FOOD FOR THOUGHT

by Tazeen Siddiqui

On November 19th 2020, Paul Taylor, Executive Director of Food Share TO tweeted :

Yesterday I realized that I cringe when I hear people referred to as “vulnerable”. People aren’t vulnerable, they have been made vulnerable by systems, institutions, the lack of an effective social safety net and governments that don’t care.

This tweet touches my heart since it has a very deep impact. I agree with Taylor that people are made unsafe by the ineffective government system. That system always deprives them of their basic rights. If we look at Canadian history, we will see the constant injustice that was done to Indigenous people here by the Canadian government. They are still one of the most vulnerable classes in Canada. Indigenous people have always been victim of cultural genocide, social exclusion, discrimination in education and employment. Residential schools were made to suppress the identity of Indigenous people in Canada. As Brophy (2020) explains , “It was a cultural invasion through education. Indigenous children were taught that their culture was evil, their parents were pagans, and their identity was primitive. They were kept away from their families, siblings, and parents,” ( p.30). This is an example of extreme cruelty that could be done to any human being. During covid 19 , still the most vulnerable population around the world including Canada is again Indigenous community. As Nebehay & Shields suggest ( 2020), “Indigenous communities comprising half a million people around the world are especially vulnerable to the new coronavirus pandemic due to often poor living conditions, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday.” Indigenous communities suffer with poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, malnutrition, poor and unhygienic living conditions therefore they are at a high risk of communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

An effective social safety net should provide all the basic necessities of life to the most vulnerable ones in the society. Not only the government but the wealthy class of the society should also take care of the needs of these people. They should be given cash, housing, food, health facility and the best education. Education is one of the most important needs that could bring positive change in their lives by eradicating poverty from their lives. It is commonly observed that quality education is a key determinant of financial success.