children then “evaluates” the child and then decides what they need in order to do better in school. If they decide that the particular child still needs to see an occupational therapist, the team will make the arrangements for the child. However, if it is decided that therapy is unnecessary, then the issue is ignored. One of the main differences between the Centre of Ability and school district is that there are no more “personalized” visits. My sister now meets with the speech therapist, who is from the school board, once or twice a week and with the school’s resource teacher once a week. During the sessions with the resource teacher, Jodi gets almost full one-on-one attention, and together, they go through material and do activities. The resource teacher is the teacher who takes care of all the special needs children in that particular school. The resource teacher is the one who should know more about the child’s disability and be able to give suggestions to the classroom teachers of how they can teach the child. The teacher assistant (or educational assistant) is the teacher who will always be with a special needs child, helping him or her whenever aid is needed. For example, because my sister is not yet fully capable of
expressing her need to go to the washroom, her assistant would have to keep an eye on her and watch for the “signs” that my sister sometimes uses to indicate that she needs to go.

Another thing that happens is that my parents, socials workers and whoever else that might be involved with Jodi’s education will sit down together, usually around report card time, to talk about Jodi’s education plan. This is called the “Individual Education Plan (IEP)”, in which everyone sitting around the table decides on one set of goals in education for Jodi. The plan is, as stated in its name, individual, so all the goals are considerably within Jodi’s capabilities.

All these therapists, teachers and social workers, open the doorway for my sister. They are giving Jodi the right to an education just like any other child. Not only is education in play here, but this also gives Jodi equal opportunity, opportunity to be who she is. If it were not for these people who took the step out to help special needs children, there would be no
justice for these children. Ten, twenty years ago, such children would have had no chance to have such care.

Although it is obvious that society today has made an effort to change the view that special needs people are hopeless, the system still has its flaws. It may sound very picturesque right now, but we need to work harder to make the ties stronger, because these programs are nowhere near perfect. Too many people have said they would do something for my sister, yet have done absolutely nothing about it.

As one journeys through time, laws are created, revised and then re-edited again. Looking back at the history of Canada and the people that once lived here, one notes that there were a wide variety of cultures and religions. Over the years, there were conflicts between different languages, cultures, religion, and between people of different colonies. With larger, more prosperous cities forming, Canada started to become more developed and urban, resulting in an even wider variety of immigrants. The discrimination towards the minority however, did not lessen or disappear; it still plays a role in our daily lives. People tend to find more discrete ways of expressing discrimination, rarely attracting the attention of the media.

Despite the advances the world as a whole has made, some things do not seem to change at all. A couple months ago in Laval, Quebec during a soccer tournament for girls under 12, a referee ordered a girl off the field because she refused to remove her hijab – a traditional head covering made out of a light, silky material that are worn by Muslim women, because he thought it was a physical threat to the other players. The 11 year old girl was part of a team from Ontario and this game was her first out of province game. Her team and four others forfeited their games in protest. The regulation only states that “a player shall not use equipment or wear anything (including any kind of jewellery) that could be dangerous to himself or another player.” However, the referee from the day before did not order her off the field because she was wearing a hijab. This incident upset the coaches and many players. Even the president of the Canadian Islamic Congress said that he has never heard of anything like this in Canada. Many Muslim countries have all-girl soccer teams where some of the players wear a hijab. The incident was unacceptable; the hijab does not endanger the other players. The girl was upset and confused. Since other players sometimes wore headbands while they play, how is that different from wearing a hijab?

Unfortunately, not every act is publicized like what happened in Quebec was. It is often a play on words, tone, expression or action. One is unable to complain about it unless it is completely out of hand, like in the case of the female fire fighters who filed complaints and lawsuits against the fire department because of the discrimination and dangers they encountered at the hands of their colleagues. A female fire captain claims that her colleagues, and at times her superior, have been sexually harassing her for the past eleven years. Her case has been thrown out of court and she has been ordered to go back to work with the people that she accused of harassing her. If our valiant fire fighters are unable to neither achieve equality nor receive any action against the discrimination their colleagues treat them with, then how can we citizens, your average Joe, expect to deal with discrimination against us? Furthermore, one’s pride or peers can pressure us into silence. It could also be easily dismissed as harmless teasing and joking. Often, one is unable to comment at all because it would make no difference. The person being discriminating has more authority or power, making it pointless to argue or file complaints. For those supporting a family, getting fired is not an option. Therefore, nn ot everyone is willing or able to tell his or her stories in hopes of acquiring equality.

With the passage of time, everything changes and moves on. Discrimination issues have improved; people are not forced into slavery. Nevertheless, discrimination still exists. It does not matter for whom or where one makes a living, one always faces it in some form. The severity of different forms of discrimination and other issues differ in the eyes of different people and certain cases might affect one individual more than another, whereas another person will see things from a completely different perspective. It does not matter who weighs which issues more, when complaints or lawsuits are filed, the officials should take it seriously and immediate corrective action should be carried out. Everything is connected in some way. Discrimination against people of certain race, sex or religion might be one factor of poverty; larger percentages of females and non-Europeans live under the Low Income Cut Off. It can also be a reason for violence, and physical or drug abuse because the pressure of discrimination can be expressed in many ways, which may result in accidents such as higher crime rates. No matter what the case may be this issue needs to be taken seriously and immediately. Stopping discrimination by educating the next generation and their family is the best way to help improve society and make Canada a uniquely safe place to live and call home.

Can you imagine living life in a completely unfair, unjust and bias community where everything is judged depending on your race, sex or class? According to Canada’s Department of Public Health: “Social justice is a concept based upon the belief that each individual and group within a given society has a right to civil liberties, equal opportunity, fairness, and participation in the educational, economic, institutional, social and moral freedoms and responsibilities valued by the community.” The fact that we have social justice in Canada is one of the most appealing, if not the best, aspect this country has to offer. Without it our very lives would be impacted exceptionally. I, for one, would be impacted by this greatly because without it, my life would be completely different from what it is today. But because there is social justice in Canada, I am able to grow up without having to fear discrimination or the chance of unfair treatment against me because of my background and culture.

My parents left their family and friends back in China and immigrated to a foreign land for the purpose of letting my sister and I grow up in a country where, no matter the race, sex or class, everyone is treated evenly. If it had not been the fact the social justice existed here in Canada, my parents probably would have faced a lot of negativity when they first emigrated from China to Canada. Chances are, they probably would not have been treated fairly in Canada due to the fact that they are not from this land and because they could not speak English. However, the fact that my parents were Chinese was not an obstacle in their attempt to build a life here in Canada. Even though it was very hard, through the concept of social justice, they were treated as equals with everyone else with the same rights and freedoms. My parents had to work hard to build a new life here and if my parents were not given an equal chance as everyone else, I do not believe I will be where I am today.

Also, growing up in Toronto, I grew up in a big city which was divided up into many parts and communities. Within the community that I grew up in, Chinese kids were not often seen. From preschool to grade six, I attended an elementary school of approximately nine hundred kids; and out of those nine hundred kids, I was one of the few Chinese kids in my entire school. But even though I was part of this minority at school, not once did I ever feel out of place with the other kids, nor did I ever feel that I was being treated unfairly or unequally because of my race or ethnic background. Since we lived in a country where social justice is a primary objective, I was always protected from any prejudice criticism based on my race; from teachers or fellow students. I was given the chance to learn, interact and to enjoy school without any problems regarding my appearance. Even now as I attend high school, social justice in Canada has made it possible for people from all around the world, with different ethnicities and backgrounds, to come together to learn with and from each other. Without a doubt, we are given the opportunity to learn things we would never be able to learn elsewhere.

Another reason that social justice in Canada is important is because it helps develop a community where racism, sexism and ageism are not tolerated. Through this concept, we can also learn many other valuable lessons such as not to be prejudice and not to discriminate people for their appearance. Since the concept social justice in Canada treats everyone fairly with equal rights and freedom, I was able to adapt to this and eventually I learned not to discriminate against others anymore. These are valuable lessons that affected the way I see life and the way I treat others because social justice makes people treat each other fairly and equally.

However, sometimes life is just not fair. Even when this concept clearly defines that everyone should be treated fairly and given the same equal chances, people are still discriminated against for being born a certain race, sex or class level that is different from those in power. But even though success is not always guaranteed, it has done its overall purpose and that is to ensure everyone a chance. No system would ever be perfect and if we did not have this concept in Canada, Canada would lose one of its great attributes and therefore our country would not be the great nation that it is now. As a student that has been affected by social justice greatly, I can truly say that I am glad and proud that I live in a country where everyone is treated equally.